MA Medieval Literatures and Languages Programme Specification 2024-25

	B	C	D	E	G	I	J	K	L	O
1	ACADEMIC QUALITY TEAM
2	Programme Specifications 2024-25
3
4
5	Programme Title			MA in Medieval Literatures and Languages
6
7	This document applies to students who commenced the programme(s) in:			2024		Award type			MA
8
9	What level is this qualification?			Level 7		Length of programme			1 year (or 2 years part-time)
10
11	Mode of study (Full / Part Time)			Full-time (or part-time)
12
13	Will the programme use standard University semester dates?			Yes		For York Online programmes, will standard dates for such programmes be used?			N/A
14
15	Awarding institution			University of York		Board of Studies for the programme			MA English
16
17	Lead department			English and Related Literature		Other contributing departments			Students can choose modules from: Archeology Centre of Women's Studies Centre of Medieval Studies History History of Art Sociology Politics Philosophy
18
19	Language of study and assessment			English		Language(s) of assessment			English
20
21	Is this a campus-based or online programme?			Campus-based
22
23	Partner organisations
24	If there are any partner organisations involved in the delivery of the programme, please outline the nature of their involvement. You may wish to refer to the Policy on Collaborative Provision
25	N/A
26
27	Reference points
28	Please state relevant reference points consulted in the design of this programme (for example, relevant documentation setting out PSRB requirements; the University's Frameworks for Programme Design (UG or PGT); QAA Subject Benchmark Statements; QAA Qualifications and Credit Frameworks).
29	Subject Benchmark English; UoY Framework for Programme Design (PGT)
30
31	Credit Transfer and Recognition of Prior Learning
32	Will this programme involve any exemptions from the University Policy and Procedures on Credit Transfer and the Recognition of Prior Learning? If so, please specify and give a rationale
33	No
34
35	Exceptions to Regulations
36	Please detail any exceptions to University Award Regulations and Frameworks that need to be approved (or are already approved) for this programme. This should include any that have been approved for related programmes and should be extended to this programme.
37	N/A
38
39	Internal Transfers
40	Please use the boxes below to specify if transfers into / out of the programme from / to other programmes within the University are possible by indicating yes or no and listing any restrictions. These boxes can also be used to highlight any common transfer routes which it would be useful for students to know.
41
42		Transfers in:	Students can apply to transfer from other MA programmes, on the condition that they meet the application criteria required to gain entry to the programme, and that they take, or have taken a Reading the Middle Ages skills option (MST00086M, MST00088M or LFA00002M) in the First Semester.			Transfers out:	Yes, students may transfer in to or out of the programme in accordance with University Regulations. Transfers will be dependent upon student numbers and available places.
43
44
45	Statement of Purpose
46	Please briefly outline the overall aims of the programme. This should clarify to a prospective student why they should choose this programme, what it will provide to them and what benefits they will gain from completing it.
47	The MA in Medieval Literatures and Languages offers an intensive and exciting opportunity to study the literary culture of medieval England (c.700-c.1500) in its European and multi-lingual contexts. You can choose from an exceptionally wide array of option modules across the languages, literatures and chronological periods of the Middle Ages, including Old and Middle English, Old Norse, medieval Italian, French, Latin and Arabic, enabling you to construct a distinct, individually tailored programme of study throughout the year. These modules are supported by specialist skills training in medieval languages and/or palaeography. Option modules are each assessed by a research essay, and your developing skills as a researcher are then brought to bear on a substantial dissertation on a topic of your own choosing. In all these tasks you are taught and supervised by world-leading scholars, working in one of the largest research centres in medieval literature in the UK. The MA in Medieval Literatures and Languages is designed to foster both subject-specific and transferable skills; as such, it represents an equally suitable foundation for students who wish to pursue doctoral research and those who aspire to careers in related areas, including teaching, heritage management, publishing, and archives, among others. Throughout the year the MA programme is supported by a rich schedule of seminars, conferences, and reading groups in medieval literatures, languages and cultures, and as a postgraduate student you will play an important role in the wider research community of both the English Department and the Centre for Medieval Studies. Postgraduate life in the medieval period is channelled equally through the University’s Centre for Medieval Studies and the Humanities Research Centre, vibrant interdisciplinary hubs that enable close social and intellectual bonds to form over the course of your time at York.
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58	If there are additional awards associated with the programme upon which students can register, please specify the Statement of Purpose for that programme. This will be most relevant for PGT programmes with exit awards that are also available as entry points. Use additional rows to include more than one additional award. Do not include years in industry / abroad (for which there are separate boxes).
59	Exit Award Title			Is the exit award also available as an entry point?	Outcomes: what will the student be able to do on exit with this award?			Specify the module diet that the student will need to complete to obtain this exit award
60	Postgraduate Diploma in Medieval Literatures and Languages			No - not an entry award	The PG Diploma in Medieval Literatures and Languages offers a postgraduate qualification that can be completed in less time than the MA and involves the writing of a 6-7,000-word long essay rather than a 14-16,000-word dissertation. Students must obtain 120 credits in order to receive the diploma. 80 credits are gained for the four taught option modules and 20 credits for Reading the Middle Ages skills option (MST00087M, MST00088M or LFA00002M) and the diploma long essay carries 20 credits. Successfully completing these requirements will mean that students gaining a Diploma will have engaged in learning towards all seven PLOs, and will have been assessed on six of those PLOs (excluding PLO6).			120 credits - 100 credits are gained for the five taught modules (this includes 20 credits for Reading the Middle Ages), and the diploma long essay carries 20 credits.
