THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2026/2027

Draft Edition - Due to be published Thursday 9th April 2026

Timetable information in the Course Catalogue may be subject to change.
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Degree Programme Table: English Language (MA Hons) (UTENGLA)

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

Year 1 Academic year: 2026/27, Starting in: September

Notes:
You will be automatically enrolled on your two compulsory courses. You must pass these courses in order to progress to Year 2 of the English Language programme.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses
Linguistics and English Language 1A

Must be passed

LASC08022 20 credits
Linguistics and English Language 1B

Must be passed

LASC08023 20 credits

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 80 credits in this group.

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

Select between 60 and 80 credits from Level 7 and 8 courses in Schedules A to Q, S, T, W and Y
Notes:
In addition to courses in Schedules A to Q, S, T, W and Y, you are permitted to take one or two courses in British Sign Language (LLLO07003/LLLO07004) from Schedule X, subject to availability.

You are permitted a maximum of 40 credits at Level 7 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.
Our Changing World
BIME08006 20 credits
Sustainability and Social Responsibility (UG)
EDUA08116 20 credits
Wicked problems: Reason and Rhetoric
EDUA08126 20 credits
Understanding decolonisation in a globalised world
EDUA08127 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 2 Academic year: 2026/27, Starting in: August

Notes:
You will be automatically enrolled on your four compulsory courses. You must pass these courses in order to progress to Year 3 of the English Language programme.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses
LEL2A: Linguistic Theory and the Structure of English

Must be passed

LASC08017 20 credits
LEL2B: Phonetic Analysis and Empirical Methods

Must be passed

LASC08018 20 credits
LEL2C: English in Time and Space

Must be passed

LASC08019 20 credits
LEL2D: Cross-linguistic Variation: Limits and Theories

Must be passed

LASC08020 20 credits

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 40 credits in this group.

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

Select between 20 and 40 credits from Level 7 and 8 courses in Schedules A to Q, S, T, W and Y
Notes:
In addition to courses in Schedules A to Q, S, T, W and Y, you are permitted to take one or two courses in British Sign Language (LLLO07003/LLLO07004) from Schedule X, subject to availability.

You are permitted a maximum of 40 credits at Level 7 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.
Our Changing World
BIME08006 20 credits
Sustainability and Social Responsibility (UG)
EDUA08116 20 credits
Wicked problems: Reason and Rhetoric
EDUA08126 20 credits
Understanding decolonisation in a globalised world
EDUA08127 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: 2026/27, Starting in: August

Notes:
You will need to take 120 credits, including five or six Language Sciences Honours courses. You must take:

- At least one 'Foundation' course,
- At least one 'Skills' course, and
- At least two 'English Language' courses.

You have the option to replace your sixth Language Sciences Honours course with 20 credits from an 'outside' (non-LEL) subject area.

Some courses appear in more than one category, but you cannot use one course to meet two different category requirements.

The LEL Honours handbook gives further details about the Language Science courses being offered. Please consult this handbook when selecting your courses.

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

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 120 credits in this group.

Language Sciences: Honours Foundation courses

Select between 20 and 60 credits of the following courses
Sociolinguistics
LASC10002 20 credits
Historical Linguistics
LASC10021 20 credits
Pragmatics
LASC10067 20 credits
Syntax: Theory and Practice
LASC10084 20 credits
Morphology
LASC10086 20 credits
Phonetics and Laboratory Phonology
LASC10090 20 credits
Cognitive Linguistics
LASC10107 20 credits
Semantic Theory
LASC10110 20 credits
AND

Language Sciences: Honours Skills courses

Select between 20 and 60 credits of the following courses
Reading Old English
LASC10049 20 credits
Linguistic Fieldwork and Language Description
LASC10050 20 credits
Speech Processing (Hons)
LASC10061 20 credits
Computer Programming for Speech and Language Processing
LASC10079 20 credits
Phonetics and Laboratory Phonology
LASC10090 20 credits
Methods in Theoretical Linguistics
LASC10109 20 credits
Discourse Analysis
LASC10114 20 credits
Online Experiments for Language Scientists
LASC10115 20 credits
Quantitative Methods in Linguistics and English Language (Hons)
LASC10125 20 credits
AND

