Medieval Studies

The University of Edinburgh is home to one of the largest communities of medieval and Renaissance specialists in the world. With more than 70 staff actively pursuing research in this field, we can offer you outstanding opportunities for postgraduate study.Several of our subject areas were rated among the best in the UK for world-leading research in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.Thanks to our close connections with many Schools within the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, through the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, we are able to provide a cross-disciplinary approach that will add depth to your research and open the door to a broad range of potential project research areas.Our research interests are wide-ranging and global, and include history, languages and literatures, history of art and architecture, music, divinity, archaeology, law, Celtic and Scottish studies, and Islamic, European, and Asian studies.

International students arriving in Edinburgh can access various help and assistance to integrate with their new community. This starts at the International Student Centre where advice and assistance is available with fees and finance as well as legal matters such as immigration advice and visas. There is also a number of events organised by the ISC including weekly themed nights representing different countries and subsidized trips around the country. There are also campus wide events such as International Evening and the International Desserts Night to help students bring their own culture to others. The Edinburgh University Students Association (EUSA) is the combination of the unions and the Student Representative Council and has buildings around the campus including Teviot Row House, Potterrow, Kings Buildings House and the Pleasance. Teviot Row House has claims as the oldest purpose built student union building in the world. EUSA is responsible for some 250 societies for students to become involved with outside the classroom. Edinburgh itself is an important centre for the performing arts, particularly comedy, amateur and fringe theatre and numerous groups within the university are involved in this area. The Theatre Company was founded in 1896 and the Drama Society runs Bedlam Theatre, the oldest student run theatre in the UK. There is a weekly newspaper produced by students along with an independent publication and an alternative music radio station. In sports, there are 67 clubs ranging from rugby and football to judo and gliding.