Interdisciplinary Futures MA (Hons)

Level: Undergraduate

Subject: Interdisciplinary Studies

Year of entry: 2026

Key facts

UCAS Code

FIA1

Award

MA (Hons)

Duration of study

4 years

Delivery

Full-time

Study location

Central Area

Start date

September 2026

School

Edinburgh Futures Institute

College

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Study abroad

Available

Placement

No

Open days and events

About the degree programme

The Edinburgh Futures Institute’s undergraduate degree programme places interdisciplinary learning and complex challenges at the centre of the learning experience.

Our approach begins with profound questions about the world we live in - questions about sustainability, inequality, global health, and conflict. A sustainable, ethical and equitable future for society and the planet cannot be addressed within a single discipline or be superficially ‘solved’ or ‘fixed’.

This approach, bringing together people with diverse skills, experiences, interests and worldviews, will help us create better futures and address personal, local and global challenges together.

This degree programme is designed so you can connect with the communities, businesses, employers and environments you will find in the professional world.

Our approach equips you with the teamwork, critical and creative skills most valued by employers. You will:

  • develop the confidence, knowledge, and skills to work, live, and make a difference in a rapidly changing world
  • gain key employability skills and collaborative experiences with different communities and partners - preparing you for a career of your choice
  • access leading research and award-winning teaching from a wide range of disciplines and subjects at the University of Edinburgh
  • benefit from a choice of courses across subject areas, dedicated student support, and opportunities for personal development
  • learn to apply your knowledge to complex problems, and your skills and insight toward building better futures

We feature a high level of support and guidance that is a core part of teaching and learning while ensuring that you will benefit from a self-directed approach.

This programme is a launching pad for developing confidence, taking risks, exploring uncertainty and challenges and applying critical thinking.

How long it takes to complete this degree programme

This programme is studied over 4 years.

A key benefit to studying a 4-year degree programme is that you have the flexibility to study a range of subjects, outside your chosen degree programme, in Year 1 and Year 2.

This allows you the opportunity to study other courses that interest you or enhance your degree. By the end of Year 2, you can decide which of these subject areas you want to focus on in the honours years of your programme.

How long it takes to complete our degree programmes

Programme benefits

  • Interdisciplinary study is designed to give you the confidence, knowledge, and skills to work, live, and make a difference in a rapidly changing world. It has a strong focus on developing key employability skills.
  • Experience active learning, engage with open questions, and dive into challenge-led teamwork at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. You will build the experience and the skills that employers value while gaining a degree that prepares you for the unpredictable.
  • Interdisciplinary study is designed for collaborative experiences with different communities and partners. You will focus on complex local or global challenges, with learning and teaching linked to cutting-edge research and the big future issues facing our planet and societies.
  • You will have access to the University of Edinburgh’s world-leading research and award-winning teaching across a wide range of disciplines and subjects and you will be able to study chosen areas in depth.

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) Interdisciplinary Futures

View the tuition fees for one academic year of MA (Hons) Interdisciplinary Futures.

Tuition fees for this programme

Additional costs

You will have to pay the costs of printing some of your work.

You may also have to buy books, depending on your choice of option courses.

On some courses, you may be encouraged to purchase additional learning materials.

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

At the core of the MA (Hons) Interdisciplinary Futures sits a group of courses that run throughout the programme in increasing levels of complexity across your four years of study.

You will develop skills in different academic methods of:

  • data collection and analysis
  • cultural analysis
  • creative practice

You will apply the methods you are learning to complex problems and have an opportunity to use your learning in response to challenges that are co-developed with a partner organisation or business.

Across all years, you will work together with other students in interdisciplinary teams.

In addition to this core, we offer flexibility and choice across the breadth and depth of the University of Edinburgh’s research and teaching expertise. This will allow you to develop the interdisciplinary skill sets needed to thrive in our global society.

Core courses in Years 1 and 2 lay the foundation for interdisciplinary learning and research and support the development of work in Years 3 and 4.

Programme structure

You can find out more about the required and option courses in this degree programme.

To give you an idea of what you will study in this programme, we publish the latest available information. However, please note this may not be for your year of entry, but for a different academic year.

Core courses
Researching Global Challenges

This course introduces a range of methods in response to a diverse selection of complex problems and challenges. You will develop new skills in interdisciplinary research to help build better futures.

Students as Change Agents

This course lays the foundation for the interdisciplinary work that you will do. You will respond to a complex challenge question that has been set by an external organisation or business, working in small teams.

Reflections on Interdisciplinary Practice

This course supports your transition into university and the new ways of learning you will encounter. You will learn to set goals and reflect on your journey towards them.

Option courses

Over all four years of the programme, you will be able to select several courses each year from a wide range of option courses.

From interdisciplinary courses offered by the Edinburgh Futures Institute to courses in a particular subject or discipline such as a foreign language (depending on your academic background and interests, and subject to demand).

You will be guided in your course selection when you arrive at the University by a dedicated Student Adviser, who will help you to make the right course choices for you.

