This Master's degree trains students in the core subjects of manuscript studies while building hands‑on, specialist skills. The programme emphasizes independent, critical and analytical approaches to working with manuscripts from a wide geographical range — Asia, Africa and Europe — and prepares students to handle the full range of material evidence they contain, from texts and images to marginal notes and diagrams.
You will be taught methods for both cultural and scientific investigation of manuscripts, including techniques of material analysis, and encouraged to devise creative research strategies for addressing complex scholarly questions. The programme is embedded in a lively research setting: it is supported by the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC), which provides access to a broad calendar of guest lectures, conferences and workshops that enrich study and networking opportunities.
Programme requirements / expectations
This curriculum brings together humanities and scientific approaches to the study of manuscripts. The core humanities module (MC-1) introduces the key terminology, methods and concepts used in manuscript research through close study of representative manuscript cultures across different types, regions and historical periods. You will work with the fundamentals of codicology, palaeography, textual criticism and cataloguing, and learn to interpret manuscripts as physical objects—understanding their material construction, modes of production, patterns of transmission and the ways texts and artefacts interact within their cultural contexts.
The companion scientific module (MC-2) provides grounding in the relevant natural‑science disciplines—physics, chemistry, biology and computer science—and shows how those fields inform the material study of manuscripts. The module covers theoretical principles and analytical techniques for scientific materials analysis and gives hands‑on experience: students carry out experimental applications of these methods in a fully equipped manuscripts research laboratory. Together, the two modules train you to combine close reading and historical methods with technical analysis to form integrated, evidence‑based interpretations of manuscript sources.
These elements equip you with transferable skills—critical analysis of texts and materials, laboratory and analytical techniques, academic writing and presentation abilities—useful for careers in research, archives, libraries, conservation, and other cultural heritage roles.
This programme expects applicants to hold a first university degree in a relevant humanities field, but it is also open to suitably qualified candidates from other backgrounds who can demonstrate a clear interest in manuscripts and inscriptions. Degrees from German institutions or recognised foreign universities are accepted. If your undergraduate subject is closely related to the ones taught in the programme, you are encouraged to apply.
Applicants with a background in the natural sciences or computer science are explicitly welcome provided they can show a genuine interest in manuscript or inscription studies. For full details on document requirements, recognition of international degrees and any specific additional criteria, please consult the programme website.
Admission requirements (summary)
Winter Semester (International)
Applications will be opened in the summer for a beginning of studies in April of the following year.
Graduates acquire specialist skills in manuscript research (codicology, palaeography, textual criticism), scientific material analysis, cataloguing, and interdisciplinary research methods. These competencies prepare alumni for research and academic roles related to manuscript studies and cultural heritage.
Typical career paths include positions in museums, archives, and libraries (curation, cataloguing, conservation), roles in cultural heritage institutions and research centres, and further academic study (PhD). The programme’s laboratory training and interdisciplinary profile also supports employment in conservation science, digital humanities projects, and policy or advisory roles connected to manuscript preservation and access.