Undergraduate study - 2025 entry
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Names of our degrees

An explanation of the differences in degree names between universities in Scotland and those elsewhere in the UK.

Students talking in a study area

Like other Scottish universities, many of our undergraduate degrees are named 'masters'.

This is unlike elsewhere in the UK, where first degrees are generally 'bachelor' degrees.

Most arts, humanities and social science degrees at Edinburgh are awarded as MA (Hons). This is a conventional undergraduate degree, not equivalent to a postgraduate masters.

Arts degrees studied at Edinburgh College of Art are mostly BA (Hons). They are equivalent to Edinburgh undergraduate degrees named MA - the difference in name is historical.

In science and engineering subjects there is often the choice of a BSc or an integrated masters degree such as MPhys, MChem or MEng. These programmes entail a further year of in-depth study at masters level.

Undergraduate law degrees are awarded as Bachelor of Laws, or LLB (Hons).

The School of Divinity offers the Bachelor of Divinity, BD (Hons)/MDiv (Hons), in addition to MA (Hons) undergraduate degrees.

Our award titles

BA
Bachelor of Arts
BA (Hons)
Bachelor of Arts with Honours
BA (DIV)
Bachelor of Arts (Divinity)
BA (RS)
Bachelor of Arts (Religious Studies)
BD
Bachelor of Divinity
BD (Hons)
Bachelor of Divinity with Honours
BEd
Bachelor of Education
BEd (Hons)
Bachelor of Education with Honours
BEng
Bachelor of Engineering
BEng (Hons)
Bachelor of Engineering with Honours
BMus
Bachelor of Music
BMus (Hons)
Bachelor of Music with Honours
BN
Bachelor of Nursing
BN (Hons)
Bachelor of Nursing with Honours
BSc
Bachelor of Science
BSc (Hons)
Bachelor of Science with Honours
BVMS
Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery
LLB
Bachelor of Laws
LLB (Hons)
Bachelor of Laws with Honours
MA
Master of Arts
MA (Hons)
Master of Arts with Honours
MBChb
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery/Chirurgery
MBiol
Master of Biology
MChem
Master of Chemistry
MChem (Hons)
Master of Chemistry with Honours
MChemPhys
Master of Chemical Physics
MChemPhys (Hons)
Master of Chemical Physics with Honours
MEarthSci
Master of Earth Science
MEarthSci (Hons)
Master of Earth Science with Honours
MEng
Master of Engineering
MEng (Hons)
Master of Engineering with Honours
MInf
Master of Informatics
MInf (Hons)
Master of Informatics with Honours
MMath
Master of Mathematics
MMath (Hons)
Master of Mathematics with Honours
MPhys
Master of Physics
MPhys (Hons)
Master of Physics with Honours
MSc
Master of Science
MSc (Hons)
Master of Science with Honours

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