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The University of Edinburgh

UCAS Code: V6Q3 | Master of Arts (with Honours) - MA (Hons)

Entry requirements

A level

A,B,B

ABB. Required subjects: A levels: English Literature or combined English at B.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

34

34 points with 655 at HL. Required subjects: HL: English 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: English at B.

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

Theology and religious studies

Scottish literature

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

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 Divinity

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.

91%
Theology and religious studies
70%
Scottish literature

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

95%
Staff make the subject interesting
97%
Staff are good at explaining things
98%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
70%
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

82%
Library resources
92%
IT resources
87%
Course specific equipment and facilities
82%
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?

95%
UK students
5%
International students
35%
Male students
65%
Female students
98%
2:1 or above
12%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

Literature in english

Teaching and learning

85%
Staff make the subject interesting
92%
Staff are good at explaining things
81%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
62%
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

72%
Library resources
95%
IT resources
86%
Course specific equipment and facilities
60%
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?

91%
UK students
9%
International students
30%
Male students
70%
Female students
97%
2:1 or above
5%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
B
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.

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.

£22,000
med
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education
54%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

18%
Teaching and educational professionals
14%
Welfare professionals
8%
Business, finance and related associate professionals

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.

£18,500
med
Average annual salary
95%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

16%
Other elementary services occupations
11%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
10%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals

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

£24k

£27k

£27k

£30k

£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

£20k

£23k

£23k

£32k

£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 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.

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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.

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