Scottish Ethnology MScR

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

All postgraduate students must enrol in the comprehensive training programme offered by Celtic & Scottish Studies, which articulates with generic training offered by the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures and the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

Primary sources are emphasised and the combination of archive work and fieldwork are particularly encouraged.

The School of Scottish Studies Archives include over 12,000 hours of sound recordings, an extensive photographic and video collection, manuscripts, Linguistic and Place-Name Surveys, and donated collections such as:

• the John Levy Archive of religious music
• the Burton-Manning Collection of Appalachian oral tradition
• the Will Forret and Gus MacDonald Collections of Scottish music
• the Edgar Ashton Folk Revival Collection

All are supported by the specialist Scottish Studies Library and online search facilities.

The University of Edinburgh Library, the National Archives and National Library of Scotland, and the Scottish Life Archive (National Museums of Scotland) are all located nearby.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a related subject.

We may also consider your application if you have other qualifications or experience; please contact us to check before you apply.

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

You must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies, regardless of your nationality or country of residence.

English language tests

For 2021 entry we will accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS: total 7.0 (at least 6.5 in each module)
• TOEFL-iBT (including Special Home Edition): total 100 (at least 23 in each module). We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• CAE and CPE: total 185 (at least 176 in each module)
• Trinity ISE: ISE III with a pass in all four components

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL or Trinity ISE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries.

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than three and a half years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

Featured funding

• School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures scholarships

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

• your programme
• the duration of your studies
• your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

• UK government and other external funding

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding