Postgraduate Students

About the School

Based in Edinburgh's Old Town, in a splendid historical building, our School is a vibrant hub of intellectual and cultural life.

William Robertson Wing

By choosing a postgraduate programme at the School of History, Classics and Archaeology you will be joining one of the most successful and respected institutions of its kind in the world, with an international reputation for high-calibre teaching and research.

Our three subject areas, all recognised independently for their achievements, together create an outstanding global centre for the study of the human past. The University of Edinburgh is consistently ranked one of the best 50 universities in the world, whilst the research quality of our School was confirmed in the most recent Research Excellence Framework (2014), where History was ranked third and Classics ranked fifth in the UK for combined quality and size. In Archaeology, fifty per cent of the staff assessed were rated as ‘world-leading' or ‘internationally excellent'.

School's Research Website

Join a thriving community

Our international postgraduate community represents 29 nationalities, making the School the ideal environment in which to share ideas, collaborate on research, gain new perspectives and meet like-minded individuals.

Our active programme of workshops, seminars, conferences and symposia is supplemented with many informal gatherings and events, and our student societies – ArchSoc, the Classics Society and the History Society – provide countless opportunities to get to know your fellow students in a non-academic environment.

Learn from distinguished academics

Among our staff are many fellows of prestigious societies, including the British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Our academics are also very active in other professional and funding organisations, such as the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Classical Association, the Royal Historical Society and the Historical Association. They also have strong public roles in promoting their discipline, including government committee positions and media consultancy.