Program Overview

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Medieval Studies

Overview

Bristol's importance as medieval England's second city and a major maritime port for trade and exploration makes it an excellent setting for interdisciplinary intellectual exchange. The renowned Centre for Medieval Studies in the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences has internationally recognised expertise in a wide range of subject areas.

Research towards MPhil and PhD is supported in the following subject areas: archaeology, drama, Old English and Middle English, Scots, Welsh, French, Italian, medieval Latin, history, history of art, music, legal history, religion and theology. Applications from prospective postgraduate students wishing to undertake interdisciplinary research are particularly welcome.

Key Information

• Programme duration: MPhil: one year full-time; two years part-time. PhD: up to four years full-time; up to eight years part-time.
• Start date: January 2025, September 2025, January 2026.
• Application deadline:
  • January 2025 start: 1 December 2024
  • September 2025 start: Overseas applicants: 25 July 2025, Home applicants: 1 August 2025
  • January 2026 start: 1 December 2025
• Delivery method: Distance Learning, On-Campus
• Location: Clifton
• Awards available: PhD, MPhil

Programme Structure

• MPhil: a standalone, one-year (full-time) research degree. Students will undertake their own research project, concluding in the submission of a 25,000-word dissertation. Students may have the option to audit units from our taught master's programmes if they are relevant to their research.
• PhD: a research project undertaken across three to four years (full-time), culminating in an 80,000-word thesis. As well as having the option to audit taught units, there may be the potential for PhD students to teach units themselves from their second year of study onwards.

World-Leading Research

• The University of Bristol is ranked fifth for research in the UK (Times Higher Education).
• 94% of our research assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent.

Entry Requirements

• MPhil: An upper second-class degree (or international equivalent). Please note, acceptance will also depend on evidence of your readiness to pursue a research degree.
• PhD: A master's qualification, or be working towards a master's qualification, or international equivalent. Applicants without a master's qualification may be considered on an exceptional basis, provided they hold a first-class undergraduate degree (or international equivalent). Applicants with a non-traditional background may be considered provided they can demonstrate substantial equivalent and relevant experience that has prepared them to undertake their proposed course of study.

Fees and Funding

• Home: full-time: £4,850 per year
• Home: part-time: £2,425 per year
• Overseas: full-time: £21,300 per year

Fees are subject to an annual review. For programmes that last longer than one year, please budget for up to an 8% increase in fees each year.

Alumni Discount

University of Bristol students and graduates can benefit from a 25% reduction in tuition fees for postgraduate study.

Funding and Scholarships

The University of Bristol is part of the South, West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership (SWW DTP), which will be offering studentships for September 2025. For information on other funding opportunities, including University-funded studentships, please see the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences funding pages.

Career Prospects

A significant number of graduates from this programme develop careers as academics in higher education. Others move into academic-related jobs in archives, libraries or academic administration, with many maintaining the capacity to undertake new and innovative research in the field of medieval studies, comparative literature and the history of the book.

Meet Our Supervisors

• Professor Marianne Ailes
• Dr Fernando Cervantes
• Dr Rhiannon Daniels
• Dr Peter Dent
• Dr Lucy Donkin
• Professor Helen Fulton
• Dr Anke Holdenried
• Professor Emma Hornby
• Dr Cathy Hume
• Dr Evan Jones
• Dr Tristan Kay
• Dr Kate McClune
• Dr Simon Parsons
• Professor Benjamin Pohl
• Professor Stuart Prior
• Professor Ad Putter
• Professor Gwen Seabourne
• Professor Brendan Smith
• Dr Sigbjorn Sonnesyn
• Professor Leah Tether
• Dr Sebastiaan Verweij
• Dr Ian Wei
• Professor Beth Williamson

Research Groups

The study of the Middle Ages at the University of Bristol includes looking at literature, art, history, language, religion, law and the thought of western European civilisation between c.500 and c.1500. Bristol's medievalists focus on medieval culture and the whole complex of ways in which a society functions, thinks about itself and expresses its identity.

The medievalist community at Bristol is widely recognised as having established truly interdisciplinary methods of working in integrated ways, engaging in vigorous cross-disciplinary dialogues that permeate many aspects of research and postgraduate teaching.

The activities of the Centre for Medieval Studies are varied and build on this track record of interdisciplinary academic exchange and networking. They include research seminars and collaborative projects.

Through the annual Centre for Medieval Studies postgraduate conference and student-led activities, such as reading groups, you are also encouraged to participate in developing your own networks.