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Culture of the European Renaissance (MA)

Find out more about our Culture of the European Renaissance Master's degree at Warwick

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MA

1 year full-time;
2 years part-time

28 September 2026

Centre for the Study of the Renaissance

University of Warwick

Explore the wide-ranging developments of the Renaissance world and develop your research and communication skills.

Warwick’s Centre for the Study of the Renaissance is an innovator and international leader in its field, bringing together over 40 specialists from Classics, English and Comparative Literature, History, History of Art, Liberal Arts and the School of Modern Languages and Cultures. The option to study in Venice during the course will let you experience first-hand the richness of Renaissance culture.

This MA covers the period c.1300-c.1650 across Europe. It provides a foundation in the art, history, literature, philosophy, religion and science of the period, exploring their interconnections with the social and political context.

Strongly interdisciplinary, it is taught by academics drawn from Classics, English, History, History of Art, Liberal Arts and the School of Modern Languages and Cultures.

Skills from this degree

• Advanced interdisciplinary understanding of the historical and cultural developments of the Renaissance
• Advanced skills of analysis and synthesis
• Linguistic, palaeographical, and bibliographical skills
• Research and information management skills
• Advanced written and oral communication skills

You will be based at Warwick for most of your course, but will also have the option to study for a period of time in Venice (Italy) or Tours (France), depending on your choice of modules. At Warwick, during term 1, full-time students will take our core module, Renaissance Culture and Society, alongside a module of your choice from a variety of options delivered by Classics, History, History of Art, English and Comparative Literature, and the School of Modern Languages and Cultures. In term 2 you will take a further 60 CATS of optional modules of your choosing, which may include study off campus and lead into a period of study abroad. Term 3 and the summer focus on the dissertation. You will also be able to join the online palaeography, Latin and other skills classes delivered by the Renaissance Centre at different points during the year.

Part-time students take only the core module Renaissance Culture and Society in their first term, with a further 30 CATS of optional modules in the second, fourth, and fifth terms of the degree (i.e. year 1, term 2; year 2, term 1; year 2, term 2). They begin work on a dissertation topic in term 3 of their first year, and complete the dissertation in earnest during their second summer.

Class sizes tend to be small (five to twelve students), allowing plenty of opportunity for questions and discussion.

MA modules typically run as seminars of two hours each, but you will have more like 6–8 hours a week of teaching if you avail yourself of the language and skills classes offered or paid for by the Centre.

Our aim is to develop your research and writing skills to the point where you are able to present cogent, complex and original arguments based on your research of images, buildings, artefacts, documents and other primary sources.

Each individual module is assessed through essays. Normally you will write an extended essay (5,000 words) for each of your modules, in addition to a dissertation (currently 15,000 words). The dissertation is prepared over the late spring and summer and submitted in September. You will be requested to submit a literature review before starting on your dissertation.

You will receive close one-to-one tuition from members of staff to guide you through your programme of research and writing. Warwick modules are typically assessed by essay only.

Additional course costs

Travel abroad (Venice or Tours) for optional study there and possible extra living allowances as the cost of living can be more expensive than in the UK.

Reading lists 

If you would like to view reading lists for current or previous cohorts of students, most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library on the Talis Aspire platformLink opens in a new window.

You can search for reading lists by module title, code or convenor. Please see the modules tab of this page or the module catalogueLink opens in a new window.

Please note that some reading lists may have restricted access or be unavailable at certain times of year due to not yet being published. If you cannot access the reading list for a particular module, please check again later or contact the module’s host department.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes.

2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject.

• Band B
• IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.