Find Year 1 courses (2024-2025 academic year)

Core courses
Future Change Agents

You will apply the methods and skills learned in ‘Researching Global Challenges’ to a new challenge identified by a local organisation or external partner.

Researching Global Challenges

You will develop and expand your research skills, working in teams to apply a range of advanced methods in response to challenges. You will develop specialist skills and knowledge in interdisciplinary research.

Reflections on Interdisciplinary Practice

You will build confidence as you learn further theories and methods of reflection, team dynamics and resilience.

You will explore how different knowledge systems are constructed and benefit from an introduction to peer mentoring techniques and frameworks for measuring success. This will help prepare you for your honours years.

Option courses

You will again be able to select courses from a wide range of options and disciplines. A dedicated Student Adviser will guide you in your course selection.

Find Year 2 courses (2024-2025 academic year)

Core courses
Interdisciplinary Research

You will conceive, plan and deliver a collaborative research project with a multi-method approach. You will apply the skills and knowledge developed in pre-honours core courses to create a new research project in response to a selected global challenge, working in a small research team with the support of a supervisor.

Reflections on Interdisciplinary Practice 

You will focus on comparing and critiquing more advanced theories and methods of interdisciplinarity and interdisciplinary practice.

Adopting an enterprising mindset, you will investigate design thinking approaches to problem-solving and utilise your knowledge and experience in supporting others.

Option courses

You will again be able to select courses from a wide range of options and disciplines. A dedicated Student Adviser will guide you in your course selection.

Find Year 3 courses (2024-2025 academic year)

Core courses
Reflections on Interdisciplinary Practice

You will receive ongoing support and preparation for life after graduation by producing compelling narratives about the experiences you have gained and how you can use them for your current and future goals.

Capstone Project

Your final project will see you synthesise the learning, methods, skills and experience you have gained across the degree.

You will use a mixed methods approach to challenges, explore your personal passion or respond to issues raised by our community, business, industry or third sector partners.

You will be supported by a supervisor and have a high degree of flexibility in shaping your final submission which may be an individual or group project.

Option courses

You will again be able to select courses from a wide range of options and disciplines. A dedicated Student Adviser will guide you in your course selection.

Find Year 4 courses (2024-2025 academic year)

Study abroad

In Year 3 you may have the option to study abroad through the University's international exchange programme.

What are my options for going abroad?

Teaching and assessment

Teaching

This degree programme combines a diverse range of learning and teaching methods and delivery.

Collaboration and working in interdisciplinary groups are core elements of the learning experience. Teaching is delivered through a combination of formats which may include:

  • lectures
  • tutorials and seminars
  • workshops
  • practical and skill-based classes
  • events, debates, and plenaries
  • team and individual-based project work
  • coaching, mentoring and peer support

In later years, you will spend more time working on projects that may involve:

  • linking the UN Sustainable Development Goals to your study areas and project work
  • developing your own interdisciplinary research project (Capstone Project)
  • working on theoretical topics with guidance from your supervisor

Assessment

There are multiple opportunities on the programme to practice skills and receive feedback on performance and progression from both peers and staff.

We use innovative and authentic assessment which focuses on process as well as on output.

In the first two years of the programme (pre-honours), we do not use marks on Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) core courses; rather they are assessed on a pass or fail basis.

We encourage you to take risks and learn from both failure and success.

This approach stresses essential learning motivation and experimentation instead of ‘grade chasing’, where the final grade is perceived as more important than the discoveries and productive missteps along the way.

Assessment methods on the EFI core courses might include:

  • a variety of written outputs (group or individual), including academic papers, reports, policy proposals, slide decks and presentations, educational resources, reflective writings
  • video, podcasts, web content, social media content (group or individual)
  • your portfolio of learning from across the programme

A range of creative, artistic, and experimental modes of assessment are also available, which allow you to shape your own learning experience and use your existing and developing skills.

There are no exams for Edinburgh Futures Institute core courses but some of the option courses offered by other areas of the University may use exams.

Support for your studies

Our Student Support Team is based within the Edinburgh Futures Institute.

You will receive a high level of support and make tailored choices to enable creative and ethical study, working with all kinds of data and people to address some big challenges.

An interdisciplinary degree helps graduates develop the personal and professional skills required to work across a range of roles in different fields and careers.

Interdisciplinary study at the University of Edinburgh means:

  • practical, hands-on learning
  • working with and across different academic disciplines
  • critically analysing data from diverse sources

You will develop core skills around:

  • teamwork
  • responding to complex challenges
  • using creative, collaborative, and analytical skill sets

You will have access to a range of disciplinary expertise from across the University and will be supported in your choices by a dedicated Student Adviser.

Our academic staff

Our world-class academics are leaders in their fields, conducting ground-breaking research that directly informs the teaching you receive.

Where you will study

Study location

From your first year, you will be based in the newly renovated, category-A listed, Edinburgh Futures Institute in the heart of Edinburgh and the central campus.

