Scandinavian Studies and English Language MA (Hons)

The University of Edinburgh

The languages and linguistics of the Scandinavian countries have long had a considerable impact beyond the Nordic region.

This flexible joint honours programme gives you the opportunity to learn Danish, Norwegian or Swedish while exploring how the English language has changed over time.

Combining the linguistic and cultural study of languages demonstrates that you are a good communicator, a resilient problem solver, and someone open to other cultures and new ideas.

Most of our graduates started as complete beginners in the Scandinavian languages, leaving with the blend of broad cultural education and specialist knowledge valued by employers worldwide.

Scandinavian Studies

Scandinavian languages and cultures are increasingly popular. The region's television, film and literature attract global critical acclaim, and the socio-economic concept of the Nordic Model is widely studied.

On our programme, you have the opportunity to develop advanced spoken and written language skills in modern Danish, Norwegian or Swedish while exploring Scandinavian culture, past and present.

You do not currently need to know a Scandinavian language. By Year 3, you will have the skills to spend the year abroad in Denmark, Norway or Sweden.

While you will specialise in one Scandinavian language over the course of your four years, you will also gain an understanding of the other two we teach to degree level. In Year 2, for example, you can choose to study the similarities and differences between Danish, Swedish and Norwegian.

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 Scandinavian Studies cover:

• the speech sounds of the world's languages
• variation in the languages of the world

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.

As well as being distinctive in our subject offering, 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.

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

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