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The University of Edinburgh

UCAS Code: RL12 | Master of Arts (with Honours) - MA (Hons)

Entry requirements

A level

A,A,A

Required subjects: A Levels: a language other than English at B. GCSEs: French at B or 6 and English at C or 4.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

37-34

37 points with 666 at HL - 34 points with 655 at HL. Required subjects: HL: a language other than English at 5. SL: French at 5 and English at 5.

Scottish Higher

A,A,B,B

AABB by end of S5 or AAAB by end of S6. BBB must be achieved in one year of S4-S6. Required subjects: Highers: a language other than English at B. National 5s: French at B and English at C.

UCAS Tariff

120-144

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course

Course option

4years

Full-time | 2025

Subjects

Politics

French studies

French is a major world language, spoken in many parts of Europe, Africa and the Americas.

The francophone world also has a fascinating political history, making French and Politics an excellent joint honours combination.

**French**

You will have the opportunity to acquire near-native fluency in this widely-spoken modern language through intensive language study at Edinburgh and a year abroad.

You will also explore aspects of French culture, including francophone literature and cinema from around the world, social movements and philosophical ideas.

Our courses cover material from the Middle Ages to the 21st century and include specialist options taught by leading experts in key disciplines, including post-colonial studies and gender studies.

**Politics**

Politics studies the theory and practice of how societies are governed. How do our political institutions create collective rules, who has the power to make them, and what are the consequences of political decisions? What is the nature of a just society, and how do we get there?

Drawing on the expertise of leading academics and researchers in the field, you will explore the origins and present-day contexts of societal conflicts about power, participation, and resources. You will not only study the processes of governance at the local, national, and international levels, but also the morality of political action, and the limits of freedom and justice.

**Why Edinburgh?**

As a world-leading festival and capital city, Edinburgh is a fantastic place to study a global language in its cultural context and alongside politics.

We are unique in Scotland in offering students a full academic year abroad within the four-year honours programme, regardless of whether you spend the year studying or working.

Our programme is flexible. In Years 1 and 2, as well as studying French and Politics, you will choose option courses from a range of disciplines. You will then specialise as you progress through your honours years.

When you graduate, you will have the combination of broad cultural education and specialist knowledge valued by employers worldwide.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£28,000
per year
International
£28,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£1,820
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni

Course location:

Central area campus

Department:

School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures

Read full university profile

What students say

We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

64%
Politics
52%
French studies

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Politics

Teaching and learning

81%
Staff make the subject interesting
83%
Staff are good at explaining things
74%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
60%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

71%
Library resources
89%
IT resources
83%
Course specific equipment and facilities
47%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

61%
UK students
39%
International students
37%
Male students
63%
Female students
92%
2:1 or above
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

French studies

Teaching and learning

65%
Staff make the subject interesting
82%
Staff are good at explaining things
65%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
59%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

78%
Library resources
94%
IT resources
81%
Course specific equipment and facilities
31%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

93%
UK students
7%
International students
23%
Male students
77%
Female students
97%
2:1 or above
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

After graduation

The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Politics

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£24,000
high
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education
69%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

22%
Business, research and administrative professionals
10%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
7%
Other elementary services occupations

The numbers of people taking politics degrees fell sharply last year and we'll keep an eye on this one - it can't really be because of graduates getting poor outcomes as politics grads do about as well as graduates on average. Most politics or international relations graduates don't actually go into politics - although many do, as activists, fundraisers and researchers. Jobs in local and central government are also important. Other popular jobs include marketing and PR, youth and community work, finance roles, HR and academic research (you usually need a postgraduate degree to get into research). Because so many graduates get jobs in the civil service, a lot of graduates find themselves in London after graduating. Politics is a very popular postgraduate subject, and so about one in five politics graduates go on to take another course - usually a one-year Masters - after they finish their degrees.

French studies

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£21,500
med
Average annual salary
92%
low
Employed or in further education
73%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

19%
Teaching and educational professionals
10%
Business, research and administrative professionals
10%
Media professionals

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Politics

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£23k

£23k

£31k

£31k

£33k

£33k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

French studies

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£21k

£21k

£29k

£29k

£33k

£33k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Nearby University
place
University of Glasgow | Glasgow
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UCAS Points: -
Higher entry requirements
place
The University of Edinburgh | Edinburgh
Sociology and Politics
MA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2025
UCAS Points: 126-152
Lower entry requirements
place
University of Dundee | Dundee
Politics with French
MA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2025
UCAS Points: 102-120

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here