Scottish Ethnology and Celtic MA (Hons)

Level: Undergraduate

Subject: Scottish Ethnology and Studies

Year of entry: 2026

Key facts

UCAS Code

VQ95

Award

MA (Hons)

Duration of study

4 years

Delivery

Full-time

Study location

Central Area

Start date

September 2026

School

School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures

College

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Study abroad

Available

Placement

No

Open days and events

About the degree programme

Uncover Scotland’s past and help shape its future, while gaining skills that you can apply to any culture.

This joint honours programme gives you the opportunity to study the languages, literatures and cultures of Scotland alongside the wider Celtic world, past and present.

A highlight of the programme is the chance to work with the rich range of materials in the School of Scottish Studies Archives. These include thousands of recordings in Scots, Gaelic, English, and dialects now extinct.

As well as our fantastic teaching staff, you will benefit from the expertise of our Traditional Artist and Gaelic Writer in Residence.

Graduating in this programme shows an openness to ideas and perspectives other than your own, an essential attribute in many careers and a global marketplace.

Scottish Ethnology 

Ethnology is the study of the culture and traditions of developed societies. It is sometimes described as being at the intersection where history and anthropology meet. 

While ethnology is commonly offered in universities across Europe, this is the only full undergraduate programme of its kind in the UK. 

Focusing on Scotland, but also looking at comparative material from elsewhere, you will study the varying ways in which a modern European nation expresses itself culturally.

The programme explores questions such as:

  • How do customs, beliefs, social organisation, language, music and song help to create and shape identity in the modern world? 
  • How do we use and make sense of the past from within our present? 
  • How can this understanding help us to shape our future? 

Celtic

Study Celtic at the University of Edinburgh and you will learn about extraordinarily rich cultures from the Middle Ages to the 21st century.

At all levels of study on our four-year joint honours programme, we offer courses in the languages, literatures, histories, and cultures of the Celtic world. This allows you to specialise in particular areas, periods and disciplines.

You have the option to study Scottish Gaelic and build up to advanced competency in the language. It does not matter if you are a complete beginner; we stream our Year 1 classes to suit learners at a range of levels. This gives you the skills to directly engage with primary sources, developing a deeper understanding of Scottish literature and culture. 

At honours level, you can also learn a medieval Celtic language - Old Irish or Middle Welsh.

How long it takes to complete this degree programme

This programme is studied over 4 years. This enables us to build choice and flexibility into your studies, giving you time to explore options, find what you like and build your skills.

Your first two years will be your pre-honours years. You will take courses on conceptualising, creating and visualising Scotland, and be introduced to the study of oral material from our archives. You can study the Scottish Gaelic language, learn about Celtic civilisation and literature, or combine the two.

In addition to your core courses, you will broaden your education and skill set by choosing option courses from a range of disciplines. This gives you the chance to build your intercultural awareness in other areas of the arts, humanities, social sciences and beyond.

Your final two years will be your honours years. They will be tailored to your interests in specific topics or approaches to Scottish Ethnology and Celtic Studies. If you have chosen to study Scottish Gaelic, you'll progress to advanced language study in these years.

How a joint degree programme works

You will study both Scottish Ethnology and Celtic to degree level, as well as taking optional courses in Years 1 and 2.

Both subjects are based in the department of Celtic and Scottish Studies in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) at the University of Edinburgh.

The study of Celtic at 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. These subjects were brought together in 2001 to form the department of Celtic and Scottish Studies, a tight-knit community of staff and students.

Your teaching will take place in and around the main LLC building in the University's Central Area.

Programme rankings

  • 3rd in the UK for Modern Languages
  • 3rd in the UK in the Arts & Humanities

Rankings from QS World Rankings by Subject 2025

Programme benefits

  • Take the only programme of its kind in the world.
  • Learn in the heart of Scotland's capital city.
  • Be inspired by traditional musicians, composers and storytellers.
  • Delve into fantastic libraries, archives and collections.
  • Try out different subjects in your first two years.
  • Join societies related to what you are studying.

