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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Degree Programme Table: Arabic and Social Anthropology (MA Hons) (UTARASA)

Jump to: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4

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

Notes:
Students should aim to divide the number of credits they take in each academic year evenly between Semester 1 and Semester 2.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses
Arabic 1a

Must be passed

IMES08026 20 credits
Arabic 1b

Must be passed

IMES08027 20 credits
Islamic and Middle Eastern Cultures
IMES08051 20 credits
Social Anthropology 1A: The Life Course

Must be passed

SCAN08013 20 credits
Social Anthropology 1B: Anthropology Matters

Must be passed

SCAN08012 20 credits

Course options

Islamic History A: The Formation of the Islamic World

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
Islamic History A: The Formation of the Islamic World
IMES08033 20 credits
OR

Islamic History B: From the Crusades to the 'Gunpowder Empires'

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
Islamic History B: From the Crusades to the 'Gunpowder Empires'
IMES08034 20 credits

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

Notes:
Entry to Honours:

(1) Students must pass courses to the required value of 240 credits in the first two years.
(2) Students must achieve 50% or more, at the first attempt, in Arabic 2.

All courses (including outside subjects) must be passed before embarking on the year abroad; an outside course passed at Resit in August will be acceptable.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses
Arabic 2

Must be passed 1st time at 50%

IMES08006 40 credits
Ethnography: Theory and Practice

Must be passed

SCAN08005 20 credits
Social Anthropology 2: Key Concepts

Must be passed

SCAN08011 20 credits

Course options

Arabic Year 2

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
Selected courses must be passed
Modern Middle Eastern History A: Domestic Transformation and International Challenges
IMES08036 20 credits
Modern Middle Eastern History B: Postwar Independence and Conflict
IMES08037 20 credits
Introduction to Islam
IMES08050 20 credits
AND

Group A

Select exactly 20 credits in this group.

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

Select exactly 20 credits from Level 8 courses in Schedules A to Q, S, T, W and Y
Selected courses must be passed
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.
Selected courses must be passed
Our Changing World
BIME08006 20 credits
Sustainability and Social Responsibility (UG)
EDUA08116 20 credits
Sustainable Development Goals: History, Progress and Beyond 2030
EFIE08008 20 credits
Living in the Anthropocene
GESC08004 20 credits
Understanding Gender in the Contemporary World
SSPS08012 20 credits
Healthy Eating for People and Planet
VETS08016 20 credits

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

Notes:
During 3rd year, when permitted, at least 30 weeks of approved residence must be spent in an Arabic-speaking country. During sessions when this is not permitted, students will be offered an alternative means of engagement.

Final Assessment

One unit of assessment is allocated to every 20 credits and constitutes one 20-credit paper. The following are the twelve 20-credit papers on which the classification of the degree is based. (Papers that for the purposes of degree classification acquire a weighting of 40 credits are, therefore, listed twice.)

1. Arabic 4
2. Arabic 4
3. Arabic 4
4. Arabic Oral
5. Arabic Oral
6. Arabic Coursework Essay
7. IMES Long Essay
8. Social Anthropology Dissertation
9. Social Anthropology Dissertation
10. IMES Honours Option
11. Social Anthropology Honours Option
12. Social Anthropology Honours Option

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses
Arabic Language Acquisition Through Residence/Study (Full Time)
IMES10055 80 credits
IMES Long Essay
IMES10059 20 credits
Arabic Coursework Essay
IMES10054 20 credits
Imagining Anthropological Research
SCAN10037 0 credits

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

Notes:
Final Assessment

One unit of assessment is allocated to every 20 credits and constitutes one 20-credit paper. The following are the twelve 20-credit papers on which the classification of the degree is based. (Papers that for the purposes of degree classification acquire a weighting of 40 credits are, therefore, listed twice.)

1. Arabic 4
2. Arabic 4
3. Arabic 4
4. Arabic Oral
5. Arabic Oral
6. Arabic Coursework Essay
7. IMES Long Essay
8. Social Anthropology Dissertation
9. Social Anthropology Dissertation
10. IMES Honours Option
11. Social Anthropology Honours Option
12. Social Anthropology Honours Option

Arabic Coursework Essay, Persian Coursework Essay, IMES Long Essay, and any dissertation courses are only available for selection if they are listed in the degree programme's final assessment.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses
Arabic 4
IMES10040 20 credits
Arabic Oral
IMES10024 0 credits
Dissertation (MA Social Anthropology)
SCAN10036 40 credits

Course options

Arabic Language Options Year 4

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
Notes:
'Arabic Language Based Courses' are courses involving close study of Arabic texts in specific thematic contexts. A list of courses is made available to students prior to the start of the new academic year. Please be aware that all courses may not be available every year.
Modern Arabic Literature
IMES10001 20 credits
Elements of Islam
IMES10002 20 credits
Classical Arabic Literature
IMES10004 20 credits
Reading Arab Feminist Texts: Key Debates on Women's Rights in the Arab World
IMES10093 20 credits
AND

Social Anthropology Honours Electives - Level 10

Select exactly 40 credits of the following courses
Advanced Issues in the Making of Contemporary Africa
AFRI10003 20 credits
Contemporary Issues in International Development
AFRI10004 20 credits
South Asia: Culture, Politics and the Economy
SAST10001 20 credits
Kinship: Structure and Process
SCAN10021 20 credits
Anthropological Theory
SCAN10022 20 credits
Ritual and Religion
SCAN10023 20 credits
Culture and Power
SCAN10030 20 credits
Consumption, Exchange, Technology
SCAN10031 20 credits
Social Development
SCAN10044 20 credits
Anthropology of Health and Healing
SCAN10062 20 credits
Anthropology and Environment
SCAN10066 20 credits
Anthropology of Sex and Reproduction
SCAN10068 20 credits
Latin American Anthropology
SCAN10069 20 credits
Contagion
SCAN10070 20 credits
Ethnographies of the United States
SCAN10086 20 credits
Anthropology of East Asia
SCAN10087 20 credits
Anthropology and Africa
SCAN10088 20 credits
War and Peace: Anthropological Perspectives
SCAN10089 20 credits
Waste: Anthropologies of Pollution and Repair
SCAN10090 20 credits
Digital Global Development
SCAN10092 20 credits
Anthropology in Practice
SCAN10093 20 credits
Ethnography of the Supernatural
SCAN10096 20 credits
Anthropology of the Far-Right
SCAN10100 20 credits
Health, Environment and Society
SCAN10101 20 credits
Collaborative Ethnography of Edinburgh
SCAN10102 20 credits
The Internet and Society
STIS10001 20 credits
Energy Policy and Sustainability
STIS10008 20 credits
Controversies in Medicine, Technology and the Environment
STIS10009 20 credits
Sociology of Medicine
STIS10013 20 credits
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