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Scottish Ethnology and Archaeology

Entry requirements


A level

A,B,B

Required subjects: A Levels: no specific A Level subjects required. GCSEs: English at C or 4.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

34

34 points with 655 at HL. Required subjects: HL: no specific subjects required. SL: 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.

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

Archaeology

Cultural studies

Uncover Scotland's past and help shape its future, while gaining skills that you can apply to any country, culture or place.

This innovative joint honours programme combines two related yet distinct approaches to the study of human cultures, past and present.

Taking this programme shows an openness to ideas and perspectives other than your own, an essential attribute in many careers and a global marketplace.

Over the course of your four years with us, you will gain the practical and intellectual tools to handle and interpret:

* historic remains and artefacts

* print and traditional resources

* modern media and digital data

**Scottish Ethnology**

Ethnology is the study of the culture and traditions of developed societies. It is sometimes described as being at the intersection where history and anthropology meet.

While ethnology is commonly offered in universities across Europe, this is the only full undergraduate programme of its kind in the UK.

Focusing on Scotland, but also looking at comparative material from elsewhere, you will study the varying ways in which a modern European nation expresses itself culturally.

Our courses explore questions like:

* how do customs, beliefs, social organisation, language, music and song help to create and shape identity in the modern world?

* how do we use and make sense of the past from within our present?

* how can this understanding help us to shape our future?

A highlight of our programme is the chance to work with the rich range of materials in the School of Scottish Studies Archives and Scottish Studies Library.

You will explore the work of former staff and students who, since 1951, have been capturing elements of life in Scotland's farming and fishing communities, towns and cities.

Today, the Archives run to:

* 33,000 recordings of songs, music, stories, rhyme and verse in Scots, Gaelic and English, as well as in dialects now extinct

* thousands of photographs and rarely-seen historic documents which capture exceptional and everyday aspects of Scottish culture and heritage

These materials are kept alive through our teaching, undergraduate and postgraduate research, and through the work of our Traditional Artist and Gaelic Writer in Residence.

**Archaeology**

Complementing the ethnology side of your programme, which explores the recent past and present, your studies in archaeology take you further back in time.

Our courses will help you develop a parallel range of skills in the interpretation of social and cultural change.

The programme also develops your understanding of:

* the material basis of archaeology

* the contested nature of objects

* the social relationships that are spun around them

* the people who use and interpret them

You will gain practical experience in archaeological fieldwork, and use excellent on-campus laboratories.

Studying Scottish Ethnology and Archaeology at Edinburgh has been incredibly rewarding. I have been so surprised at how well both subjects tie into each other, and I doubt any other degree will help you better understand Scotland's material and non-material culture and history.

The programme has opened my eyes to so many elements of our understanding of culture and heritage, while allowing me to consider my own identity and relationship with it. In particular, the scale and breadth of the School of Scottish Studies Archives has given me an opportunity I don't think I would have anywhere else. There's never been a dull moment, and I've been surprised at every turn.

- Alastair, Year 3, Scottish Ethnology and Archaeology MA Hons

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.

87%
Archaeology

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.

Archaeology

Teaching and learning

97%
Staff make the subject interesting
100%
Staff are good at explaining things
79%
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

91%
Library resources
91%
IT resources
72%
Course specific equipment and facilities
58%
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?

75%
UK students
25%
International students
32%
Male students
68%
Female students
88%
2:1 or above
11%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
A
A*

Cultural studies

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.

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.

Archaeology

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
87%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

12%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
11%
Business, research and administrative professionals
8%
Other elementary services occupations

Want to do a job in the arts - with lots of the great outdoors? Try archaeology! There don't tend to be many archaeology undergraduates out there (just under 700 graduated in 2015) - but it's quite a popular subject at postgraduate level. In fact, over a quarter of archaeology graduates take some kind of further study when they graduate - usually more study of archaeology. When you look at the stats, be aware that junior jobs in archaeology are not always well paid at the start of your career, and that temporary contracts are not uncommon. Thankfully, though, unpaid work, whilst not completely gone, is less common than it used to be. The archaeology graduates of 2015 found jobs in archaeology, of course, but also management and heritage and environment work, as well as more conventional graduate jobs in marketing and the finance industry.

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.

What about your long term prospects?

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

Archaeology

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.

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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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