Structured PhD (Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences) (Medieval Studies)

Course details

As part of the doctoral training available on the Structured PhD programme, students avail themselves of a range of interdisciplinary taught modules. The wide menu of available options include modules that:

• are Discipline-Specific in that they augment the student’s existing knowledge in their specialist area
• are Dissertation-Specific in that they supply core skills which are essential to completion of the research project, e.g., additional language skills
• acknowledge a student’s professional development e.g. presentation of a paper at an International Conference
• enhance a student’s employability through generic training, e.g., Careers Workshops, computer literacy.

Each student will be assigned a primary Supervisor(s) and a Graduate Research Committee made up of experienced researchers to plan their programme of study and to provide on-going support to their research.

The PhD in Medieval Studies, delivered by a team of internationally-trained academics, is an interdisciplinary research programme normally completed. Its cross-disciplinary approach encourages students to view the period from Late Antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages), in Europe as well as Ireland, in a multidimensional way, even as it allows students to focus on a particular research field.

The programme’s emphasis on languages and source studies equips students with the linguistic skills and interdisciplinary research methods required to undertake innovative research using primary texts, images, manuscripts and other material objects from the period. Students also gain some practical experience in a project-based module.

During their first students, depending on their previous qualifications, participate in either 1 or 3 semesters of Sources & Resources, a seminar focusing on palaeography and manuscript studies, but also treating auxiliary sciences such as diplomatic, heraldry and philology and including a team-work web-based project on a medieval scriptorium. They also take Latin and one or two other medieval vernacular languages (no prior knowledge of these languages is required). In order to refine their research proposals, students carry out intensive bibliographical investigation under the direction of their Supervisor(s). Modules in Archaeology, History, or Literature round out.

In all students complete a project-based module in an area like university tutoring; assisting in research, conference organisation or management of research resources; or reaching out to schools or local community groups. A PhD thesis of 80,000 words is completed.

See further at Postgraduate Medieval Studies

Entry requirements

Applicants should normally have obtained an honours BA degree (NFQ level 8) in a participating discipline (Archaeology, Classics, History, or English, French, German or Irish Language & Literature), at the minimum class of Second Class Honours, Grade 1 (or equivalent international qualification; e.g., BA with GPA of 3.3); some applicants might have been awarded an MA in one of those disciplines as well.

By the time of application, candidates will have identified a research topic and key primary sources for it in discussion with the member(s) of staff whose academic interests are most appropriate and who have agreed to serve as the applicants’ Supervisor(s). No previous knowledge of Latin or any medieval language is required.