How to choose optional courses
Information on how to research all of your options before you start
You can choose from a range of optional courses to take alongside compulsory 'core' courses for your degree programme, these can complement what you are studying or be completely different.
Key tips to get started:
- You need to know what School your degree belongs to in order to start your research
- Only your School can enrol you on to your course(s)
- Remember to explore all the options - you can look at courses related to your degree or something completely different!
- Check how the course is assessed e.g. coursework and/or exams
- Check entry requirements (pre-requisites) for each course (e.g., do you need to have completed another course in advance)
- Check for timetable clashes (please note, you cannot take optional courses which clash with your compulsory classes)
- Your School will be able to tell you whether your course choices have spaces available
- Your optional courses are only finalised when you have confirmation from your School
- Your optional courses may not show up on your timetable immediately but you can check what is confirmed on your Student Record
You will first need to know what degree programme you are on (ie. Law) and check how many credits you have available for optional courses. Once you know how many credits you can use on optional courses, you can start searching through DRPS.
Information on credits
If you are on a single honours programme, your total credits will likely need to total 120 credits per year. Your core courses will make up some of these 120 credits and then you can choose to make up the remaining credits.
Each individual course will either be 10, 20 or 40 credits (usually 40 credits means it is a full-year course).
Examples:
| Degree programme | Compulsory Course(s) | Credits for optional courses |
| Italian (MA Hons) | Italian 1 (40 credits) | 80 credits |
| Mathematics with Management (BSc Hons) | Entrepreneurship in the Mathematical Sciences (10 credits) |
110 credits (only 20 credits available outside Maths) |
| Philosophy and Linguistics (MA Hons) |
Morality and Value (20 credits) Logic 1 (20 credits) Introduction to the History of Philosophy (20 credits) Linguistics and English Language 1A (20 credits) Linguistics and English Language 1B (20 credits) |
20 credits (either Philosophy of Science 1 or 20 credit course outside Philosophy) |
DRPS (Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study)
DRPS is the University’s complete database of programmes and course information available and updated each year and is currently up to date for the Academic Year 2023-2024. Not all courses are available to all students.
Tips for navigating the DRPS:
- Look for your degree first, Browse Degree Programme Tables (DPT) (you will need to know what School your degree belongs to)
- Find the section that highlights your compulsory courses and course options under Year 1. This should give you all of the information you need on how many credits you have for optional courses and a link to what 'schedule' you can find optional courses that you are eligible to take,
- When you go into a School and then subject, make sure you check the required SCQF level (Level 07 - 10) and which Semester the course is running
- The information about each course will give you the course description, pre-requisites and if the course is 'high-demand' (if it is a high-demand course, it is recommended that you have several alternative options), and how the course will be delivered and the learning outcomes of the course
- If you have further questions about the course, please email the Course Organiser and/or Course secretary listed at the very bottom of the course page on the DRPS.
Please note: Courses within programmes for future academic years have not been finalised yet and are subject to change.
PATH
Access PATH (MyEd login required)
Path is the University's helpful tool and an alternative way of viewing the same information that is shown on DRPS.
Path allows you to more easily search for optional courses with useful filters and provides a more visual way of building your programme. It can also show you how your potential selections could be a pre-requisite for future course choices and how your choices at this stage could influence your future studies.
It can also generate a DRAFT timetable (please note that this does not confirm your timetable, it is a simulation tool only) The Course Timetable Browser (below) will give you a more accurate understanding of your optional courses would fit within your timetable
Watch now: How-to use Path
- Video: Path 2021 Aug
- How-to use Path
Please note: every effort has been made in producing accurate subtitles, however, there may still be some errors.
Access your Course Timetable Browser (MyEd login)
Course Timetable Browser shows you a number of possible timetables and acts as an aid to plan classes and courses. It lets you explore and generate a timetable so you can see how courses will fit together and what each day will look like.
Tips for navigating Course Timetable Browser:
- Search for your compulsory 'core' courses first as these will be set in the schedule from July onwards
- You can then add in any potential optional courses and view how this would look on this simulated timetable (courses will show in different colours)
- If you open course information on the timetable, it will bring you back to the DRPS
Please note: the Course Timetable Browser is a simulation only and your optional courses will only be confirmed when you start with your School.