MA Biblical Studies and Mediaeval History
About this course
Biblical studies and mediaeval history is a degree that connects two of the most intellectually and culturally rich fields of humanistic inquiry. Biblical studies takes seriously the profound influence that the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament have had on Western civilisation, engaging with the texts themselves in their historical and literary contexts, as well as with the wealth of related Jewish and Christian writings from antiquity, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the early church fathers. Mediaeval history provides the complementary temporal and geographical context, examining the world that was shaped by those scriptural traditions across the centuries between late antiquity and the early modern period. At the University of St Andrews, this four-year full-time programme is taught by scholars working at the frontier of their disciplines. You will engage with Old and New Testament texts, with the traditions of Jewish and Christian interpretation that grew from them, and with the history, culture, and society of the mediaeval world in which those traditions continued to develop. The combination provides an unusually coherent intellectual perspective on the deep roots of European and wider civilisation. The degree includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to engage with different academic traditions in religious or historical studies. The typical entry tariff of 200 points reflects the competitive nature of entry at St Andrews. You will develop skills in the close reading of ancient and mediaeval texts, in historical argument, in critical thinking, and in the sustained scholarly writing that both disciplines demand. Graduates pursue careers in education, the church, heritage management, museums and archives, publishing, journalism, and academic research. Postgraduate study in theology, church history, mediaeval studies, or religious studies is a well-established continuation for those wishing to develop specialist expertise.
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