Find your entry requirements

Use the dropdowns to find out your entry requirements.

  1. Select the country where you are studying or where you studied your qualification.
  2. Select the qualification you are studying or studied.
United Kingdom,

Tuition fees for MA (Hons) Scottish Ethnology and Celtic

View the tuition fees for one academic year of MA (Hons) Scottish Ethnology and Celtic.

Tuition fees for this programme

Additional costs

Depending on the courses you choose as part of your programme, you may have opportunities to take part in fieldwork and excursions. The costs involved will vary according to location.

There are likely to be additional costs if you choose to study abroad in Year 3.

Accommodation and living costs

You need to cover your accommodation and living costs for the duration of your programme.

We estimate that a single student can potentially spend a maximum of £920 to £2,257 on living costs each month, depending on your accommodation.

This estimate covers the costs of:

  • accommodation
  • food
  • utility bills
  • travel within Edinburgh
  • health and wellbeing costs

See a breakdown of living costs

Scholarships and funding

Funding information

You can find detailed information on financial support available, based on where you are living, in our funding section.

Funding

What you will study

Scottish Ethnology

You will study the following courses:

  • Conceptualising Scotland
  • Creating Scotland
Conceptualising Scotland

This course will introduce you to the study of culture, society and tradition in Scotland.

You will explore competing conceptions and images of the nation through the study of:

  • heritage
  • literature
  • folklore
  • music and song
  • visual art
  • the popular media

You will also consider cultural representation’s political context, and the connections between culture and industry.

Watch or listen to a short sample lecture on protest song from Conceptualising Scotland

Creating Scotland

This course is an exploration of Scotland's topographical, social and cultural features and their influence on each other over time.

You will gain an understanding of the diversity of Scotland's resources, the nature of its land and seascapes, the complexity of its settlement patterns, and its regional variety.

You will explore the ways in which experiences of family, community and work are manifested and expressed in different cultural forms. You will also learn how to use appropriate academic sources and methods.

Watch or listen to a short sample lecture on the Scots language from Creating Scotland

Celtic

You will select at least one of the following pathways through the Celtic side of your programme:

  • Scottish Gaelic language pathway
  • Celtic civilisation pathway

If you are interested in both pathways, you can opt to take courses from both.

Language pathway: Scottish Gaelic

If you take the language pathway, your course will be determined by how much Scottish Gaelic you already know.

If you have no previous knowledge, you will gain confidence in written and spoken Scottish Gaelic by taking our Gaelic 1A course.

If you are an advanced speaker, our Gaelic 1B course will develop your language skills and deepen your experience of Scottish Gaelic literature.

Celtic civilisation pathway

The Celtic civilisation pathway is made up of two courses:

  • Celtic Civilisation 1A: Barbarians, Saints and Scholars
  • Celtic Civilisation 1B: Domination, Dislocation and Defiance

Together, they seek to place the Celtic languages of the past and present into wider historical and contemporary context.

On these courses, you will be introduced to Celtic Studies in the medieval and modern periods. This includes considering the impact of modern Celticness on how the past has been understood.

There is also the opportunity to combine the study of Celtic civilisation with our basic language learning course, Introduction to Gaelic Language and Culture.

Option courses

You will complete your Year 1 studies with option courses chosen from a wide range offered by the University.

If you are interested in taking both pathways through Celtic, at least one of your options will be drawn from courses in either Scottish Gaelic or Celtic civilisation.

Beyond the Celtic world, it's possible to study a completely different language in its cultural context. This includes reading literature written in that language, starting with short texts, and allows you to access a broad range of original material in the University collections.

We offer one of the widest ranges of languages of any UK university, including many European languages and languages from East Asia and the Middle East. The majority are suitable for complete beginners.

Other options include, but are not limited to, courses in:

  • art and architectural history
  • history, classics and archaeology
  • business, economics and informatics
  • politics, social policy, social anthropology and international relations
  • linguistics and language sciences
  • philosophy, divinity and law
Find Year 1 courses (2024-2025 academic year)

Scottish Ethnology

You will study the following courses:

  • Scotland and Orality
  • Visualising Scotland
Scotland and Orality

This course takes an ethnological approach to verbal expression using Scotland's rich song and oral narrative traditions.

