Celtic and Scottish Studies

Uncover Scotland's past and help shape the future. Taking a degree in Celtic and Scottish Studies shows an openness to ideas and perspectives from a range of people, places and eras; an essential attribute in many careers and a global marketplace. 

The University of Edinburgh has the longest established Celtic department in Scotland and is the proud home of the School of Scottish Studies Archives. We are the only institution in the world to offer programmes in Scottish Ethnology as part of our wide range of degree combinations in Celtic and Scottish Studies. 

The focus we place on comparative work, and on studying a range of subjects over your four years, gives you the mix of transferable skills and Intercultural Competence valued by employers worldwide. Whether you stay in Scotland, or move elsewhere when you graduate, any of our degrees will make you stand out. 

Based in an historic capital city with a long-established Gaelic community, we are at the heart of a lively contemporary cultural scene and lead the way for future language planning and maintenance. You do not need to know Scottish Gaelic to study on our programmes but, if you want to learn it, you can start as a complete beginner. 

Undergraduate degrees in Celtic and Scottish Studies

On all of our undergraduate degree programmes, you will:

•  Study over four years, giving you choice and flexibility. If you take a joint honours with a European language, you will spend Year 3 abroad; joint programmes with Archaeology involve fieldwork.
• Try out different subjects in your first two years. Choices range from business and informatics to learning one of more than 20 world languages, even as a complete beginner!
• Learn at the heart of Scotland's capital city. When you are on campus, you’ll spend most of your time in the University of Edinburgh's Central Area; in class, in the library, or in one of our many social and support spaces.
• Be inspired by traditional musicians, composers and storytellers, including our Traditional Artist and Gaelic Writer in Residence who work on a range of projects and performances.
• Get the chance to join societies related to what you're studying. An Comunn Ceilteach (The Highland Society) is the University’s oldest student society and organises the city’s largest annual cèilidh.
• Delve into fantastic libraries and collections, including the School of Scottish Studies Archives; thousands of hours of recordings, photographs and rarely-seen historic documents capturing exceptional and everyday aspects of Scottish culture and heritage.