Get degree ideas using our A level explorer tool

Scandinavian Studies and History

Entry requirements


A level

A,B,B

Required subjects: A Levels: no specific A Level subjects required. GCSEs: 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: a language other than English at 5 and 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: no specific Higher subjects required. National 5s: 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 | 2024

Subjects

History

Scandinavian studies

The languages, history, politics and culture of the Scandinavian countries have long had a considerable impact beyond the Nordic region.

Studying Scandinavian Studies and History helps us understand the contemporary world, as well as shedding light on the past.

On our flexible joint honours programme, you have the opportunity to develop advanced spoken and written language skills in Danish, Norwegian or Swedish while exploring Scandinavian culture and diverse historical periods and themes.

Combined with studying options from other disciplines in Years 1 and 2, this will give you the ideal mix of specialist knowledge and Intercultural Competence valued by graduate employers around the globe.

**No prior knowledge needed**

You do not currently need to know a Scandinavian language, as Year 1 courses are available for beginners.

While you will specialise in one Scandinavian language, you will also gain an understanding of the other two we teach to degree level. In Year Two, for example, you can choose to explore the similarities and differences between Danish, Swedish and Norwegian.

By Year 3, you will have the skills to spend the year abroad in Scandinavia.

Year 4 gives you the opportunity to gain advanced skills in translation and to write different types of texts in your chosen language.

**Why Edinburgh?**

Edinburgh is the only university in Scotland, and one of only two in the UK, to offer undergraduate honours programmes in Scandinavian Studies.

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

The Edinburgh experience is distinctive for its range of historical themes, chronological periods and geographical areas. You can choose from courses covering:

* the early Middle Ages to the most recent past

* Britain and Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas

Further, our courses offer a rich variety of approaches to the past, including:

* political history

* cultural history

* social history

* economic history

* intellectual history

* gender history

* global and transnational history

We are the proud home of the Northern Scholars programme which fosters co-operation between the Nordic and Baltic countries and Scotland.

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
£26,500
per year
International
£26,500
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.

76%
History
84%
Scandinavian 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.

History

Teaching and learning

86%
Staff make the subject interesting
92%
Staff are good at explaining things
82%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
67%
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
91%
IT resources
79%
Course specific equipment and facilities
63%
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?

84%
UK students
16%
International students
39%
Male students
61%
Female students
91%
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?

78%
UK students
22%
International students
27%
Male students
73%
Female students
98%
2:1 or above
3%
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.

History

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.

£20,000
med
Average annual salary
94%
med
Employed or in further education
68%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

13%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
11%
Business, research and administrative professionals
8%
Other elementary services occupations

History is a very popular subject (although numbers have fallen of late) — in 2015, over 10,000 UK students graduated in a history-related course. Obviously, there aren't 11,000 jobs as historians available every year, but history is a good, flexible degree that allows graduates to go into a wide range of different jobs, and consequently history graduates have an unemployment rate comparable to the national graduate average. Many — probably most — jobs for graduates don't ask for a particular degree to go into them and history graduates are well set to take advantage. That's why so many go into jobs in the finance industry, human resources, marketing, PR and events management, as well as the more obvious roles in education, welfare and the arts. Around one in five history graduates went into further study last year. History and teaching were the most popular further study subjects for history graduates, but law, journalism, and politics were also popular postgraduate courses.

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

Very few graduates take this subject and so we can't say anything definitively about what graduates go on to do with these degrees. That said, modern language grads usually have a range of opportunities available to them, both home and abroad. If you are interested in studying this subject, then it might be a good idea to go on open days and talk to tutors about what you might expect from the course and what previous graduates did.

What about your long term prospects?

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

History

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

£22k

£22k

£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.

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...

Higher entry requirements
The University of Edinburgh | Edinburgh
German and History
MA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 120-136
Lower entry requirements
University of Dundee | Dundee
History with Spanish
MA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 104-120

Share this page

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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