You will be introduced to key concepts and theories relating to the performance and transmission of oral material. Case studies will involve songs, ballads, legends and folktales drawn from the School of Scottish Studies Archives.

Visualising Scotland

This course is a critical examination of the way Scotland has portrayed itself, and been portrayed by others, through visual media.

You will develop a critical understanding of the contribution made by paintings, films, documentaries and other visual media to concepts like:

  • nationhood
  • identity
  • heritage
  • tradition
  • cultural difference
Celtic

You can choose between continuing to study the Gaelic language, or studying Celtic literatures. Alternatively, you can continue to follow both pathways, especially if you are interested in taking both modern and medieval Celtic courses in your honours years.

Language pathway: Scottish Gaelic

If you took Gaelic 1A in Year 1, you will take Gaelic 2A. If you took Gaelic 1B in Year 1, you will take Gaelic 2B.

In both cases, you will refine your language skills and learn about linguistic structure. You will also learn more about Scottish Gaelic culture and literature, exploring verse and prose.

Celtic literatures pathway

If you take this pathway, you will gain an overview of key literary genres and texts from the Celtic world. Our two courses explore literatures from different periods and places, as follows:

  • Heroes, Wonders, Saints and Sagas - covers medieval Welsh and Irish material
  • Songs, Swords, Rebels and Revivals - looks at texts from Gaelic Scotland and Early Modern and Modern Ireland

Texts are presented in English translation.

Option courses

As in Year 1, you will gain the rest of your credits from courses chosen from a wide range offered by the University of Edinburgh.

You can opt to continue studying a subject you took in Year 1, especially if you are following both pathways through the Celtic programme, or choose to do something completely different.

Combined with your core courses, these options will help you gain intercultural competencies in the arts, humanities and social sciences.

Find Year 2 courses (2024-2025 academic year)

This is the first of your honours years, when you will specialise in the aspects of Scottish Ethnology and Celtic which interest you most by choosing from a range of courses.

Depending on staff research and other commitments, our options are usually the same in both Years 3 and 4, which generally gives you more choice over the two years.

Scottish Ethnology

In Scottish Ethnology, options typically enable you to specialise in one or more of traditional narrative, song, drama and music. Other courses typically include:

  • Custom, Belief and Community 
  • Scottish Emigrant Traditions
  • The Supernatural World
  • Material Culture in Scotland
  • Ethnological Fieldwork Methods
  • Scotland and Heritage 
Celtic
Modern courses

These courses are available to students who took Scottish Gaelic in Years 1 and 2.

They explore literary, cultural, and historical aspects of Gaelic Scotland and Ireland - such as linguistics and sociolinguistics - from around 1600 CE to the present day.

If taking advanced language courses, you will learn to speak and write confidently in Scottish Gaelic about a variety of topics including current affairs and cultural issues using appropriate vocabulary, grammar and idiom.

Medieval courses

These courses introduce the Early Irish and Medieval Welsh languages.

They are available to all students on the programme, and will develop your study of literature, history and culture.

Find Year 3 courses (2024-2025 academic year)

This is the second of your honours years, when you will continue to specialise in the aspects of Scottish Ethnology and Celtic which interest you most.

You will also complete your dissertation, which gives you the opportunity to research a topic in depth.

If you write your dissertation in Scottish Ethnology, it can be based on either fieldwork or archival work.

If you write your dissertation in Celtic, it will be on either a modern or medieval topic, depending on the pathway you have taken through the programme.

Find Year 4 courses (2024-2025 academic year)

Study abroad

In Year 3, you may have the opportunity to spend the year studying abroad through the University's international exchange programme. There are also shorter-term and virtual opportunities to study or work abroad throughout the four years, including over the summer months.

What are my options for going abroad?

Teaching and assessment

Teaching

University is a place to plan your own goals under expert guidance, study independently and in groups, and reflect upon your learning throughout your degree.

