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German and Linguistics

Entry requirements


A level

A,A,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,A,B,B

AABB by end of S5 or AAAB 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

120-136

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

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

German studies

Linguistics

More people speak German as their native language than any other in Europe and, worldwide, it is the third most popular language to learn.

This flexible programme gives you the opportunity to study German while developing your social scientific understanding of language.

German and Linguistics make an excellent joint honours choice by combining the study of:

* a modern language in its cultural context

* the expression and creation of meaning

Linguistics courses of particular relevance to language students cover:

* the speech sounds of the world's languages

* variation in the languages of the world

* the structure and history of world languages

**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 more experience of learning the language typically take German 1B.

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

**Linguistics**

Linguistics examines how language works, describing how sounds, words, sentences and conversations combine to express and create meaning.

You will also study:

* the use of language in everyday life

* the ways in which language works across society and evolves over time

* how language is mastered by children

As you progress through the programme, you will have the opportunity to plan and test scientific hypotheses about linguistic phenomena using specialist linguistics and phonetics equipment.

**Why Edinburgh**

As a world-leading festival and capital city, Edinburgh is a fantastic place to study a modern language in its cultural context and alongside Linguistics.

German has been taught here since 1894, making it one of the first modern European languages to be offered at Edinburgh.

Studying over four years enables you to choose courses, including from other disciplines, that match your own interests, expertise and employability needs.

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.

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.

84%
German studies
61%
Linguistics

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.

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

Linguistics

Teaching and learning

85%
Staff make the subject interesting
94%
Staff are good at explaining things
84%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
54%
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

70%
Library resources
91%
IT resources
83%
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?

63%
UK students
37%
International students
26%
Male students
74%
Female students
92%
2:1 or above
5%
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.

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.

Linguistics

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
92%
low
Employed or in further education
46%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

14%
Other administrative occupations
12%
Teaching and educational professionals
10%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals

This is not a particularly common subject at first degree level and most of the degrees that fall in this category are offered by the University of Durham. If you fancy one of these broad degrees, it is probably best to speak directly to tutors to find out what your options on your degree might be and what they can lead to,

What about your long term prospects?

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

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.

Linguistics

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.

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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.

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