Year 1: 6 subjects chosen from following 10: Anglo-Saxon history; Scandinavian history; Gaelic history (Scotland and Ireland); Brittonic history (Wales and Brittany); insular Latin; old English; old Norse; Medieval Welsh; Medieval Irish; palaeography (the study of manuscripts and handwriting). Year 2: Students continue to study their chosen subjects and take an examination in all 6 of them; they can also substitute a dissertation for 1 paper, and/or select up to 2 subjects from 4 in related fields. Year 3: Students study 4 subjects selected from a range of 15, which are designed to give students the opportunity to pursue more detailed study in their chosen areas; plus a dissertation of between 5,000 and 12,000 words on a specific subject of the student's own choice.