Undergraduate study | Celtic

You’ll complete a four-year Master of Arts (MA) honours degree. You can take Celtic as a single honours degree, or jointly with one of a range of other subjects. Each year, your courses will give you 120 credits. 

Pathways

• You can take a language or non-language pathway through the Celtic programme. If you choose to study Scottish Gaelic, it doesn’t matter if you're a complete beginner; you’ll always be taught at a level that meets your needs. Alongside language skills, you’ll learn more about Scottish Gaelic’s literature, culture, and linguistic structure. You can study the Medieval Celtic languages and literatures at honours level.
• If you’re taking the non-language pathway, you’ll study Celtic civilisation and literature. You will study Celtic in its historical and contemporary context, and gain an overview of key literary genres and texts from Gaelic Scotland, Ireland and Wales from the early medieval period to the present, with texts presented in English translation. You can choose to learn the basics of the Scottish Gaelic language.

Years 1 & 2

• Our programmes are very flexible. In your first two years, you'll likely get to choose option courses from a wide range of subjects alongside Celtic and any partner subject. This gives you a broad knowledge base and transferable skills. It may also​​​​​ enable you to change the focus of your degree going into your final two (honours) years, which is when you start to specialise.

Years 3 & 4

• On most programmes, you’ll typically spend your third year in Edinburgh - though it’s possible to study elsewhere through the University’s Study Abroad programme. However, if you’re doing a joint degree with French or Scandinavian Studies, you will spend your third year abroad.
• You will learn how to undertake your own research to the level of completing a dissertation or long essay in your final year. This is your chance to focus on a topic, period or discipline that’s of particular interest to you. We have an extensive range of honours courses to choose from.

Teaching and learning

• Celtic is taught by an award-winning group of staff who are immersed in Celtic culture and the development of Gaelic beyond the classroom.
• Our approach to learning and teaching is active, inclusive and question driven to help you gain skills for life after university.
• Across your courses, you’ll typically be taught in a combination of lectures, tutorials (including language classes) and seminars. On some courses, you will have seminars instead of lectures, especially in your honours years.
• You will also be expected to study independently and in small groups, and to read widely.

Assessment and support

• You’ll be assessed through a combination of coursework and exams. 
• Coursework may take a range of forms to give you the opportunity to practice different skills. 
• Exams will include oral exams to test your spoken language skills.
• If you go abroad, Year 3 may include being assessed, in part, by a host university.
• As well as the teaching and other staff you will meet day-to-day, there are lots of ways to get help with your learning, including through the University’s Institute for Academic Development and Edinburgh University Students' Association

In the 2024 to 2025 academic year, you can take Celtic as a single honours degree, or study any of the following joint honours degree combinations...

We also support the delivery of two degree programmes in Primary Education with Gaelic: one for fluent speakers; and one for learners.

* Please note that this degree combination does not have the same structure as all the others, though it is still a four-year degree.

There’s lots of information about our undergraduate Celtic programmes on the University of Edinburgh Degree Finder. For example, you can find out about:

• the courses you will take each year
• entrance requirements
• English language requirements
• fees and funding opportunities

Browse our Celtic programmes on Degree Finder

If you’d like to study on any of our undergraduate programmes, you must apply through UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. Applications for entry in September 2024 are now open.

Go to the University of Edinburgh web page on how to apply for undergraduate study

Skills and experience

Graduating with a four-year honours degree from the University of Edinburgh shows resilience, flexibility and high-level intellectual strength. For instance, you will demonstrate that you have the ability to understand, analyse and articulate key concepts, and to work to varied briefs to deadline, both independently and as part of a group.

In addition to these qualities, graduating in Celtic indicates that you have a nuanced understanding of other cultures and societies and how they shape our world. This gives you the Intercultural Competence that is so valued by employers internationally. Particularly if you choose a language pathway through your programme, you will also sharpen your written and oral communications skills.

Opportunities at home and away

Thanks to an ever-broadening international reach, Celtic languages, literatures and cultures have a steady stream of enthusiastic new speakers and audiences.

In Scotland, particularly, developments such as the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005, the creation of BBC Alba (the Gaelic digital television service), and the ongoing expansion of Gaelic-medium education have increased demand for highly-educated Gaelic speakers and specialists in Celtic culture.

Employment prospects are particularly high within:

• Education, outreach, advocacy and training
• Journalism, broadcasting and media
• Politics, policy work, diplomacy, civil service and law
• Publishing, culture, heritage and the arts

In some areas, there are more Gaelic-related jobs than there are people qualified to fill them.

Your transferable humanities skills and Intercultural Competence will also set you apart in sectors such as:

• Business, finance and commerce
• Communications, marketing, advertising and public relations
• Leisure, tourism and travel
• Research, development and venture acceleration
• Translating and interpreting

Further study

The enhanced research skills that you develop on a four-year programme, particularly in your honours years, are valuable assets if you wish to continue studying at postgraduate level. At the University of Edinburgh, for example, you can take a research-led Masters in Celtic or Scottish Ethnology, or an interdisciplinary taught Masters programme, for example in Comparative Literature, Film, Exhibition and Curation, or Intermediality. Eventually, you may decide to conduct doctoral work on Celtic languages and cultures, like several of our past students.

Find out more about LLC alumni and futures