Your degree
We offer four types of undergraduate degree programme in the College of Arts.
In the MyCampus system this will be called your ‘Programme’.
Most students will be studying an Master of Arts (MA) (Honours) degree in one subject (a Single Honours degree) or in two subjects (a Joint Honours degree). The subject(s) you applied for on your UCAS form (e.g., Gaelic or Classics/History) are called your ‘Academic Plan’ or degree plan.
Music students will be studying for a Bachelor of Music (BMus) degree and students on this programme will be invited to a separate Advising session in the subject-area for advice. Some students in Theology will be studying for a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) degree. If either of these is your programme, you will have applied through UCAS for these specific degree titles.
The information that follows focuses on the Master of Arts (MA).
Master of Arts (MA) degree programme structure
Our programmes offer you flexibility. In years 1 and 2 you will have the opportunity to explore subjects and this will form the broad base of your knowledge and prepare you for Honours study. Entry into Honours depends on achieving the required credits and grades in your first two years.
Honours study (years 3 and 4) will give you the opportunity to develop specialist knowledge in your chosen subject/s. Your eventual degree classification is based upon the two years of Honours level work.
If you choose to specialise in one subject you’ll take a Single Honours degree; if you choose to specialise in two subjects you’ll take a Joint Honours degree.
Year 1
In year 1 you usually choose three subjects to study at Level-1, any of which could form the basis of an Honours degree. You may go on to pursue an Honours degree in a subject which did not form part of your original UCAS application.
If you have applied for a Single Honours degree, you will study your compulsory subject (the initial choice on your UCAS application), and two optional subjects.
If you have applied for a Joint Honours degree, you will study both your compulsory subjects and one optional subject.
In a full year of study you will take courses amounting to 120 credits, (called ‘units’ in MyCampus). Most subjects offer two 20 credit courses in Year 1, each running for one semester. Some courses that run for two semesters and these may be worth 40 credits. In total, you will study 40 credits in each of your three subjects in Year 1.
Year 2
In Year 2, a student normally takes two of these subjects to level 2 (minimum 80 credits at level 2) and the rest of that year’s 120 credits is made up by choosing a new subject at Level-1 to continue to broaden your horizons. You may also continue with your third subject at Level-2 if space permits. However, we do not advise you to do this as the workload can be very heavy.
Your Level 2 subjects are the ones which you will have the opportunity to study at Honours level.
As an Arts student, you will be required to take 120 credits in subjects taught by the College of Arts over your first two years. The remaining credits can be taken in Arts, Social Sciences or Science courses.
At the end of the second year you’ll normally progress to an MA Honours degree, provided you have met both the conditions of entry to Honours in your chosen subject(s) and the College of Arts Honours entry requirements. However, you can finish your studies at the end of third year with an MA (non-Honours) designated degree.
Please visit How an Arts Degree Works for examples of our flexible degree structures.