UK university to offer Master's degree in magic next year
Rhiannon Ingle
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For anyone wishing they could have joined the likes of Harry, Hermione and Ron at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - you're in luck.
One UK university is now offering prospective students the chance to get a Masters degree in magic next year.
The University of Exeter's brand-new Masters programme in Magic and Occult Science is pretty spell-binding considering it is one of the first of its kind from a British uni.
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And, for anyone interested, you'll be pleased to know you won't have to wait for Hedwig to come and beak-deliver you an acceptance letter as applications are open now with the course kicking off in September 2024.
The 'innovative' course, which will last one year full-time and two years part-time, came about after a 'recent surge in interest in magic', according to the course leader, Professor Emily Selove.
The course is said to offer students the opportunity to build interdisciplinary expertise whilst exploring their specific interests within 'the long and diverse history of esotericism, witchcraft, ritual magic, occult science' and other related topics.
Not only does the programme have some pretty cool-sounding module titles, including 'The Western Dragon in Lore, Literature and Art' as well as 'Esotericism and the Magical Tradition' but it also welcomes MA students to partake in monthly meetings and local field trips.
Speaking about the MA degree, which will be offered in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, Selove said: "A recent surge in interest in magic and the occult inside and outside of academia lies at the heart of the most urgent questions of our society.
"Decolonisation, the exploration of alternative epistemologies, feminism and anti-racism are at the core of this programme."
She added: "This MA will allow people to re-examine the assumption that the West is the place of rationalism and science, while the rest of the world is a place of magic and superstition."
The University of Exeter has said the course will allow students to graduate with the skills to and knowledge needed to 'influence and drive business strategies that make a positive contribution to the environment and society'.
Students will be able to explore key topics including magic in Greece and Rome, occult texts in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the history of witchcraft, magic in literature and folklore, deception and illusion, and the history of science and medicine.
"By housing this program within the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, we place the Arabo-Islamic cultural heritage back where it belongs in the centre of these studies and in the history of the 'West'," the university states.
"Decolonisation, the exploration of alternative epistemologies, feminism, and anti-racism are at the core of this programme."
You can find out more about the course here.
Tyla has reached out to the University of Exeter for comment.