THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2025/2026

Timetable information in the Course Catalogue may be subject to change.

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DRPS : DPTs :  School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences DPTs
Jump to: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4

Year 1 Academic year: 2025/26, Starting in: September

Notes:
You will be automatically enroled on your compulsory courses in Philosophy and Linguistics, totalling 100 credits. You must pass Linguistics and English Language 1A and Linguistics and English Language 1B to progress to Year 2 of the programme.

For your 20 credits of options, you can either choose Philosophy of Science 1, an 'outside' course from across the University, or a 'Challenge' course.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 20 credits in this group.

Philosophy of Science 1

Select between 0 and 20 credits of the following courses
Notes:
You may optionally take Philosophy of Science 1 in Year 1 or 2.
OR

Level 7 and 8 courses in Schedules A to Q, S, T, W and Y

Notes:
You can take 20 'outside' credits (usually 1 course), which can be a course from subject areas across the University. You need to select this course to be enroled on it. Some courses have prerequisites that you will need to meet to take the course.

You can only select a Level 7 and 8 course from Schedules A to Q, S, T, W and Y. Only 40 credits of level 7 courses are permitted across Years 1 and 2.
OR

Challenge Courses: Engaging with complex problems through interdisciplinary collaboration

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
Notes:
Challenge Courses are designed to bring together students from different degree programmes to explore the complex issues facing the world today through interdisciplinary collaboration and creative thinking.
Working with each other and expert academics, students will gain new perspectives and develop important life skills highly valued by employers, such as teamwork, problem-solving and adaptability.

Year 2 Academic year: 2025/26, Starting in: August

Notes:
You will be automatically enroled on your compulsory courses in Philosophy and Linguistics, totalling 80 credits.

Progression to Honours (Year 3) requires:

- An average of 50% across both MML and K&R, achieved at first attempt
- A pass of 40% or above in both MML and K&R, achieved at first attempt.
- An pass of 40% or above in both Linguistics and English Language 2A and 2B.

For your 40 credits of options, you can select two courses in any combination from Philosophy of Science 1, Introduction to the History of Philosophy A, LEL2C, LEL2D, or 'outside' courses from across the University.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 40 credits in this group.

Philosophy of Science 1

Select between 0 and 20 credits of the following courses
Notes:
You may optionally take Philosophy of Science 1 if you did not take it in Year 1.
AND

Introduction to the History of Philosophy A

Select between 0 and 20 credits of the following courses
Notes:
You may optionally take Introduction to the History of Philosophy A.
AND

LEL Optionals

Select between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses
AND

Level 7 and 8 courses in Schedules A to Q, S, T, W and Y

Select between 0 and 40 credits from Level 7 and 8 courses in Schedules A to Q, S, T, W and Y
Notes:
You can take 0-40 credits (0-2 courses) of 'outside' courses, which can be from subject areas across the University. You need to select these courses to be enroled on them. Some courses have prerequisites that you will need to meet to take the course.

You can only select Level 7 and 8 courses from Schedules A to Q, S, T, W and Y. Only 40 credits of level 7 courses are permitted across Years 1 and 2.
AND

Challenge Courses: Engaging with complex problems through interdisciplinary collaboration

Select between 0 and 20 credits of the following courses
Notes:
Challenge Courses are designed to bring together students from different degree programmes to explore the complex issues facing the world today through interdisciplinary collaboration and creative thinking.
Working with each other and expert academics, students will gain new perspectives and develop important life skills highly valued by employers, such as teamwork, problem-solving and adaptability.

Year 3 Academic year: 2025/26, Starting in: August

Notes:
You will need to take the following:
- Philosophy Dissertation Information Course (0 credits). This is required to take a dissertation in Philosophy in Year 4, but does not preclude taking a Language Sciences dissertation.
- 40-80 credits (2-3 courses) of Year 3 Philosophy courses (from any category).
- 40-80 credits (2-3 courses) of Honours Language Science courses, including at least 1 'Foundation' course.

