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Celtic and English Language

Entry requirements


A level

A,B,B

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

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

34

34 points with 655 at HL. Required subjects: HL: no specific subjects required. SL: English at 5 and a language other than 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: English at C and a language other than 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 | 2024

Subjects

English language

Celtic studies

Study Celtic and English Language at the University of Edinburgh and you will learn about extraordinarily rich cultures, from the Middle Ages to the present day.

Our joint honours programme gives you the opportunity to study the languages, literatures and cultures of the Celtic world while exploring how English has evolved over time.

Combining the study of how language works with linguistic and literary tradition demonstrates that you are a good communicator, and someone open to other cultures and new ideas.

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

**Celtic**

At all levels of study on this four-year programme, we offer courses in the languages, literatures, histories, and cultures of the Celtic world.

You have the option to study Scottish Gaelic and build up to advanced competency in the language.

A choice of pathways through the programme enable you to develop your own interests in particular areas, periods and disciplines of Celtic studies.

Our expertise covers:

* Scottish Gaelic from the late Middle Ages to the present, including language policy and revitalisation

* the medieval literary tradition in Early Irish and Medieval Welsh - the most extensive in the whole of Europe

* the rich oral tradition recorded from the 18th century to the present day

* poetry from the 18th century golden age of Gaelic literature

* 19th and 20th century responses to the rapid social, cultural, and linguistic changes in countries where the Celtic languages are spoken

* the writing, song, and media production emerging from the lively and varied contemporary cultural scene in Gaelic Scotland, Ireland, and Wales

**Celtic language study**

If you choose to study Scottish Gaelic, it does not matter if you are a complete beginner; we stream our Year 1 classes to suit all levels of prior knowledge or none.

You can also learn a medieval Celtic language at honours level (Years 3 and 4). Both Old Irish and Middle Welsh are available. For this path, you will study Celtic civilisation and literature in Years 1 and 2, with texts presented in English translation.

**English Language**

The English language has a well-recorded history of more than 1,000 years, and its changes can be traced through written materials ranging from medieval manuscripts to text messages, and more recently, through recordings of spoken English.

Your studies will develop your knowledge and understanding of:

* the principles of theoretical linguistics

* the way we learn language

* the regional and social variations of language, particularly the English language

* methods of communication

As part of the programme, you can opt to study the Scots language, which has its own rich linguistic and literary tradition.

English Language courses of particular interest to students of Celtic cover:

* the speech sounds of the world's languages

* variation in the languages of the world

**Why Edinburgh?**

Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh has a long-established Gaelic community and a lively contemporary cultural scene. Its collections are outstanding, as are the University's own resources for the study of Celtic and English Language.

Our programme is extremely flexible. In Years 1 and 2, in addition to Celtic and English Language, you will choose option courses from a wide range of disciplines. You will then specialise as you progress through your honours years.

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.

52%
English language

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.

English language

Teaching and learning

70%
Staff make the subject interesting
91%
Staff are good at explaining things
74%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
43%
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
100%
IT resources
68%
Course specific equipment and facilities
43%
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?

55%
UK students
45%
International students
21%
Male students
79%
Female students
96%
2:1 or above
10%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

Celtic studies (non-specific)

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

88%
UK students
12%
International students
17%
Male students
83%
Female students
96%
2:1 or above
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
B

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.

English language

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

Celtic studies (non-specific)

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
95%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

12%
Teaching and educational professionals
11%
Other elementary services occupations
10%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals

As only a small number of students study this course, these stats refer to both the Gaelic and Celtic languages and study — over 40% of the graduates in this area have studied Welsh and another quarter studied Irish Gaelic. Not surprisingly, most graduates go to work in the regions they studied, so these subjects tend to lead to jobs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and salaries reflect that, being a little lower than the graduate average. Graduates from Celtic studies subjects are also quite likely to go into teacher training when they graduate.

What about your long term prospects?

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

English language

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.

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

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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.

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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here