Celtic Civilisation

Course details

The Higher Diploma in Arts (Celtic Civilisation) is intended for those who already have a degree and who wish to study the literature and culture of the medieval Celtic countries intensively over one academic year full time, or two academic years part time.

This is a conversion course and our students would not normally have studied the subject to honours degree level previously.

The course is aimed at graduates who would like to study a master’s course in the subject area (but who do not have an honours degree in the relevant area) or who may wish to add the Higher Diploma in Arts subject to their qualifications

Course Details

The Higher Diploma in Celtic Civilisation consists of modules to the value of 60 credits taken from a range of existing Second and Third Arts modules in the relevant subject. Suitable modules as well as attendance requirements and coursework are determined by the Department of Early and Medieval Irish and approved by the College of Arts Celtic Studies and Social Sciences. The course of study to be followed may vary depending on your background, preferred area of specialisation etc.

The course will be made up of modules from Levels II and III of the undergraduate BA offerings in Celtic Civilisation.  The subject modules will be chosen by you in consultation with our staff at the Department of Early and Medieval Irish. 

Module options include:

•  The Celtic Contribution to Medieval Christian Europe
•  Celtic Saints
•  Early Celtic Lyric Poetry
•  Learning and Society in the Celtic Countries
•  The Celtic Languages
•  Early Irish Spirituality
•  The Mabinogi
•  Ireland and Wales
•  Ireland and Scotland
•  Visions and Otherworld Journeys in Celtic Literature
•  Early Irish
•  Irish Historical Tales
•  The Finn Cycle
• Themes in Medieval Celtic Culture

Entry Rquirements

To apply for this course you will:

• have a degree, preferably in the area of arts or the sciences
• not normally have studied the relevant subject to honours degree level previously.
• English language requirements: IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL equivalent.

Course Practicalities

For the full-time one-year option, you are required to choose modules with a total value of  60 credits from the Celtic Civilisation modules for second and third year. Taught modules have a value of 5 credits apiece, so students limiting themselves to these should take 6 modules per semester. Celtic Civilisation taught modules normally comprise 24 hours of lectures, accompanied by PowerPoint presentations and handouts. Materials presented in lecture, together with supplementary materials, are made available on each module’s Blackboard (UCC’s virtual learning system) site.  There are also project-based modules available, to be undertaken on topics agreed with the Department: CC2010 (10 credits) and CC3009 (5 credits).

You are expected and encouraged to extend and deepen your acquaintance with the topic through reading.  To this end, you are provided with reading lists, and recommended books as well as course-specific sourcebooks are placed for you in the Boole Library’s Open Reserve. Like all Arts subjects, Celtic Civilisation enables you to acquire facility in analysis and presentation of material through class essays.

Assessment

Celtic Civilisation modules are typically assessed through an in-class assessment (counting for 20% of the total mark) and a final examination (counting for 80%), both of which are in essay format. For module CC2010, you will undertake an extended research project which will be assessed based on an annotated bibliography (25% of total mark), a presentation to Department staff and fellow students (25%), and an essay (50%).