Our approach to learning and teaching is active, inclusive and question-driven, so it may be different to your experiences at school. It will help you gain the skills for life after university, and we will guide you through the steps from one phase to the next. 

Depending on the size of your year group, and which option courses you take, your classes will typically fall into three categories: 

  • lectures 
  • tutorials
  • seminars

In addition to these classes, to get the most out of your courses, you will need to read widely. 

We make extensive use of our audio and visual resources, and you will also be encouraged to use online materials. 

Lectures

Lectures are taken by all students on a course, typically at the same time. They are delivered as interactive presentations which may involve audio-visual material. 

Lectures are given by an experienced academic. They are designed to guide you through the background, questions and debates related to the topic you are studying. 

Tutorials

Tutorial groups are smaller. They are also led by an academic, but here the emphasis is more on what you think about the topic yourself. So, tutorials are your chance to discuss and expand upon what you have learned in a lecture.

If you choose to study Scottish Gaelic, language tutorials give you the opportunity to develop your linguistic skills in a range of real-world tasks under the supervision of an experienced language teacher.

These classes typically cover skills such as reading, writing, listening and speaking - all of which involve learning and applying grammar. 

Seminars

Seminars blend features of lectures and tutorials. Again, they are designed to encourage and enable your active participation in learning. 

On some courses, you will have seminars instead of lectures, especially in your honours years (Years 3 and 4).

Assessment

You will be assessed through a combination of coursework and exams.

Coursework is generally completed throughout the year, while exams take place at the end of a teaching block.

Coursework will take a range of forms to give you the opportunity to practice different skills. For example, you may be asked to:

  • write an essay, review, blog post, opinion piece or learning journal
  • respond to a piece of writing, film, or other media, including through close reading
  • give a short talk or presentation
  • record a podcast or video
  • design a poster or presentation

If studying Scottish Gaelic, your exams will include oral exams to test your spoken language skills.

In your final year, you will also complete a dissertation.

Support for your studies

As well as the teaching staff and other staff members you will meet day-to-day, there are lots of ways to get help with your learning, including through the University’s Institute for Academic Development (IAD). Peer support schemes bring together students across year groups to help each other with specific study skills, topics or themes.

Our academic staff

Meet Lori! She’s a traditional musician, composer and lecturer in Scottish Ethnology. Hear how she made the choice to study Scottish music in its cultural context and how she’s inspired by Edinburgh’s trad scene and the city’s international buzz. Find out what she can’t live without… and listen to a wee tune on a very old fiddle.

In the Hot Seat - Lori Watson

Where you will study

Study location

When you are on campus, you can expect to spend most of your time in the University of Edinburgh's Central Area - in class, in the library, in the School of Scottish Studies Archives, or in one of the University’s many social and support spaces.

The Central Area is located on the edge of Edinburgh's historic Old Town, surrounded by lots of green space.

Academic facilities

Libraries and collections 

Our resources for the study of Scottish Ethnology and Celtic are outstanding. They are largely held over three sites clustered around George Square in the University's Central Area:

  • The Main University Library and its Centre for Research Collections
  • The School of Scottish Studies Archives and its Scottish Studies Library
  • The School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) and its Celtic Class Library

Across these sites, you will find:

  • more than 400,000 rare books
  • six kilometres of archives and manuscripts
  • 33,000 recordings of songs, music, stories, rhyme and verse in Scots, Gaelic and English, as well as in dialects now extinct
  • thousands of works of art, historical musical instruments and other objects
  • thousands of photographs and rarely-seen historic documents which capture exceptional and everyday aspects of Scottish culture and heritage
  • wider ethnological material

Highlights for the study of Celtic include:

  • the Carmichael-Watson Collection
  • the Donald MacKinnon Collection
  • the David Laing Collection

Many of the University's Special Collections are digitised and available online from our excellent Resource Centre, computing labs and dedicated study spaces in the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC).

Read our feature on 70 years of the School of Scottish Studies Archives

Centres for research, teaching and outreach

We are home to the European Ethnological Research Centre, whose primary focus is the promotion of research into everyday life and society in Scotland. Ongoing since 2011, our Regional Ethnology of Scotland Project focuses on the role that individuals’ stories and memories play in shaping and understanding history.

We are currently working on the Decoding Hidden Heritages project. Combining qualitative analysis with computational methods, we are leading a team of five international universities to decode, interpret and curate the hidden heritages of Gaelic traditional narrative.

Through the Gaelic Algorithmic Research Group (GARG), an international team researching modern technologies for Gaelic, we have led the development of the world’s first working Automatic Speech Recognition system for Scottish Gaelic. We are also founding members of Faclair na Gàidhlig, a collaborative project to publish a historical dictionary of Scottish Gaelic.

Read our feature on what Automatic Speech Recognition means for the future of Scotland’s Gaelic language

We work closely with Bòrd na Gàidhlig, the national Gaelic development agency, of which Professor Rob Dunbar is a Board Member (2023 to 2027). Rob also sits on the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages - the only treaty in the world designed to protect and promote regional and minority languages and to enable speakers to use them both in private and public life.

Career paths

Skills and experience

Scottish Ethnology and Celtic gives you a nuanced understanding of culture and society, and how these shape our world.

When you graduate with a four-year Master of Arts degree in this joint honours combination from the University of Edinburgh, you show intellectual maturity, resilience, and flexibility.

The skills you will be able to demonstrate to employers include the ability to:

  • understand, analyse and articulate complex issues and concepts
  • handle and interpret traditional resources and digital data 
  • manage your time to meet deadlines on different types of projects
  • work independently and as part of a group

Local and global opportunities

Thanks to an ever-broadening international reach, Celtic languages, literatures and cultures have a steady stream of enthusiastic new speakers and audiences.

In Scotland, particularly, developments such as the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005, the creation of BBC Alba (the Gaelic digital television service), and the ongoing expansion of Gaelic-medium education have increased demand for highly-educated Gaelic speakers and specialists in Celtic culture.

The focus we place on comparative work, and on studying a range of subjects in your first two years, gives you the intercultural competence valued by employers around the globe.

Whether you stay in Scotland, or move elsewhere when you graduate, this degree will make you stand out.

Recent graduates have gone on to careers in:

  • education, outreach, advocacy and training
  • publishing, culture, heritage and the arts
  • journalism, broadcasting and media
  • politics, policy work, diplomacy, civil service and law
  • leisure, tourism and travel

Read our interview with Isla Parker, the University's Gaelic and Community Relations Officer

Your transferable humanities skills will also set you apart in sectors such as:

  • business, finance, commerce and tech
  • communications, marketing, advertising and public relations
  • research, development, consultancy and venture acceleration
  • translating and interpreting

Careers Service

Throughout your time with us, we will encourage you to identify and hone your employability skills.

Through the University's excellent Careers Service, you can:

  • get careers advice tailored towards Celtic and Scottish Studies
  • book one-to-one appointments and practice interviews
  • access a range of online resources
  • attend events and themed fairs such as the Creative and Cultural Careers Festival
  • get help finding work while you study and for around two years after you graduate

The Careers Service is also a partner in Life After LLC, a panel event where you can draw inspiration from recent graduates of programmes in literatures, languages and cultures.

Visit the Careers Service website

Further study

The enhanced research skills that you develop on a four-year programme, particularly in your honours years, are valuable assets if you wish to continue studying at postgraduate level.

At the University of Edinburgh, we typically offer Masters by Research programmes in both Scottish Ethnology and Celtic Studies.

Any of our masters degrees, whether research-based or taught, is a good foundation for a PhD, but is equally of value as a stand-alone qualification.

Beyond Celtic and Scottish Studies, your degree will prepare you for further study in almost any humanities and social science discipline.

Graduate profiles

How to apply

You must submit a full application through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) before the relevant deadline.

Guidance on applying through UCAS

What you need to apply

As part of your application, you will need:

  • your academic qualifications
  • a personal statement
  • evidence of your English language skills (with relevant qualifications)
  • a reference

How we select

If you have met, or are predicted to meet, all our entry requirements by the relevant deadline, then your application will go into our selection process.

