In the 17th century, three women were hanged in Exeter accused of witchcraft. It was the last execution of its kind in all of England. Today, just a few steps from that very site, the University of Exeter offers an official master’s degree in Magic and Occult Sciences, the first of its kind in Great Britain.
The program began in September 2024 and lasts one year full-time, or two part-time. It is taught on the Streatham campus, within the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, and its approach is interdisciplinary: history, philosophy, literature, theater, and religion converge in a single curriculum. It is led by Emily Selove, associate professor of medieval Arabic literature, who describes the program as an exploration of methodologies outside the conventional. The cost for international students is around 24.300 pounds sterling, about 30.700 dollars, for the full year.
Graduates can go into museums, arts organizations, spiritual retreats, or academic research. The university also has a Centre for Magic and Esotericism made up of 22 experts, unique of its kind. What for centuries was a cause for persecution now has a degree and an academic record.