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Collegium for Medieval & Early Modern Studies

Overview of the Master’s Program ‘Medieval and Early Modern Studies´

The Master's degree programme in Medieval and Early Modern Studies (4 semesters, 120 ECTS) is based on three "pillars":

  • Research orientation: In the "compulsory section", the degree programme focuses on particular proximity to research. The courses offered in this section refer to current medieval and early modern research and address both fundamental and specialised research topics. The "practical module" gives students the opportunity to familiarise themselves with science communication formats and professional fields related to the subject.
  • Disciplinary focus: Meaningful interdisciplinary work requires a stable disciplinary core as a starting point. For this reason, (individual) disciplinary profiling forms the second pillar of the degree programme: the specialist skills acquired in the previous degree programme are expanded over three semesters in "Compulsory Elective Area 1: Specialisation" and further deepened academically in the Master's thesis.
  • Interdisciplinarity : The willingness to work in an interdisciplinary manner is a basic requirement, especially for Medieval and Early Modern studies. For this reason, the Master's brings together 14 departments from the Collegium for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, which feed modules into the overall module pool of the degree programme. Students can select three modules in one or more subjects from this pool in "Compulsory Elective Area 2".

The degree programme is divided into one "compulsory area" and two "compulsory elective areas".

  • The compulsory area "Research" stands for the special research orientation of the Master's programme. Here you complete one practical and two research modules, the courses of which are taught by the departments involved in the degree programme. For example, you can attend research exercises, take part in advanced seminars, listen to interdisciplinary lecture series, take part in independently organised internships, attend external conferences and workshops, etc.
  • In the compulsory elective area "Specialisation", you choose one of the eight specialisation subjects (see below) in which you have acquired at least 40 ECTS in your undergraduate degree and take a total of three modules with 10 ECTS each within three semesters.
  • In the compulsory elective area "Specialised studies", you choose a total of three modules with 10 ECTS credits each from the large module pool of all departments involved in the Master's degree within three semesters (your specialisation subject cannot be chosen again here).

Fourteen Medieval and Early Modern departments are involved in the degree programme, which have come together in the Collegium for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Würzburg. Students choose their specialisation subject from eight of these areas (no. 1-8, below in bold + italics), depending on their undergraduate degree. Modules from the non-selected specialisation subjects and from the other subject areas (no. 9-14) can be taken in the compulsory elective area "Specialised Studies".

1. English Language and Literature of the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period
2. German Language and Literature of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period
(a) German Linguistics
(b) Older German Literary Studies
(c) Modern German Literature
3. history (merged into one specialisation from winter semester 24/25)
(a) Medieval history and Franconian regional history
(b) Modern History (History of the Early Modern Period)
4. Art History
5. Musicology (music of pre-modern Europe)
6. Philosophy
7. Romance Studies
8. Theology (from winter semester 24/25)
9. European Ethnology / Empirical Cultural Studies
10. Museology
11. Classical Philology (Latin Studies)
12. History of Law
13. Sinology
14. Slavic Studies

For the Master's programme in Medieval and Early Modern Studies, we recommend, among other things

  • a willingness to study historical sources, media and languages (or language levels) from the early 6th to the 18th century in depth.
  • the openness to look beyond the narrower (sub-)subject boundaries and to work in an interdisciplinary manner in terms of both method and content.
  • an interest in current research issues and academic discussion in a research-oriented degree programme.
  • the ability to organise themselves, to take responsibility for the design of their studies and to develop their own personal interests and profile.


The formal requirements are set out in the subject-specific conditions §4:

  1. For admission, you must have a Bachelor's degree or equivalent and at least 40 ECTS points from the fields of either English, German, History, Art History, Musicology, Philosophy or Romance Studies. For example, anyone who has completed a Bachelor's degree in "German Studies" or has acquired at least 40 ECTS credits in "German Studies" in another Bachelor's degree programme can be admitted to the Master's degree in "Medieval and Early Modern Studies" with a specialisation in "German Studies". Students who have not yet completed their Bachelor's degree programme can apply for provisional admission if they can provide proof of at least 120 ECTS.
  2. Knowledge of Latin is strongly recommended for the Master's programme. A secure knowledge of Latin is required for the major subject of History, a secure knowledge of English for the major subject of English Studies and a secure knowledge of Italian, French or Spanish for the major subject of Romance Studies (see FSB §4, Ab. 9-11).

We will be happy to advise you personally, see "Contact persons".

The educational objectives of the Master's programme are

1. qualification objectives

The qualification objectives are described in detail in this PDF document.

  • Academic and artistic aptitude
  • Ability to pursue qualified employment
  • Enabling social commitment
  • Personal development

2. research-orientated training as a specialist scientist

  • Students on the Master's degree programme are instructed in research-oriented work ("research orientation").
  • They gain an insight into the diversity of research topics in Medieval and Early Modern Studies beyond their own subject ("interdisciplinarity").
  • Previous specialist knowledge in the specialisation subject is further deepened, continued and academically expanded ("disciplinary focus").

3. training of personal key qualifications

  • General key qualification: As an in-depth education in the humanities, the Master's programme promotes "structured thinking and problem-oriented work, argumentation and conflict resolution skills, written and oral expression, creativity, self-motivation and willingness to learn, research skills and rapid familiarisation with new topics as well as a broad general knowledge"(Berufsfelder für Geisteswissenschaftler, p. 3)
  • Freedom of choice and personal responsibility: The Master's programme gives students a wide range of options to shape their studies according to their own interests. The specialisation subject and the MA thesis guarantee a stable core profile. Everything else is left to the students' freedom of choice.
  • Openness and flexibility: The combination of interdisciplinarity and freedom of choice means a professional and organisational challenge for students: on the one hand, they have to deal with the content and methods of very different subjects and, depending on their choice of module, repeatedly familiarise themselves with new subjects. On the other hand, they are confronted with different subject cultures, administrative structures and forms of organisation. A high degree of openness, flexibility and self-organisation is therefore required of them. They receive support from Ms Anne Bils, who helps students with questions about study planning and administration.

These educational goals result in a variety of professional fields.

  • The courses that you can study in the current semester in the Master's programme "Medieval and Early Modern Studies" can be found in WueStudy.
  • The allocation of courses to compulsory and compulsory elective areas and to the modules of the sub-disciplines corresponds to the module plan.

  • The Master's in "Medieval and Early Modern Studies" is supported by the departments and sub-subjects that have come together in the Collegium for Medieval and Early Modern Studies. The Collegium currently has around 100 members.
  • The Collegium offers regular courses that can also be credited towards the Master's degree. Of particular note are the lecture series and workshop each semester and the guest lectures in the departments involved in the programme. You can find more detailed information in the event calendar.

Please note: Non-binding English translation. The German version is the only legally binding text.