May 27, 2026

Undergraduate Record 2026-2027

Interdisciplinary Major - Medieval Studies

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Universal Curriculum Requirements

To be awarded a degree from the College of Arts and Sciences, students are required to complete universal curriculum requirements in addition to the program requirements provided below. The school universal curriculum requirements can be found on the school Degree Programs page .

Requirements for Major

The major is open to all qualified students in the College of Arts and Sciences who have demonstrated competence in a foreign language appropriate to their work in the program through the 2000 level, or its equivalent. Students are required to take 30 hours of credit in courses approved by the student’s advisor with passing grades, and at least a 2.0 average, distributed over the following fields of study:

Required Course

MSP 3501 - Exploring the Middle Ages Credits: 3

Additional Coursework

Of the remaining 27 hours of coursework, at least five courses (15 credits) must be at the 3000 or above level (of which at least one must be at the 4000 level or above). Please refer to the section below for a list containing courses which can satisfy this requirement. Course selection must reflect a multidisciplinary approach to Medieval Studies. Student coursework must thus include representation of at least four of the thirteen departments of the College of Arts & Sciences that offer MSP approved courses. These departments are:

Anthropology
Art
Classics
English
East Asian Language, Literatures and Cultures
French Language and Literature
German Language and Literature
History
Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures
Philosophy
Politics
Religious Studies
Spanish, Italian and Portuguese

The major may be combined with another departmental program as a double major.

French Language and Literature

FREN 4110 - Medieval Saints’ Lives Credits: 3
FREN 4123 - Medieval Love Credits: 3
FREN 4585 - Advanced Topics in Cultural Studies Credits: 3
FREN 5100 - Medieval Literature in Modern French I Credits: 3
FREN 5510 - Topics in Medieval Literature Credits: 3
FREN 5520 - Topics in Sixteenth-Century Literature Credits: 3
FRTR 3814 - Gender, Sexuality, Identity in Premodern France Credits: 3

German Language and Literature

GETR 3464 - Medieval Stories of Love and Adventure Credits: 3

History

HIEU 2061 - The Birth of Europe Credits: 3
HIEU 2071 - Early Modern Europe and the World Credits: 3
HIEU 2101 - Jewish History I: The Ancient and Medieval Experience Credits: 3
HIEU 3101 - Early Medieval Civilization Credits: 3
HIEU 3111 - Later Medieval Civilization Credits: 3
HIEU 3121 - Medieval Society: Ways of Life and Thought in Western Europe Credits: 3
HIEU 3141 - Age of Conquests: Britain from the Romans to the Normans (43-1066) Credits: 3
HIEU 4511 - Colloquium in Pre-1700 European History Credits: 4
HIME 2001 - The Making of the Islamic World Credits: 4
HIME 3192 - From Nomads to Sultans: the Ottoman Empire, 1300-1700 Credits: 3
HIME 3501 - Introductory History Workshop Credits: 3
HIST 4501 - Major Seminar Credits: 4

Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures

MESA 3270 - A History of Astrology Credits: 3
MEST 3492 - The Afro-Arabs and Africans of the Middle East and North Africa Credits: 3
PETR 3131 - Love, Lust, and the Divine in Persian Literature Credits: 3

Philosophy

PHIL 2110 - History of Philosophy: Ancient and Medieval Credits: 3

Politics

PLPT 3010 - Ancient and Medieval Political Theory Credits: 3

Religious Studies

RELC 2050 - The Rise of Christianity Credits: 3
RELC 3006 - Augustine’s City of God Credits: 3
RELC 3181 - Medieval Christianity Credits: 3
RELC 3675 - Women in Ancient and Medieval Christianity Credits: 3
RELG 2495 - Religious Violence in the West: From the Crusades to #Charlottesville Credits: 3
RELG 2820 - Jerusalem Credits: 3
RELI 2024 - Jewish-Muslim Relations Credits: 3
RELI 2070 - Classical Islam Credits: 3
RELI 2080 - Global Islam Credits: 3
RELI 3355 - Prophecy in Islam and Judaism Credits: 3
RELI 5415 - Introduction to Arabic and Islamic Studies Credits: 3
RELJ 3355 - Prophecy in Islam and Judaism Credits: 3

Spanish, Italian and Portuguese

ITTR 2260 - Dante in Translation Credits: 3
SPAN 3400 - Spain: From Kingdom to Empire (1200 - 1700) Credits: 3
SPAN 4200 - The Origin of Spanish and its Transformation Credits: 3

Distinguished Major

The Distinguished Majors Program (DMP) offers students the opportunity to graduate with distinction by pursuing in-depth research involving analysis of issues and topics related to their major and culminating in the writing of a thesis. To qualify, students must satisfy the following requirements (in addition to all the normal requirements of the major):

During their 4th year, students must enroll in MSP 4998 (in the Fall) and MSP 4999 (in the Spring), which together comprise a six-hour sequence of tutorial work meant to guide them through the research and writing of their thesis;
Students are responsible for obtaining the agreement of one MSP faculty member to serve as their thesis advisor.
The standards for admission, program requirements, and evaluation procedures are outlined below.

Admission into the DMP occurs in the Spring semester of the student’s third year. Applicants must have declared the MSP major. Applicants must have a GPA of 3.4 or above in both their major GPA and general GPA. Applications should include the following:

A statement of interest explaining the student’s desire to enter the program and his/her/their general area of research interest, mentioning which faculty member the student might approach as advisor;
A writing sample (ex: a strong paper written for a course);
One confidential letter of recommendation from an MSP faculty member sent to the Director of Medieval Studies or sealed and submitted by the student with the other application materials;
A copy of the student’s most recent transcript.

Distinguished Major Requirements

Satisfy all the distribution rules for the MSP major
Complete a Senior Thesis (MSP 4998 and MSP4999).

Students in the Distinguished Majors Program are required to write a thesis of high quality (in addition to completing all the requirements of their major).

DMP students must enroll in MSP 4998 and MSP 4999.
- MSP 4998 (3 credits) is offered during the Fall semester and consists of gathering sources and research materials as well as submitting an outline and thesis statement along with a literature review.
- MSP 4999 (3 credits) is offered during the Spring semester and focuses on drafting, revising, and finalizing the thesis.
- Note that these two courses do not count towards the distribution requirement of the student’s degree.
Students are responsible for obtaining the agreement of one MSP faculty member who will serve as their thesis advisors and the approval of the Director of MSP.
Students are encouraged to use primary language sources in researching their thesis.
The minimum length of the thesis is 11,000-13,000 words (approximately 40-50 pages).
The faculty advisor and the MSP Director determine the degree of distinction earned by the DMP student.

Additional Information

For more information, please contact: Deborah McGrady, Department of French Languages & Literatures, 359 New Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, PO Box 400130, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4130.