2022 entry
2022 entry
Undergraduate study
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Subject area: English Literature and Scottish Literature

Why choose English Literature and Scottish Literature at the University of Edinburgh?

  • We are the oldest department of English Literature in the UK; one of the longest established in the world. We are one of very few universities to teach a full Honours programme in Scottish Literature.

  • We are ranked in the world's top 10 universities for English Language and Literature in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021.

  • With multiple student societies for literature and drama enthusiasts, our large community has lots to offer, including reading and writers’ groups, poetry slams, creative writing magazines, guest seminars, a Peer-Assisted Learning Scheme, and a Writer-in-Residence.

Study abroad

Edinburgh is a place where culture, literature and history coalesce, and students at the University have the privilege of being surrounded with. One of the best things about studying English Literature here is that academic study is only part of the whole experience; the extra-curriculars add so much.

Aarti 2nd year MA (Hons) English Literature and History
Aarti 2nd year MA (Hons) English Literature and History

Introducing English Literature and Scottish Literature

By enhancing your unique literary and critical faculties, studying English and Scottish Literature prepares you to contribute to a society in which an understanding of texts of all kinds is crucially important.

You can take a single honours programme in either English Literature or Scottish Literature, or combine both in a joint honours programme. You can also take either with one of a wide range of other subjects, including English Language, and a number of European languages.

Whichever programme you choose, you will develop analytic, linguistic and creative skills by engaging with a broad range of texts and a variety of approaches to reading.

You will explore the cultural contexts of writing from the late Middle Ages to the present and develop a detailed knowledge of specific topics, periods or genres, depending on your interests.

Teaching takes place in the University of Edinburgh's central area in a world-leading capital city. Home of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, its outstanding libraries, collections and literary venues include the:

  • National Library of Scotland

  • Scottish Poetry Library

  • Writers’ Museum

  • Scottish Storytelling Centre

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