Scandinavian Studies and Spanish MA (Hons)

Scandinavian Studies

You will take an intensive beginners' language course in either Danish, Norwegian or Swedish. You will develop your spoken and written language skills, and study aspects of literature and culture.

You will be also encouraged to take one, or both, of two courses in Scandinavian civilisation. These provide an overview of important trends in the history, society, culture and politics of the Scandinavian and wider Nordic world, from the earliest times to the present. 

Spanish

You will study either Spanish 1A or 1B, depending on your language skills. Typically, students on Spanish 1B come to University with substantially more experience of studying Spanish than students on Spanish 1A.

As well as developing your language skills, both the 1A and 1B courses will introduce you to a diverse selection of cultural texts and films from across the Spanish-speaking world.

Option courses

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

You can, for example, opt to study another language, such as Basque, Catalan or Portuguese. Like the majority of our languages, these courses are suitable for complete beginners and include cultural study.

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

• business, economics and informatics
• politics, social policy, social anthropology and international relations
• art and architectural history
• history, classics and archaeology
• linguistics and language sciences
• Celtic and Scottish ethnology
• philosophy, divinity and law

Scandinavian Studies 

You will continue with Danish Language 2, Norwegian Language 2 or Swedish Language 2, building on your linguistic knowledge from Year 1.

You will move on to using more complex grammar, fine-tuning your pronunciation and building on your vocabulary so that you feel confident in expressing yourself on your Year Abroad in Year 3.

You will also take further courses in Scandinavian literature and languages. You can, for example, choose to develop your skills in understanding the similarities and differences between Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. 

Spanish

Students of 1A and 1B will come together in our Spanish Language 2 course. This course will help you communicate your ideas in Spanish using more nuanced grammatical structures, vocabulary and syntax. As with Scandinavian Studies, the focus in your language work will be on developing your confidence to study or work abroad in Year 3.

You will also take a further course on the literatures and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. You'll be introduced to different genres and artistic currents which demonstrate how culture has reflected, shaped and contested reality from the 16th century to the present day.

Option courses

As in Year 1, you will also choose option courses from a wide range offered by the University.

These option courses include a great selection in European languages and cultures that explore literature, film and theatre in themed and comparative contexts.

Typical option courses include:

• Cultural Responses to War
• Migration, Exile, Diaspora
• Crime and Detection in Literature
• Gender and Culture 
• The Coming-of-Age Narrative 
• Introduction to European Cinema 
• Dynamics of Language and Power
• Languages Beyond University

You will likely have the opportunity to study either or both of our Scandinavian civilisation courses, if you haven't already done so in Year 1. Alternatively, you may wish to take a course in Basque or Catalan, furthering your knowledge of Iberian cultures.

You will spend Year 3 abroad, dividing your time between two countries. This is when you will really deepen your knowledge of Scandinavian languages and Spanish by speaking them daily and immersing yourself in local cultures.

Living abroad will also give you the wider perspective, experience and skills to embrace the opportunities and challenges of life after university.

Read our blog post by Spanish student Anu who discovered a passion for teaching yoga on her year abroad

How much time will I spend abroad?

You will spend a minimum of 30 weeks abroad. You will divide your time between a country in which Spanish is spoken and either Sweden, Norway or Denmark.

To give you a balanced experience, you will spend at least eight weeks in each of your two destinations. How you further divide your time abroad is typically based on whether you study, work or combine the two.

Where can I go?

Transforming classroom learning into a lived experience, you will study or work in a Spanish-speaking country as well as either Denmark, Norway or Sweden.

For Spanish, the University has exchange places in a wide variety of universities in Spain and Latin America (Argentina, Chile and Mexico).

If you are considering working abroad, the first step is to start thinking about where you would like to go. Visa requirements and application processes vary between countries, so it is a good idea to find out what documentation you will need and whether you are eligible to get it.

Study or work?

When you are abroad, you can typically choose to either:

• study in one or two destinations 
• work in one or two destinations 
• study in one destination and work in another

If you choose to study, you will take classes at one or two of the universities where we have available exchange opportunities. This means that you will spend either:

• two semesters at a single institution
• one semester at two different institutions (in different destinations)

A work placement abroad is another way to gain an international perspective, build professional networks and prepare you for your career after university.

Once you have checked if you are eligible to work abroad, and have talked through your plans with us, you might choose to do one or more placements. For example, you could arrange to work with a private company or charity.

Whatever you decide to do, your time abroad is a chance for you to evolve and grow beyond Edinburgh. It adds an international dimension to your studies, showing future employers that you are open to new ideas and experiences.

Coursework while abroad

We will aim to ensure your experience abroad is as beneficial as possible to your final year, as well as to your wider language learning and cultural awareness.

Regardless of whether you study or work abroad, you will take e-learning courses in both Spanish and your chosen Scandinavian language to prepare you for your Year 4 language courses. These courses will count as part of your Year 3 marks, alongside any coursework arranged by your host university (if studying abroad).

Depending on your Year Abroad activities, you also begin preparing for your dissertation while abroad, guided by your dissertation supervisor.

You will take advanced classes in:

• essay, commentary and summary writing in your two languages
• translation to and from your languages into English
• spoken Spanish and either Danish, Norwegian or Swedish

In addition to these core courses, you will also choose from a wide range of specialist, honours-level courses on topics such as Scandinavian and Spanish-language:

• film
• literature
• history
• politics 
• language
• linguistics
• media and cultural production 

Building on all the knowledge and skills you have developed over four years, including in independent research, you will complete a dissertation or long essay in either Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or Spanish.