Reformation Studies (MLitt) 2016 entry

The MLitt in Reformation Studies provides intensive training in the historiography, debates and sources of the Protestant and Catholic Reformations.

Course type

Postgraduate; leading to a Master of Letters (MLitt)

Course duration

One year full time

Entry requirements

A good 2.1 Honours undergraduate degree in History, Divinity or a cognate subject. If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements.

English language proficiency. See English language tests and qualifications.

Tuition fees

UK and EU£6,800
Overseas£16,250

Application deadline

Application requirements

  • CV
  • sample of academic written work (2,000 words)
  • two original signed academic references
  • academic transcripts and degree certificates
  • English language requirements certificate.
  • letter of intent (optional).

For more guidance, see supporting documents and references for postgraduate taught programmes. 

If you are looking to start this programme in 2017, you can find information about 2017 entry on the 2017 Reformation Studies MLitt page. Information about all programmes from previous years of entry can be found in our archive.

Course information

Course highlights

  • Students have the opportunity to explore the literature in a field of particular individual interest with an expert member of staff.
  • The programme offers students the flexibility to pursue their own avenues of interest, specialising in a particular theological, geographical or methodological area, while also instilling a wide contextual awareness of all of the European Reformations.

Teaching format

The MLitt in Reformation Studies is a taught postgraduate programme run by the Reformation Studies Institute in the School of History. Over two semesters, students complete two compulsory modules and two optional modules.

Teaching methods include seminars and fortnightly tutorials. Class sizes range from individual supervision up to 12 students. The modules are assessed by coursework only; there is no final exam.

Students will spend the final three months of the course focusing on researching and writing the final assessment piece for the MLitt, a dissertation of not more than 15,000 words.

Further particulars regarding curriculum development.

Modules

The modules in this programme have varying methods of delivery and assessment. For more details of each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the latest module catalogue.

Compulsory module

  • Aspects of Reformation (1 and 2): explains selected themes in Reformation Studies and encourages students to develop a sense of the historiography of the period.

Optional modules

Students choose two optional modules. Optional modules are subject to change each year, and attendance may be limited (see the University’s position on curriculum development).

  • Religion and Identity in Early Modern Britain: explores the significance of the Reformation in reshaping the ways in which Scots and Englishmen perceived themselves as members of distinct Protestant churches and communities in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
  • War, State and Society in Early Modern Europe and New Worlds: explores the transformations in the size, scale and scope of European warfare between the late fifteenth and late eighteenth centuries.
  • Society and Religious Change in Sixteenth Century France: offers a detailed examination of the development and near disintegration of the new French nation state in the sixteenth century.
  • The European Renaissance: compares and contrasts the Italian and Northern Renaissances, examining their mediaeval origins and exploring themes such as religion, humanism, court and urban life, in order to test this traditional interpretation.
  • The Creation of an Atlantic World: introduces students to the concept of the Atlantic World, a unit of analysis used by historians to understand the changes wrought in the western hemisphere by the British, French, and Iberian discovery and settlement of the Americas, and by Europe's slave trade with Africa.
  • Law, Justice and Community: Court Records and British Society, 1400-1800: introduces to the single most important source for early-modern British social history: the records of law courts, which played a far more central role in everyday life than they do now.
  • Political Thought and Intellectual History: introduces the political theory and intellectual history of the early modern period.
  • Directed Reading: a programme of individual study, intended for those who have already developed an interest in a particular area of Reformation history, and who wish to work on an individual basis with a particular member of staff at the Institute.

The modules listed ran in the academic year 2015-2016 and are indicative of this course. There is no guarantee that these modules will run for 2016 entry.

Take a look at the most up-to-date modules in the module catalogue.

Dissertation

Student dissertations will be supervised by members of the teaching staff who will advise on the choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the research process. The completed dissertation of not more than 15,000 words must be submitted by a date specified in August.

If students choose not to complete the dissertation requirement for the MLitt, there is an exit award available that allows suitably qualified candidates to receive a Postgraduate Diploma. By choosing an exit award, you will finish your degree at the end of the second semester of study and receive a PGDip instead of an MLitt.

Conferences and events

The School of History hosts the Early Modern and Modern History (EMMH) Postgraduate Forum, which provides a space for postgraduates at all stages to present ideas, discuss research issues and find out about what their fellow historians are up to. 

The Reformation Studies Institute at St Andrews hosts a seminar programme, holding numerous talks and lectures each month.

Funding

The School of History is pleased to be able to offer a number of competitive scholarships which contribute to the fees and maintenance for postgraduate study. 

  • Language Bursaries: enables students to undertake intensive language courses abroad during the summer before their programme begins.
  • School of History MLitt Awards: offers the cash equivalent of one year's home fees and cannot be held in conjunction with other awards offering full fees and maintenance.

Find out more about postgraduate scholarships. 

After the MLitt

Research degrees

In addition to the MLitt, the School offers a two-year Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree option in Reformation Studies.

Many of our graduates continue their education by enrolling in PhD programmes at St Andrews.

Recent Graduate Discount
The University of St Andrews offers a 10% reduction in postgraduate tuition fees for students who have graduated during the last three years and are now starting a postgraduate programme.

Arts and Humanities Research Council studentships
The AHRC offers studentships at RCUK rates for PhD research in a range of subjects including history.

PhD in History

Careers

Reformation Studies postgraduates go on to pursue careers in a range of sectors such as libraries, museums or other areas of the heritage industry. 

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students on a taught postgraduate course and offers a programme of events to assist students to build their employability skills. 

Contact

School of History
University of St Andrews 
St Katharine’s Lodge
The Scores
St Andrews 
KY16 9BA

Phone: +44 (0)1334 46 2907
Email: pghist@st-andrews.ac.uk

History website


Admission to the University of St Andrews is governed by our Admissions policy.

Curriculum development

As a research intensive institution, the University ensures that its teaching references the research interests of its staff, which may change from time to time. As a result, programmes are regularly reviewed with the aim of enhancing students' learning experience. Our approach to course revision is described online. (PDF, 72 KB).

Tuition fees

The University will clarify compulsory fees and charges it requires any student to pay at the time of offer. The offer will also clarify conditions for any variation of fees. The University’s approach to fee setting is described online. (PDF, 84 KB)