Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies at Edinburgh
Find out what you'll study and where, including on your year abroad, and explore opportunities to get creative and make friends.
What you will study
We offer multiple degree programmes in Spanish and Portuguese.
Degree Finder gives you a year-by-year overview of what you will study on each of our programmes.
Browse our Spanish and Portuguese programmes on Degree Finder
Degree structure
You’ll complete a four-year Master of Arts (MA) honours degree.
Each year, you will study courses that give you a total of 120 credits.
Your first two years will be your pre-honours years. They will give you a good grounding in your subject(s).
On most programmes, you will build up your pre-honours credits by taking a mix of compulsory and optional courses. This may involve choosing courses from other subject areas. Typically, single honours students choose more optional courses than joint honours students.
Your final two years will be your honours years. This is when you will specialise in the aspects of your subject(s) that interest you most.
Your honours years include your year abroad, giving you lived experience of using your language(s) every day.
Love languages?
One of the benefits of taking a four-year degree is the chance to study different subjects in your first two years. Most of our degree programmes have this flexibility.
If you love languages, and Spanish or Portuguese is the only one you are studying with us, why not pick up another language while you’re here?
We have a very wide range of languages to choose from, either as:
- part of your programme
- a short evening course with the Centre for Open Learning
- part of a social, student-led activity
The majority are suitable for complete beginners - no previous experience required!
Discover a world of languages on our dedicated website
Degree Programme Tables
The detailed content of degree programmes for students starting in September 2024 is now available in our Degree Programme Tables (DPTs).
The Degree Programme Table will give you a more in-depth insight into the compulsory courses and optional courses on your degree programme. Find out about a particular course, including:
- the syllabus
- methods of assessment
- modes of feedback
- learning outcomes
To get started with a DPT, choose your programme from the alphabetical list of undergraduate programmes in literatures, languages and cultures.
Find DPTs for the 2024/25 academic year
Where you will study
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, 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.
The Main University Library holds academic books, journals and databases, including around 27,000 books and 5,000 journals in Spanish and 5,000 books and 2,680 journals in Portuguese.
Spanish and Latin American treasures in the University's collections include:
- a 1629 edition of Cervantes
- early translations of The Lusiads
- paintings by Murillo and Picasso
- Jan Fairley’s rich collection of Latin American music recordings and interviews
Our Portuguese Language Centre is supported by the Instituto Camões.
Explore with a Virtual Visit
Take a look around our School, and the wider University, with our Virtual Visit.
Look inside 50 George Square (where Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies is based), check out the campus libraries and points of interest, and get a feel for what it's like to study and live in Edinburgh.
Virtual Visit - European Languages and Cultures
In the city
Edinburgh is a world-leading festival city filled with cinemas, theatres, galleries, libraries and collections.
Spain has a consulate here (Portugal an honorary consulate), and there are large communities of Spanish and Portuguese speakers.
Edinburgh’s world cinema scene is particularly strong, and we are proud to contribute to its success through collaborations with festivals such as Africa in Motion and IberoDocs.
The annual Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival was started and developed by our very own colleagues, and offers students the chance to get involved in events planning and delivery and to use their languages outside the classroom.
Applied for a joint honours degree?
Don’t forget to look at the information for each of your subjects. Navigate to the information for all subject areas at the link below. Choose the School your subject belongs to and explore your other subject. Not sure which School your other subject belongs to? There is also a handy list of which School owns which subject below.
Go Abroad
All our programmes include time abroad in a country where either Spanish or Portuguese is spoken.
You will either spend this period studying at a university or on work placement. For example, you may be eligible to work as a Language Assistant in a school.
We currently offer exchange places in a variety of different universities in Spain, Portugal and Latin America.
If you’re taking Spanish and Portuguese together, or one of the two with another language, you’ll spend time in two countries to practise both languages.
For you, the Year Abroad will be the 2026 to 2027 academic year, your third year as an Edinburgh student. It will be your chance to turn classroom learning into living engagement with different cultures, developing lots of skills that you will use after university and that employers love to see.
If international travel restrictions mean that you cannot go abroad, don’t worry. You will be offered alternative ways of engaging with your subject(s), allowing you to meet your learning outcomes and prepare for your final year.
Get creative and make friends with Spanish and Portuguese
From acting to dancing, making friends in language cafes to campaigning on global issues, student-led groups offer lots of ways to explore your subjects socially.
The Spanish Society, for example, is one of around 300 societies and clubs supported by Edinburgh University Students' Association. The Association also promotes opportunities with local charities through its volunteering centre.
The Centre for Contemporary Latin American Studies brings together staff and students from a number of different subject areas, including languages, geography, politics, history and social anthropology.
Love to write? Our online creative writing magazine Babble is the place to publish your:
- prose
- poetry
- drama
- non-fiction
We publish work written in Spanish, Portuguese and seven other European languages. Babble is published twice a year, and you can get involved in the editorial committee.