WELCOME
Welcome to Medieval and Renaissance Studies (MRST) at the University of Tennessee! Students in our interdisciplinary program study the events and cultures of the rich period stretching from 300 to 1700 C.E. Students can take courses from approximately 40 faculty members across eight affiliated departments. We explore developments in Europe, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean during these centuries from the perspective of many fields: architecture, art history, archaeology, history, literature and languages, music, religious studies, philosophy, and political science. Our curriculum introduces students to these fields and their methods, while allowing them to concentrate on the eras and approaches that excite them most.
In MRST classes, students and faculty together encounter the past as “another country” in order to understand the conditions that have shaped today’s increasingly interconnected world. MRST majors and minors graduate with a multifaceted understanding of the medieval and Renaissance worlds and with skills essential for the job market, including sensitivity to cultural, linguistic, and historical difference and experience making contemporary sense of the texts and contexts of past times.
Major & Minor in Medieval and Renaissance Studies (MRST)
The University of Tennessee offers an undergraduate major and minor in Medieval and Renaissance Studies (MRST) as part of UT’s Interdisciplinary Programs (IDPs).
For more information, see the catalog descriptions of each program:
If you wish to declare an MRST major or minor, please arrange a meeting with Marco’s Riggsby Director by sending an email to marco@utk.edu.
More from Marco:
- Opportunities to submit essays for awards
- Opportunities to participate in and volunteer for Marco events
- Use of the Marco Riggsby Library and Reading Room for MRST majors and minors
- MARCUS (Medieval and Renaissance Club for Undergraduate Students), a club that fosters community among peers
- A lounge available to MRST students
Did you know that many famous celebrities majored in medieval or early modern fields in college? Here’s a sampling:
 J.R.R. Tolkien – Author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings |
 Philippa Gregory – Author of The Other Boleyn Girl and The White Queen |
 Anthony Ervin – Olympic gold medalist and swimmer |
 Tony Kushner – Playwright and screenwriter, author of Angels in America |
 Caitlin Doughty – Mortician, activist, vlogger |
 Ashton Carter – Physicist, 25th United States Secretary of Defense |
 Melissa Clark – NY Times food writer |
 Terry Jones – Actor and historian, founding member of Monty Python |
 Sterling Morrison – Guitarist, co-founder of the Velvet Underground |