Undergraduate study | Scottish Studies

Explore our modern European nation, with its rich and fascinating heritage, from a variety of perspectives in a highly flexible, interdisciplinary degree.

Why study Scottish Studies in Edinburgh?

The capital city of Scotland - a UNESCO World Heritage Site and seat of the Scottish Parliament - is the ideal place to study the nation. On our programme you will explore what we can learn from Scotland's past and present, and how we can help shape its future.

Based within an award-winning department in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, you’ll engage with a wide range of disciplines across the University of Edinburgh that share a common interest in the study of Scotland. You can, for example, draw on courses from Celtic, history, politics, sociology and archaeology, and study these alongside ethnology, heritage, the creative arts and cultural expression.

You’ll apply arts, humanities and social sciences approaches in your learning, discovering how literature, music and visual arts have helped to shape Scottish identity. You will also consider the complex relationship between culture and politics, as you draw parallels with other countries and capitalise on the University's excellent links with Scotland’s key political, cultural and historical institutions.

You'll benefit from small class sizes, teachers who are immersed in Scottish culture beyond the classroom, and excellent resources. These include the internationally-acclaimed School of Scottish Studies Archives, comprising thousands of hours of recordings of songs, music, stories, rhyme and verse in Scots, Gaelic and English, as well as in dialects now extinct.

I literally love what I am studying, and I cannot be happier with my choice. The subjects' offer is huge, and the materials provided are really interesting. I warmly recommend Scottish Studies to everyone who is interested in understanding Scotland and is passionate about it.

 

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QS World Rankings by Subject 2024

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QS graphic on orange background, text reads #3 in the UK, World Top 10

The University of Edinburgh is ranked 3rd in the UK for Modern Languages.

We are ranked 4th in the UK in the broad subject area of Arts & Humanities.

Globally, we’re in the World Top 10 for Modern Languages (10).

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.