A large investment by the University has created the architect-designed Edinburgh Futures Institute building, complete with state-of-the-art teaching and working, lecture and event spaces.

Edinburgh Futures Institute

"The Edinburgh Futures Institute is a key investment in our future. It is an integral part of our commitment to the local communities in which we operate and our place in the world. Recognising that the biggest challenges facing society are complex and multi-layered, and that insight and innovation often come from bringing together expertise across different disciplines, EFI is creating a new environment for learning, teaching, research and engagement. It is doing so side-by-side with communities, business, industry and government."

- Professor Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, University of Edinburgh

At the Edinburgh Futures Institute you will develop the skills, knowledge and confidence you need to play a vital role in a more equitable and sustainable future.

You will discover and use a range of different methods and tools to reflect and make connections between the different elements of your degree, and different disciplinary areas.

Studying at the University of Edinburgh’s Futures Institute, you will:

  • become part of a diverse and international academic community in one of the top-ranked universities in the world
  • access a world of knowledge and experience with our world-leading research and industry networks, entrepreneurial and start-up support, and cutting-edge data-driven innovation programmes
  • learn from experts and practitioners at the forefront of their fields, completing meaningful research in a wide range of disciplines
  • benefit from the University of Edinburgh’s world-class facilities and award-winning support services
  • experience student life in a vibrant and historic capital city with world-famous cultural festivals and the mountains and beaches of Scotland on your doorstep
  • work and learn in the beautiful, historic site of the Old Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, a newly restored, state-of-the-art centre for teaching, research and digital innovation

Academic facilities

The institute boasts 21,300 metres of space, 6,000 of which is new construction. It offers a unique, central location on a large park (Edinburgh’s beautiful Meadows) and is only a few steps from the University’s George Square campus and central area.

You will study and learn alongside our community of students, researchers, partner organisations and businesses.

Lectures, tutorials, and classes held in our purpose-designed spaces are tailored for both individual and group study and dedicated project work.

You will have access to: 

  • an on-site café
  • performance space
  • digital maker labs
  • group and collaborative workspaces
  • a vibrant community of partners, businesses and organisations who are part of the Futures Institute space

You will also have access to University computer laboratories and quality software support as well as the University of Edinburgh library system.

Undergraduate facilities

Career paths

With this degree programme, you will gain key transferable skills that employers are looking for and the knowledge and confidence to become an active, questioning citizen of the world.

In today’s increasingly complex and global environment, the skills that are most valued by employers include:

  • team working
  • problem-solving
  • coping with uncertainty
  • creative work
  • making connections
  • understanding and responding to complexity and change

The MA (Hons) Interdisciplinary Futures degree responds to increased demand from employers for graduates with multi-disciplinary experience who are able to respond to complex environments and challenges.

You will develop core transferable skills such as teamwork, self-assessment, resilience and collaboration that are key to professional and career development.

You will be able to:

  • compile and critically evaluate large amounts of complex and conflicting evidence
  • formulate and present your views coherently and convincingly, both orally and in writing
  • present and pitch ideas and creative responses to challenges
  • apply practical, hands-on experience of the methods and skills you learn
  • work with small teams and groups as well as wider networks and professionals

The research and analytical skills our students develop can be used in various research-based careers or in further academic postgraduate study and research.

Where do our graduates find employment?

Graduates will be well equipped for roles as leaders and innovators in new and emerging industries.

You will be able to apply your learning and skills in a wide range of career opportunities in different areas such as:

  • international and community development
  • non-governmental organisations
  • design
  • consulting
  • development
  • policy and governance
  • financial services
  • arts, culture and heritage
  • charity and social enterprise
  • health and social care
  • environment and sustainability
  • law

Potential types of roles with relevant skills and qualifications may include:

  • advocacy or social activism
  • finance and business roles
  • international development officer
  • management consultant
  • policy officer/adviser
  • programme development roles in arts, cultural and creative industries
  • project manager
  • researcher
  • social entrepreneur
  • sustainability or climate change adviser

Careers Service

Our award-winning Careers Service can help you realise your career ambitions, and offer practical advice about how to progress your career goals.

The service offers advice, guidance and careers information for all students and our recent graduates.

Careers Service staff can also help you to work while you study or advise you on volunteering opportunities. 

Employability of our graduates

Further study

After you complete your programme, you may want to go onto further study at Edinburgh or a different university. You could progress to:

  • a masters degree
  • a postgraduate diploma or certificate
  • a PhD
  • a second undergraduate degree

Find out about options for further study

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

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.

From making friends to exploring new interests to campaigning on global issues, these student-led groups offer lots of ways to engage.

The city of Edinburgh

Edinburgh is an internationally-leading festival city filled with culture, cinemas, theatres, galleries, libraries and collections.

From the winding streets of the medieval Old Town to the Georgian squares and terraces of the New Town, it is also a dynamic centre for: 

  • digital and data-driven innovation
  • entrepreneurship
  • world-leading policy on climate and sustainability

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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It is one of many sources of information which will enable you to make an informed decision on what and where to study.

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