The University of Edinburgh
UCAS Code: V6Q3 | Master of Arts (with Honours) - MA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
ABB. Required subjects: A levels: English Literature or combined English at B.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
34 points with 655 at HL. Required subjects: HL: English at 5.
Scottish Higher
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: English at B.
UCAS Tariff
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About this course
This joint honours programme combines the vibrant study of religions with the excitement of Scottish literature.
**Religious studies**
Religious studies is an interdisciplinary field focusing on religious beliefs and practices and their relationships with the wider world.
We take as much interest in the groups and people who practise religion as their gods, deities, ancestors and spirits.
You will:
* study the concepts and emotions which underpin religious belief and practice, and their role and function in culture and society
* cover historical and contemporary material
**Examining literature**
Reading and writing are key practices in religion and literature. This programme introduces you to major texts and gives you the tools and critical skills to understand and interpret them.
You will:
* gain the essential skills needed for the critical close reading of poetry, drama and prose
* read works of literature from Scotland and around the world, encountering different ideas about the nature and purpose of literary study
* use a range of methods to examine where religious ideas illuminate literature and where religion is mediated in texts
* study texts ranging from canonical writings, such as Buddhist sutras and the Hebrew Bible, to classic and modern fiction
**Why Edinburgh**
The city of Edinburgh contains many museums, galleries and cultural sites, which broaden and deepen student learning.
Home of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and the first UNESCO World City of Literature, its literary highlights include:
* the Scottish Poetry Library
* the Writers' Museum
* the Scottish Storytelling Centre
* outstanding holdings in the National Library of Scotland
Many greats of Scottish, English and world literature have called Edinburgh home. Over the past half century, Writers in Residence at the University have included:
* Jenni Fagan
* Liz Lochhead
* Sorley Maclean
* Norman MacCaig
* Michael Pedersen
* Alan Warner
**Programme benefits**
Our programme is extremely flexible. In Years 1 and 2, you will study your core subjects and will also choose option courses from a broad list of disciplines. You will specialise as you progress through your honours years.
Studying religion and literature prepares you to contribute to a society in which an understanding of texts of all kinds is crucially important. It shows an openness to ideas and perspectives other than your own, an essential attribute in many careers and the global marketplace.
Tuition fees
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What students say
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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.
Theology and religious studies
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Literature in english
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Theology and religious 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.
Top job areas of graduates
Theology can actually be a very vocational subject —by far the most common move for theology graduates is to go into the clergy and at the moment we have a serious shortage of people willing to go into what is one of the oldest graduate careers. If you want to study theology but don't want to follow a religious career, then there are plenty of options available. 2015 graduates went into all sorts of jobs requiring a degree, from education and community work, to marketing, HR and financial analysis. Postgraduate study is also popular — a lot of theology graduates train as teachers, or go into Masters or even doctoral study - where philosophy and law are very popular postgraduate subjects of study.
Literature in english
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.
Top job areas of graduates
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Theology and religious 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
£27k
£30k
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.
Literature in english
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£20k
£23k
£32k
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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?
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