The MA in The Beginnings of Irish Christianity is a full-time programme taken over 12 months or a part-time programme taken over 24 months from the date of first registration for the programme.

Candidates should normally hold an honours primary degree with Second Class Honours Grade 1 (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline.  Candidates who hold a primary degree with a Second Class Honours Grade 2 will also be considered subject to the approval of the programme selection committee.

Students take 90 credits as follows:

Part 1 (60 credits)

Core Modules
CC6014 Independent Research: Early Christian Ireland (10 credits) or CC6021 Devotion and Belief in Pre-Norman Ireland (10 credits)
Students who have previously studied Celtic Civilisation in UCC or students who have studied an equivalent in their undergraduate studies must register for CC6014. All other students must register for CC6021.

Elective Modules
The choice of modules is made in consultation with the student's supervisor and is subject to the approval of the Programme Coordinator. The availability of modules, including CC6013 are subject to timetable requirements and/or sufficient student demand in any given year or Semester.

Students who have not previously taken the following undergraduate modules may take up to 15 credits from:
AR2034 The Archaeology of Early Medieval Ireland and Britain (5 credits)
AR3039 The Archaeology of Early Medieval Ireland (5 credits)
GR2031 The Rise of Christianity (5 credits)
HI3051 Ireland and the Beginnings of Europe (5 credits)
HI3052 From Pagans to Christians (5 credits)
LT2009 Reading Latin (5 credits)

The remaining elective modules are to be chosen from the following:
CC6001 Old Irish (10 credits) or CC6011 Continuing Old Irish (10 credits)
CC6005 Research Seminar (10 credits)
CC6006 Special Topic (10 credits)
CC6008 Palaeography and Manuscript-based Research (10 credits)
CC6013 Field Trips to Early Christian Sites (15 credits)
CC6022The Earliest Vernacular Literature: Monasticism and Literacy in Early Christian Ireland and Wales (10 credits)
CC6023 The Culture of Gender in Early Ireland (10 credits)
LT6001 Beginners' Latin (15 credits)

Note:
Students who take the core module CC6014 may not select the elective module CC6006.
Students who have previously taken CC2003 may not select CC6022.
Students who have previously taken CC2011 may not select CC6023.

Part II
CC6016 Dissertation in the Beginnings of Irish Christianity (30 credits)
The Dissertation, of 15,000 words, must be on a topic chosen in consultation with the Department.

Postgraduate Diploma in The Beginnings of Irish Christianity
Upon satisfactory completion of 60 credits, students may opt not to complete the dissertation and exit the programme and be conferred with a Postgraduate Diploma in The Beginnings of Irish Christianity. A student who subsequently applies to continue to Master’s level must do so within 5 years of successful completion of the Postgraduate Diploma.

Postgraduate Certificate in The Beginnings of Irish Christianity
Upon satisfactory completion of 30 credits (10 credits of which must be a core module), students may opt to exit the programme and be conferred with a Postgraduate Certificate in The Beginnings of Irish Christianity.

Examinations
Full details and regulations governing Examinations for each programme will be contained in the Marks and Standards 2020/2021 Book and for each module in the Book of Modules, 2020/2021.

Programme Learning Outcomes for MA in The Beginnings of Irish Christianity (NFQ Level 9 Major Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Command a comprehensive knowledge of the early Latin church from which medieval Irish religious culture arose, and of which it continued to form a part;
• Identify the strategies whereby Irish Christianity accommodated important elements of the indigenous culture;
• Draw upon in-depth familiarity with a broad range of different types of medieval Irish religious literature;
• Clearly formulate, and apply in their work, an understanding of the cultural dynamic which rendered the early Irish church so distinctive while at the same time being open to the wider world;
• Utilise and communicate an integrated vision of the subject, informed both by literary evidence and physical remains;
• Make confident use of individual initiative and developed analytic skills in carrying out supervised research.

Programme Learning Outcomes for Postgraduate Diploma in The Beginnings of Irish Christianity (NFQ Level 9 Major Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Command a comprehensive knowledge of the early Latin church from which medieval Irish religious culture arose, and of which it continued to form a part;
• Identify the strategies whereby Irish Christianity accommodated important elements of the indigenous culture;
• Draw upon in-depth familiarity with a broad range of different types of medieval Irish religious literature;
• Clearly formulate, and apply in their work, an understanding of the cultural dynamic which rendered the early Irish church so distinctive while at the same time being open to the wider world;
• Utilise and communicate an integrated vision of the subject, informed both by literary evidence and physical remains.

Programme Learning Outcomes for Postgraduate Certificate in The Beginnings of Irish Christianity (NFQ Level 9 Minor Award)
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Command a comprehensive knowledge of the early Latin church from which medieval Irish religious culture arose, and of which it continued to form a part;
• Identify the strategies whereby Irish Christianity accommodated important elements of the indigenous culture;
• Draw upon in-depth familiarity with a broad range of different types of medieval Irish religious literature;
• Clearly formulate, and apply in their work, an understanding of the cultural dynamic which rendered the early Irish church so distinctive while at the same time being open to the wider world;
• Explicate the spiritual dimension of Irish cosmological speculation;
• Analyse the role of Irish saints’ Lives in contemporary society.