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The University of Edinburgh

UCAS Code: RN21 | Master of Arts (with Honours) - MA (Hons)

Entry requirements

A level

A,B,B

ABB. Required subjects: A levels: no specific A Level subjects required. GCSEs: Mathematics and a language other than English at B or 6 and English at C or 4.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

34

34 points with 655 at HL. Required subjects: HL: no specific subjects required. SL: English and a language other than English at 5, and Mathematics at 5.

Scottish Higher

A,B,B,B

ABBB by end of S5 or AABB/ABBBB by end of S6. BBB must be achieved in one year of S4-S6. Required subjects: Highers: no specific Higher subjects required. National 5s: Mathematics and a language other than English at B and English at C.

UCAS Tariff

114-128

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

About this course

Course option

4years

Full-time | 2025

Subjects

Business studies

German studies

Over one third of Europeans speak German as their first language, and the language ranks in the world's top 20 most widely spoken. As a working language for many international organisations, German makes an excellent partner subject to Business.

**German**

Across all four years of our programme, including a year abroad, your studies will give you the chance to gain professional skills in all aspects of German, including:

* reading and listening

* writing and translating

* speaking and presenting

As well as language learning, you will also explore German-language literature, film and theatre. You will study these in the context of historical and political developments, from the eighteenth century to contemporary times.

On joining us, beginners take our German 1A course. Students with substantial prior experience of learning the language typically take German 1B.

By your final year, you will have developed the linguistic, critical and analytical skills to the standard of completing a dissertation or long essay.

**Business**

Studying business will prepare you for the social, political, environmental and cultural challenges facing contemporary businesses, governments and not-for-profit organisations.

Our programme is taught by world-leading industry professionals and researchers who will help you develop personal and professional competencies such as:

* authentic leadership

* ethical, responsible, sustainable business behaviour

* entrepreneurial practice

* effective communication

This will enable you to work across a range of roles in contemporary business including:

* accountancy and finance

* strategy

* marketing

* human resource management

* data analytics

* entrepreneurship and innovation

The Business School Student Development team provides opportunities for you to develop a range of essential business graduate competencies. You may participate in undergraduate Edinburgh Awards supported by an alumni professional mentor and trained coaches, focusing on:

* Personal and Professional Development (Year 2)

* Effective and Responsible Leadership (Year 3 or 4)

You can also participate in a large number of business societies, business events and peer-support schemes.

**Business or International Business?**

This programme is a more wide-ranging alternative to the International Business with German programme. Alongside courses in local and global business, you will study German and associated cultures over the full four years, and be able to take more option courses in Years 1 and 2.

On your year abroad (Year 3), you will not necessarily study business courses, but you will complete an independent piece of research on a contemporary business issue relating to the country in which you are studying or working (usually Germany or Austria).

In Year 4, in addition to German language and cultural study, you will choose three honours-level courses from options on different aspects of business.

**Why Edinburgh**

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 programmes are highly sought-after and accredited by a wide range of leading business education organisations and professional bodies. We have leading graduate employers involved across the curriculum.

Our four-year degree is also flexible. In Years 1 and 2, as well as your core subjects, you will choose option courses from a wide range of disciplines. You will then specialise as you move through your honours years, the first of which is spent abroad.

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

Tuition fees

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

EU
£28,000
per year
International
£28,000
per year
Scotland
£1,820
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.

73%
Business studies
84%
German 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.

Business studies

Teaching and learning

72%
Staff make the subject interesting
77%
Staff are good at explaining things
79%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
65%
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

77%
Library resources
85%
IT resources
87%
Course specific equipment and facilities
70%
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?

50%
UK students
50%
International students
41%
Male students
59%
Female students
95%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

German and scandinavian studies

Teaching and learning

80%
Staff make the subject interesting
92%
Staff are good at explaining things
80%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
72%
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

75%
Library resources
96%
IT resources
96%
Course specific equipment and facilities
48%
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?

89%
UK students
11%
International students
25%
Male students
75%
Female students
98%
2:1 or above
2%
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.

Business 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.

£26,000
high
Average annual salary
94%
med
Employed or in further education
83%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

24%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
22%
Business, research and administrative professionals
14%
Business, finance and related associate professionals

The number of business studies graduates fell significantly last year after a long period of increase. But there were still more than 14,000 degrees awarded and this is the third most popular subject for new graduates. Because so many graduates get business studies degrees, you can find them everywhere in the economy, and very few jobs are completely out of reach for a good business studies graduate. Around 40% go into jobs in finance, sales, recruitment, management (particularly retail) or marketing. There is also a small (but well paid) group who take their technical skills into computing and IT. Thousands of graduates from this subject go into professional jobs every year, and average starting salaries are above the average for all subjects and particularly healthy in London where they top £25k. Graduates with good degree grades in business studies are much more likely to get good jobs, so don’t be complacent, and keep a close eye on your grades.

German and scandinavian 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.

£22,000
high
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

14%
Other elementary services occupations
13%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
10%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

It's often said the UK doesn't produce enough modern language graduates, and graduates from German courses have a lot of options available to them when they complete their courses. The unemployment rates last year was lower than graduates in general. Nearly a quarter of working graduates from 2015 got jobs outside the UK — mostly as English teachers — which is much higher than for most subjects. The relative strength of the German economy means there will continue to be opportunities there in the future. But more graduates went to work in London, and those who want to stay at home to work find jobs anywhere where good communication skills are a must, particularly in education, in marketing, in the arts and in business and finance as teachers, writers, personnel officers, financial advisors, analysts, sales people and marketers.. But remember — whilst employers say they rate graduates who have more than one language, you need to have them as part of a whole package of good skills.

What about your long term prospects?

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

Business 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.

£24k

£24k

£31k

£31k

£36k

£36k

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.

German and scandinavian 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...

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