Celtic & Scottish Studies

Welcome to Celtic and Scottish Studies, the longest established Celtic department in Scotland, and home of the School of Scottish Studies Archives.

The study of Celtic at the University of Edinburgh goes back to 1882, while the School of Scottish Studies was founded in 1951 to collect, archive and promote the cultural traditions of the nation.

Brought together in 2001, our multidisciplinary team delivers teaching and supervision across a broad range of specialist areas and is committed to excellence in research and publication.

We also play a highly visible public role, ranging from advising government and other bodies on language issues involving Gaelic at all levels, to developing and supporting public and community engagement with the traditional arts in Scotland and beyond.

Choose a Masters by Research or PhD in your area of interest and expertise, from traditional arts and culture to Gaelic development and policy. 

We welcome students from a range of backgrounds, so your undergraduate degree does not need to have been in Celtic and Scottish Studies.

Established in 1951, the School of Scottish Studies Archives comprise extensive collections on the cultural traditions and folklore of Scotland and its people. At their core is the ethnological fieldwork undertaken by staff and students over the past 70 years, including a sound archive of some 33,000 recordings, a photographic archive containing thousands of images from the 1930s onwards, a film and video collection, and a manuscript archive.