Application deadline
Thursday 7 August 2025
Applicants should apply as early as possible to be eligible for certain scholarships.
“Highlights were learning about the history of the book trade and print in the early modern period while also analysing the books themselves. The people are wonderful and I can honestly say that everyone I’ve worked with has been invested in my journey and cared about my success.”
- Massachusetts, USA
Entry requirements
- A 2.1 Honours undergraduate degree in a subject-related area. If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements.
- English language proficiency. See English language tests and qualifications.
The qualifications listed are indicative minimum requirements for entry. Some academic Schools will ask applicants to achieve significantly higher marks than the minimum. Obtaining the listed entry requirements will not guarantee you a place, as the University considers all aspects of every application including, where applicable, the writing sample, personal statement, and supporting documents.
Application requirements
- CV that includes your personal details with a history of your education and employment to date
- personal statement (optional)
- sample of your own, single-authored academic written work (2,000 words)
- two original signed academic references
- academic transcripts and degree certificates
For more guidance, see supporting documents and references for postgraduate taught programmes.
English language proficiency
If English is not your first language, you may need to provide an English language test score to evidence your English language ability. See approved English language tests and scores for this course.
Course details
The MLitt in Book History is a taught postgraduate programme run by the School of History.
Highlights
- You will acquire the technical skills required for rare book scholarship and curatorship.
- The programme provides a deep understanding of key issues and methods in book history and familiarises you with the invention, development, spread and transformation of printing.
- Circumstances allowing, you will be introduced to a range of libraries and rare book collections, members of the antiquarian book trade and digital techniques.
- You will take part in our annual international book history conference, now in its 16th year.
- You can undertake skills training in palaeography and either Latin or a modern foreign language.
Modules
The modules published below are examples of what has been taught in previous academic years and may be subject to change before you start your course. For more details of each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the module catalogue.
Each module typically comprises:
- fortnightly seminars or weekly two-hour seminars
- 100% coursework assessment.
- The Book in Early Modern Europe 1 and 2: provide students with a good understanding of key issues and methods in book history from 1445 to 1830.
- Material Bibliography 1 and 2: cover the use of the book as historical evidence, and practical aspects of cataloguing and Special Collections work.
Students can choose either four optional modules or two optional modules along with the Directed Reading module.
- Directed Reading in Modern History: designed to encourage the development of skills of historical analysis through concentrated study of a topic chosen by the student prior to the dissertation.
- Early Modern Documents and Sources: provides a wide-ranging introduction to the types of source material which researchers on the early modern period may encounter.
- Latin for Early Modern History 1: provides three tiers of Latin teaching (beginners, intermediate, and advanced) for students with earlier or no experience.
- Cataloguing Project: offers an independent book cataloguing project designed to encourage the development of skills related to bibliographical data gathering and analysis.
- Paleography and Manuscript Studies: provides a wide-ranging introduction to reading and handling original source material of all types which researchers of the early modern period may encounter. The course will trace the development of mainstream European handwriting styles from the late 15th to the 18th centuries.
Optional modules are subject to change each year and require a minimum number of participants to be offered; some may only allow limited numbers of students (see the University’s position on curriculum development).
Student dissertations will be supervised by members of the teaching staff who will advise on the choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the research process. The completed dissertation of not more than 15,000 words must be submitted by a date specified in August.
If students choose not to complete the dissertation requirement for the MLitt, there is an exit award available that allows suitably qualified candidates to receive a Postgraduate Diploma. By choosing an exit award, you will finish your degree at the end of the second semester of study and receive a PGDip instead of an MLitt.
Teaching
The MLitt course comprises two semesters of taught courses followed by a dissertation (15,000 words) completed during the summer on a subject of the student’s own design.
The optional components of the course are carefully designed to meet each student’s intentions: structured preparations for undertaking a PhD, professional development, or personal scholarly interests.
Teaching methods include fortnightly seminars and practical classes.
Class sizes range from individual supervision up to eight students.
The modules are assessed by coursework only; there is no final exam.
Events
Those taking this MLitt will automatically be enrolled in the St Andrews annual international book history conference.
The School of History also hosts an early modern history seminar which meets regularly throughout the teaching period from September to April. Papers are given by both St Andrews historians and invited guests.
Fees
Home
£12,030
Overseas
£25,900
Application fee
Before we can begin processing your application, a payment of an application fee of £50 is required. In some instances, you may be eligible for an application fee waiver. Details of this, along with information on our tuition fees, can be found on the postgraduate fees and funding page.
Funding and scholarships
The University of St Andrews is committed to attracting the very best students, regardless of financial circumstances.
The School of History is pleased to be able to offer a number of competitive scholarships which contribute to the fees and maintenance for postgraduate study.
School of History MLitt Awards
These awards offer the cash equivalent of one year's home fees and cannot be held in conjunction with other awards offering full fees and maintenance.
Whenever it is relevant to your programme and possible, the School makes available competitive language bursaries for training prior to the start of an MLitt programme. To find out more, please contact pghist@st-andrews.ac.uk as early as possible. Note that, when available, the application deadline is normally in early Spring.
15% Recent Graduate Discount
If you have graduated from the University within the last three academic years, you may be eligible for a 15% discount on postgraduate taught tuition fees. Terms and conditions apply.
After your degree
Careers
History postgraduates go on to pursue careers in a range of sectors including:
- librarianship
- rare book trade
- journalism
- publishing
- think tanks
- government
- law
- teaching
The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students in building their employability skills.
Further study
Many graduates continue their education by enrolling in PhD programmes at St Andrews or elsewhere.
Postgraduate researchContact us
- Phone
- +44 (0)1334 46 2900
- pghist@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Address
- School of History
St Katharine's Lodge
The Scores
St Andrews
KY16 9BA