The four-year experience

Scottish degree programmes are designed to include four years of study to give you a broader and more flexible education.

They allow you to try a range of subjects before specialising. Even if you know exactly what you want to do, you can study additional subjects and add depth to your education.

By the time you graduate your breadth of knowledge will be highly prized by employers, giving you the best chance of success in your chosen field.

Advantages of a four-year degree

Choose to study with us and you will have the opportunity to:

• enhance your career prospects by gaining a broad education that is attractive to employers
• experience new subjects without the need to commit long-term - you might discover new passions, take your career in a new direction or simply enhance your CV
• discover where your strengths lie and tailor your degree accordingly
• nurture your talent, develop a broad range of skills and grow intellectually over a longer period of time
• broaden your horizons - opportunities to study abroad are possible on most of our programmes

Edinburgh allows you to be flexible in your subjects. I was able to study economics, philosophy and Italian in my first year, and I’m able to make a much more informed decision about my final degree, having been able to study several subjects to begin with.

Year by year

Most of our programmes in the arts, humanities, engineering, sciences or social sciences let you study a range of subjects in Years 1 and 2, before specialising in the next two.

I like that I have had the opportunity to take outside subjects. I didn't get a chance to take more than one language in school so, when I came to Edinburgh, I used all my outside courses to learn new languages - German, Spanish and Gaelic - and taking these languages has of course enhanced my linguistics skills.

In Year 1, you usually study three subjects. You may choose these from related areas or you can experiment with different subjects.

In Year 2, you'll know which subjects you want to continue with and which new ones you'd like to try.

So, by Years 3 and 4, you'll feel confident about choosing which area(s) to specialise in.

Edinburgh is one of the top campuses that we target for recruitment. If you are looking for a university that will give you the skills and experiences to have a successful career, then Edinburgh is a good place to start.

Study abroad

You may have the exciting opportunity to study abroad in Year 3.

Study and Work Away

Degree structure examples

Your timetable, courses, options and specialisations will vary depending on your chosen programme.

View our real examples of students' degree timetables to see the breadth of study possible in our programmes.

I’ve tried to take courses in as many different subjects as possible: from political economy and political theory to Africa and international security. Experimenting has been helpful in finding out what I want to focus on.