As part of this selection process, we will review all the information you submit in your UCAS application when we decide who to select for this degree programme.

How we select applicants

When to apply

  • 2026 entry UCAS deadline: 14 January 2026 (6:00pm GMT)

This is the deadline for all UK, EU and international applicants to non-medicine and veterinary medicine programmes.

To find out if any degree programmes have spaces after 14 January 2026, search the University of Edinburgh on the UCAS website.

Search degrees that are open on the UCAS website

Key application dates and deadlines

After you apply

After you have applied for your degree programme, we suggest you have a look at the following information to help you prepare for university:

Applying as an international student

As an international student, you apply for this degree programme through UCAS.  

Find out more about applying through UCAS  

Visas and immigration 

If you do not have the right to live in the UK, you will need to apply for and secure a Student visa before the start date of your degree programme.  

Our Student Immigration Service can help you with the Student visa application process. 

Applying for a visa  

Agents  

An education agent is someone who can help you with the application process as an international student. 

We work with education agents around the world and have a list of local offices you can contact.  

Find contact details for an education agent

What our students say

I think what makes Edinburgh special is that there is so much to do whatever your interests are! Whether you enjoy hiking, relaxing in a café, socialising with friends, or literally anything else, you will never run out of options here.

Minju Kim LLC graduate (2024)

In her final year studying at Edinburgh, Minju served as the Undergraduate Representative for the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures. Together with Programme Representatives for Scottish Ethnology and Celtic, Undergraduate Representatives are your voice in the university - sharing your feedback to continually improve the student experience for everyone. Their roles are supported by the Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA).

Accommodation

We guarantee an offer of University accommodation for all new, single undergraduate students from outside Edinburgh. To be eligible, you need to meet all criteria and apply for accommodation by 16 August in the year of your entry to the University.

University accommodation website

Accommodation guarantee criteria

If you prefer to live elsewhere, we can offer you advice on finding accommodation in Edinburgh.

Accommodation information from the Edinburgh University Students' Association Advice Place

Societies and clubs

The Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA) supports more than 300 student-led societies and clubs, and promotes opportunities with local charities through its volunteering centre.

An Comunn Ceilteach (The Highland Society) is the University’s oldest student society and organises the city’s largest annual cèilidh. 

Passionate about music, literature, song and storytelling, we regularly hold events for staff, students and visiting guests to speak, perform or present research.

We also have a Traditional Artist and Gaelic Writer in Residence, a composer/musician and a writer who work with staff and students on a range of projects and performances. 

Watch, read or listen to an interview with Fraser Fifield, our Traditional Artist in Residence

Societies

Sports clubs

The city of Edinburgh

Edinburgh is a world-leading festival city filled with cinemas, theatres, galleries, libraries and collections.

Many national collections are located close to the University's Central Area, making them easy to access between classes. Highlights include the:

  • National Library of Scotland
  • National Museum of Scotland
  • National Records of Scotland

In addition to the summer and winter festivals, the city has a long-established Gaelic community and a lively year-round contemporary cultural scene.

There are conversation groups for practising Gaelic socially, fèisean for performers, and an annual festival, Seachdain na Gàidhlig.

From sessions in traditional bars, to events in the Scottish Poetry Library and Scottish Storytelling Centre, there's always something going on.

What's great about Edinburgh?

Lori Watson, a traditional musician, composer and lecturer in Scottish Ethnology, tells you what to look and listen out for…

Edinburgh is...

Health and wellbeing support

You will have access to free health and wellbeing services throughout your time at university if you need them.

The support services we offer include:

  • a student counselling service
  • a health centre (doctor's surgery)
  • support if you're living in University accommodation
  • dedicated help and support if you have a disability or need adjustment

Health and wellbeing support services

Contact us

Contact us through our enquiry team if you have any questions about this programme.

Open days, events and visits

Find out when our next open days will be taking place

Open days, events and visits

Chat to our students on Unibuddy

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