University to offer master’s degree in witchcraft, magic and occult science

A new master’s degree in witchcraft, magic, and occult science is scheduled to be offered September 2024 at the University of Exeter in England as faculty cite growing student interest.

The new program will explore “specific interests within the long and diverse history of esotericism, witchcraft, ritual magic, occult science, and related topics,” and “build interdisciplinary expertise,” according to the university website.

Students will study history, literature, philosophy, archaeology, sociology, psychology, drama, and religion to understand “the role of magic on the west and east,” The Guardian reported.

“A recent surge in interest in magic and the occult inside and outside academia lies at the heart of the most urgent questions of our society,” Professor Emily Selove, director of the new program, told the newspaper.

The new post-graduate program will be housed within the university’s Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies. The placement will help students understand “the Arabo-Islamic cultural heritage back where it belongs” with “decolonisation, the exploration of alternative epistemologies, feminism, and anti-racism…at the core” of the program, according to its website.