You can either split your credits evenly - 60 credits in Philosophy and 60 in Language Sciences, or opt for an 80-40 split, with 2 courses in one subject and 4 in the other. In both cases, you must take 120 credits in total.

Your free choices in Language Sciences courses can include up to two Guided Research in LEL courses. Students considering a dissertation in Language Sciences in Year 4 must include a Language Sciences 'Skills' course in their Year 3 course selections.

The LEL Honours handbook gives further details about the Language Science courses being offered in any one year, as well as about restrictions on choice of courses. Students must consult this handbook regarding the selection of courses. Some courses appear in more than one category, but you cannot take the same course twice.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 120 credits in this group.

Language Sciences: Honours Foundation courses

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
AND

Language Sciences: all Honours courses (Year 3)

Select between 20 and 40 credits of the following courses
Notes:
You have a 'free choice' to pick up to two Language Science course from any category (Foundation, Skills, Linguistics, or English Language) - this list shows all courses available. The LEL Honours handbook provides full details on which courses belong to which category.

Some courses appear in more than one category, but you cannot take the same course twice.

Students considering a dissertation in Language Sciences in Year 4 must include a Skills course in their Year 3 course selections.

You may take Guided Research A (Semester 1) and/or Guided Research B (Semester 2) as 'free choice' options. Both courses can be taken if you wish.
AND

Year 3 Philosophy - History of Philosophy

Select between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses
AND

Theoretical Philosophy

Select between 0 and 80 credits of the following courses
AND

Practical Philosophy

Select between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses

Year 4 Academic year: 2025/26, Starting in: August

Notes:
You will need to take:

- a 40-credit Language Sciences dissertation, an independent Philosophy dissertation, or two Philosophy coursework dissertations (2x 20 credit courses) (Group A)
- 40 credits (2 courses) of Year 4 Philosophy courses (Group B)
- 40 credits (2 courses) of Year 4 Language Sciences courses (Group B)

Your free choices in Language Sciences courses can include up to two Guided Research in LEL courses.

The LEL Honours handbook gives further details about the Language Science courses being offered in any one year, as well as about restrictions on choice of courses. Students must consult this handbook regarding the selection of courses. Some courses appear in more than one category, but you cannot take the same course twice.

There are no compulsory courses in this year of this programme.

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 40 credits in this group.

Philosophy/LEL Dissertation

Select exactly 40 credits of the following courses
Notes:
You must select a dissertation in Philosophy or Language Sciences.

There are two options in Philosophy - either an independent dissertation or two coursework dissertations.

An independent Philosophy dissertation is a a single 8,000-word dissertation. You should select Philosophy Dissertation (PHIL10026) for this option.

The Philosophy coursework dissertation option involves submitting 2x 5,000-word essays in place of the standard assessment for two additional Year 4 Philosophy Honours courses. To take the coursework dissertation, you must select two courses from the
Year 4 course options listed below (within Group A). These courses are attended as normal but will not count towards your optional credit total.

You must have taken an Language Sciences 'Skills' course to take a dissertation in Language Sciences.
OR

Philosophy: all Year 4 options

Select exactly 40 credits of the following courses
Notes:
If you are taking the Philosophy coursework dissertation, you must select two courses from this group (see advice above). These must be in addition to the courses selected in Group B.
AND

Group B

Select exactly 80 credits in this group.

Philosophy: all Year 4 options

Select exactly 40 credits of the following courses
AND

Language Sciences: all Year 4 Honours courses

Select exactly 40 credits of the following courses
Notes:
You need to pick two Language Science courses from any category (Foundation, Skills, Linguistics, or English Language) - this list shows all courses available. The LEL Honours handbook provides full details on which courses belong to which category.

Some courses appear in more than one category, but you cannot take the same course twice.

You may take Guided Research C (Semester 1) and/or Guided Research D (Semester 2) as 'free choice' options. Both courses can be taken if you wish.


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