Postgraduate study

Providing excellent teaching and supervision, we offer postgraduate programmes ranging from one-year masters degrees to our PhD in Celtic and Scottish Studies.

Masters by Research (MScR) programmes

Full-time, one year (all students) ꟾ part-time, two years (eligibility criteria apply)

A Masters by Research (MScR) programme is ideal if you would like to complete a short piece of independent research in Celtic and Scottish Studies. It is a good stepping stone to a PhD, but is equally of value as a stand-alone qualification.

We currently offer two different MScR programmes:

  • Masters by Research (MScR) in Celtic Studies
  • Masters by Research (MScR) in Scottish Ethnology

On each programme:

  • you will take courses in research skills and methods
  • you will complete two research assignments, each of 5,000 words
  • you will write a 20,000 word dissertation under the guidance of an experienced and well-published supervisor

PhD programme

Full-time, three years (all students) ꟾ part-time, six years (eligibility criteria apply)

Doctorate-level study is an opportunity to expand upon your interests and expertise in a community that really values research, and to make an original, positive contribution to learning in Celtic Studies and Scottish Studies.

Our programme includes access to training on research skills, methods, and problems, including research methodologies specific to Celtic Studies and Scottish Studies. You will be assigned at least two supervisors.

Over the course of your PhD, you will be expected to complete an original body of work under the expert guidance of your supervisors leading to a dissertation of between 70,000 and 100,000 words.

Before you apply, it's a good idea to have a look at the interests and expertise of our research community by browsing a list of our staff and their specialisms. We have also published guidelines on how to write a proposal for the PhD in Celtic Studies and Scottish Studies.

Over the course of your PhD, you will be supervised by at least two members of academic staff with expertise in your area of research. For Masters by Research, it is one supervisor.

Links will take you to staff profiles on Edinburgh Research Explorer where you can further explore the specialisms summarised through research outputs and activities. 

Subject areaResearcherSpecialisms
Celtic StudiesProfessor Rob DunbarLanguage policy and planning for Scottish Gaelic and minoritised languages; Gaelic broadcasting; Gaelic literature, culture and society from the late 18th to the early 20th century; Gaelic in Canada. 
Dr Anja Gunderloch17th to 19th century Scottish Gaelic literary and cultural tradition; the heroic ballads of Gaelic Scotland
Dr Kate MathisMedieval Welsh poetry and prose; elegy and lament poetry (medieval/early modern, Welsh or Gaelic); women's poetry in Gaelic Scotland (pre-1800); anglophone authors of the Celtic Revival
Dr Peadar O'MuircheartaighGaelic languages and linguistics; Irish/Gaelic manuscript studies; literature and literary history of Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx from c. 1550 to 1900
Dr Duncan SneddonMedieval Gaelic literature; early medieval Scottish and Irish religious history; Fiannaigheachd; Gaelic folklore and Gaelic religious literature from the medieval to modern periods
Scottish EthnologyProfessor Will LambScottish Gaelic linguistics and dialectology; traditional narrative and folklore; Scottish traditional song and music
Dr Neill MartinRitual and language; traditional cultural forms and cosmology; non-narrative oral poetry; carnival and festive culture, invented traditions and identity politics in post-Soviet Europe
Dr Willow MullinsFolklore; vernacular culture; environmental humanities (especially weatherlore and foodways)
Dr Lori WatsonTraditional arts, particularly contemporary folk music practice, creativity and performance, Scottish fiddle playing and Scots song; ethnomusicology

Please note that the staff listed here are eligible to supervise PhD and masters research but may not currently be taking on new students. To check availability, or seek further advice on the best supervisory fit for your PhD thesis (or masters dissertation), please contact our Departmental Postgraduate Research Director.

The Departmental Postgraduate Research Director will also be able to advise you about supervision expertise beyond your main subject area or discipline, including in other Schools at the University of Edinburgh. This is particularly useful if your research is interdisciplinary.


Read our guidelines on how to write a PhD research proposal

Entrance requirements, fees, funding and more...

The University of Edinburgh Degree Finder gives you lots of information about what topics and themes we can supervise in Celtic and Scottish Studies.

You can also use Degree Finder to find out about:

  • application deadlines
  • entrance requirements
  • start dates
  • fees and scholarship opportunities 

Degree Finder links straight through to EUCLID, the online system for applying to postgraduate programmes at the University of Edinburgh.

Not sure which programme is right for you?

We're happy to help you decide.

Email us about postgraduate study in Celtic and Scottish Studies

What's it like to study here?

Our award-winning department is small, friendly and innovative. Students come from a range of disciplinary and personal backgrounds, so your undergraduate degree does not need to have been in Celtic and Scottish Studies to apply.

Based in Scotland’s capital and festival city, we are at the forefront of policy development and cultural innovation. Working at the cutting edge of linguistic, cultural and sociolinguistic research in the Celtic languages, we lead the way for future language planning and maintenance, particularly for Scottish Gaelic.

As a postgraduate student, you’ll have lots of opportunities to engage in our community, including regular seminar series throughout term time (with talks by staff, research students and visiting speakers), the annual O’Donnell Lecture, performances and traditional music sessions, and a range of conferences.

Photo of two people using recording equipment

Passionate about music, literature, song and storytelling, we have strong links with Bòrd na Gàidhlig, the National Library of Scotland, the Scottish Storytelling Centre and National Museum of Scotland. We also have a great relationship with student societies, including An Comunn Ceilteach (The Highland Society), organisers of the city’s largest annual cèilidh.

Our research resources and facilities are outstanding. We are ideally placed to explore the theory and practice of working with archives, drawing extensively on an unrivalled range of sound, video, film and photographic resources in the School of Scottish Studies Archives, including as a catalyst for performance. You can also draw on the expertise of our Traditional Artist in Residence.

I think the thing that has influenced and inspired me most has been the people, and how inviting and welcoming the whole community has been in this department. Through being actively involved in conferences, students learn quite a bit about how information is transmitted among academics and also presentation skills, which are important for so much.

Dhanya Baird Dhanya is a Celtic & Scottish Studies PhD graduate who has organised and presented at multiple conferences.

It’s impossible to do justice to the positive impact that the staff - teaching, administrative, and Archive - have had on me. Right from the start, they communicated a real enthusiasm for and delight in the subject area, and a warm collaborative openness towards the students which manifested itself in giving us freedom to let us explore our own research interests.

Dr Ella Leith Ella has completed an MA (Hons) and MSc by Research in Scottish Ethnology and a PhD in Celtic & Scottish Studies

Research Excellence

In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), our research was submitted in Modern Languages and Linguistics (UOA 26).

The results reaffirm Edinburgh’s position as one of the UK’s leading research universities - third in the UK based on the quality and breadth of its research in UOA 26, according to Times Higher Education's REF power ratings.

The Research Excellence Framework is the UK’s system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions.

Our REF performance recognises that our excellent work has a direct impact both nationally and internationally in politics, business and the third sector.

Photo of panellists talking at an event with a graphic saying 3rd in the UK

QS World Rankings by Subject 2026

The University of Edinburgh is ranked 4th in the UK and 9th in the world for Arts and Humanities.

The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings are based on research citations and the results of major global surveys of employers and academics.

They are International Ranking Expert Group (IREG) approved.


Are you currently studying with us?

There’s lots more information for taught and postgraduate research students on our LLC Student Information Hub. You will need your student log in to access the site.

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