61	Postgraduate Certificate in Medieval Literatures and Languages			No - not an entry award	The PG Certificate in Medieval Literatures and Languages offers recognition for their work and achievements to students who have completed taught elements of the degree, without them having to complete a dissertation project or a long essay. Students must obtain 60 credits in order to receive a certificate. Students will thus have completed at least three modules: 1 of the Reading the Middle Ages skills modules (MST00087M, MST00088M or LFA00002M) plus 2 option modules and assessment requirements for each of those modules. They will have passed at least 40 credits outright and received at least a compensatory pass in another 20 credits. In this manner, students will have studied in accordance with the PLOs that are mapped via the core module and option module entries on the Masters Programme Map. They will have engaged in learning towards all seven PLOs, and will have been assessed on the first five PLOs.			60 credits - students will have passed at least 40 credits outright and received at least a compensatory pass in another 20 credits.
62
63	Programme Learning Outcomes
64	What are the programme learning outcomes (PLOs) for the programme? (Normally a minimum of 6, maximum of 8). Taken together, these outcomes should capture the distinctive features of the programme and represent the outcomes that students progressively develop in the programme and achieve at graduation. PLOs should be worded to follow the stem 'Graduates will be able to...'
65	1	Analyse significant literary and cultural texts from the medieval period closely and critically, interpreting them with reference to their social, political, linguistic and/or cultural contexts.
66	2	Synthesise and interrogate a range of critical sources in a sophisticated fashion, showing awareness of scholarly debate, while evaluating and selecting material to make for convincing and creative argumentation.
67	3	Deploy knowledge of medieval literature in its original contexts, demonstrating specialist understanding of the period's multlingual textual culture (medieval languages and/or palaeography).
68	4	Initiate, design, and complete advanced research, drawing on knowledge and skills honed by graduate-level training, teaching, and independent study.
69	5	Communicate sophisticated written arguments in a clear, accurate and persuasive fashion, to a deadline and to a high professional standard.
70	6	Engage in discussion of literary and scholarly texts, demonstrating versatility and cooperation in the exploration of complex ideas and perspectives.
71	7	Direct their own development, bringing new knowledge and skills to bear upon a range of possible careers and/or further study.
72
73	Diverse entry routes
74	Detail how you would support students from diverse entry routes to transition into the programme. For example, disciplinary knowledge and conventions of the discipline, language skills, academic and writing skills, lab skills, academic integrity.
75	While the expectation is that the majority of students taking this MA programme will have completed a BA in English (or a BA with English as one of its elements), the programme is designed to help students from other entry routes to transition successfully into postgraduate life as an English student. This transition is mainly addressed through the training sessions element embedded in the Dissertation module. Although the bulk of the work for the Dissertation is undertaken in the Summer Term and Summer Vacation, training starts in the Autumn and comprises of sessions lectures which include library orientation, research through digital platforms, bibliographical skills, academic integrity and ethics. Additionally, skills modules in medieval languages are streamed to include sections for absolute beginners, carefully tailored to facilitate the learning of students new to the study of languages. The skills streams ‘Reading the Middle Ages’ (languages and palaeography) are designed to introduce students to the linguistic and cultural environments in which medieval texts were produced. All English option modules have formative essays. Students write one essay in the autumn term and receive written feedback on the essay from their module tutor, and can discuss it further with that tutor, as well as their personal supervisor, in advance of submitting their first essay. This core focus on writing and research skills at the beginning of their graduate training degree is intended to help all students to transition to M-level work, but will be particularly valuable for students transitioning from diverse entry routes. This includes mature students returning to full- or part-time study, whose particular needs will be addressed by matching them with a carefully chosen supervisor, and through making them aware of central initiatives for mature students such as buddying schemes.
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84	Inclusion
85
86	Please confirm by ticking the box on the right that the design, content and delivery of the programme will support students from all backgrounds to succeed. This refers to the University's duties under the Equality Act 2010. You may wish to refer to the optional Inclusive Learning self-assessment tools to support reflection on this issue.									TRUE
87
88	Employability
89	Please give a brief overview - no more than 5 sentences - of how the programmes helps develop students' employability. Your Faculty Employability Manager can help reflection on this issue. This statement will be used by Marketing as the basis for external content with respect to employability.
90	Students gain advanced academic and scholarly skills via the MA and will develop strong and versatile modes of thinking, researching, writing and presenting information. They will be able to communicate in ways that are discipline and audience specific, and manage data, evidence and argument. Students gain opportunities to study in areas in which they feel they require additional and/or more advanced training, thereby gaining new intellectual impetus in new areas of thinking and also being able to build on their existing skills and training in new and more advanced ways. Students will select their modules, and thereby their own sense of intellectual focus and/or breadth, in accordance with their own intellectual and potentially professional (or future-oriented) needs. They will practice self-directed study across the programme and particularly in the dissertation, making them well equipped for future independent work. In addition to these provisions, students may choose to develop dissertation projects that are more explicitly directed towards a particular career path or one that explores a non-university institution, place, or employment practice. Finally, students are able to engage with the wide training programme offered by English, which includes employability-linked sessions and opportunities for skills acquisition.
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99	[For Undergraduate and Integrated Masters Programmes Only]
100	Are you offering any variations of this programme, such as additional years abroad or industry?