Language Sciences: Honours English Language courses

Select between 40 and 80 credits of the following courses
Middle English
LASC10009 20 credits
Reading Old English
LASC10049 20 credits
Global Englishes
LASC10056 20 credits
Scots and Scottish English
LASC10072 20 credits
Phonological Theory and English Phonology
LASC10083 20 credits
History of Scots
LASC10098 20 credits
AND

Language Sciences: Honours Linguistics courses

Select between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses
Simulating Language
LASC10018 20 credits
First Language Acquisition (Honours)
LASC10029 20 credits
Second Language Acquisition (Honours)
LASC10030 20 credits
Origins and Evolution of Language (Hons)
LASC10031 20 credits
Speech Processing (Hons)
LASC10061 20 credits
Speech Synthesis
LASC10062 20 credits
Morphology
LASC10086 20 credits
Universals of Language
LASC10100 20 credits
Language Variation and Change
LASC10102 20 credits
Speech Production and Perception
LASC10104 20 credits
Structure of a Language A
LASC10123 20 credits
Semiotics
LASC10124 20 credits
Language Endangerment and Revitalisation
LASC10126 20 credits
AND

Level 10 courses in Schedules A to Q, T and W

Select between 0 and 20 credits from Level 10 courses in Schedules A to Q, T and W
Notes:
You may select 20 credits worth of 'outside' (non-LEL) courses from another subject area with approval from the Course Organiser. These must be Level 10 credits.

If you select outside credits, these will count towards your Year 3 average, but will not count towards your degree classification. Approval must be sought from the LEL Exams Convener if you wish for an outside course to count towards your degree classification.

Year 4 Academic year: 2026/27, Starting in: August

Notes:
You will need to take:

- Dissertation in Language Sciences and
- Four Language Sciences Honours courses, at least one of which must be an 'English Language' course.

The LEL Honours handbook gives further details about the Language Science courses being offered. Please consult this handbook when selecting your courses.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses
Dissertation in Language Sciences
LASC10024 40 credits

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 80 credits in this group.

Language Sciences: Honours English Language courses

Select between 20 and 80 credits of the following courses
Middle English
LASC10009 20 credits
Reading Old English
LASC10049 20 credits
Global Englishes
LASC10056 20 credits
Scots and Scottish English
LASC10072 20 credits
Phonological Theory and English Phonology
LASC10083 20 credits
History of Scots
LASC10098 20 credits
AND

Language Sciences: all Honours courses

Select between 0 and 60 credits of the following courses
Notes:
This list of courses includes those listed above in the 'English Language' category; you cannot use the same course to meet both of these requirements.
Sociolinguistics
LASC10002 20 credits
Middle English
LASC10009 20 credits
Simulating Language
LASC10018 20 credits
Historical Linguistics
LASC10021 20 credits
First Language Acquisition (Honours)
LASC10029 20 credits
Second Language Acquisition (Honours)
LASC10030 20 credits
Origins and Evolution of Language (Hons)
LASC10031 20 credits
Reading Old English
LASC10049 20 credits
Linguistic Fieldwork and Language Description
LASC10050 20 credits
Global Englishes
LASC10056 20 credits
Speech Processing (Hons)
LASC10061 20 credits
Speech Synthesis
LASC10062 20 credits
Pragmatics
LASC10067 20 credits
Scots and Scottish English
LASC10072 20 credits
Computer Programming for Speech and Language Processing
LASC10079 20 credits
Phonological Theory and English Phonology
LASC10083 20 credits
Syntax: Theory and Practice
LASC10084 20 credits
Morphology
LASC10086 20 credits
Phonetics and Laboratory Phonology
LASC10090 20 credits
History of Scots
LASC10098 20 credits
Universals of Language
LASC10100 20 credits
Language Variation and Change
LASC10102 20 credits
Speech Production and Perception
LASC10104 20 credits
Cognitive Linguistics
LASC10107 20 credits
Methods in Theoretical Linguistics
LASC10109 20 credits
Semantic Theory
LASC10110 20 credits
Discourse Analysis
LASC10114 20 credits
Online Experiments for Language Scientists
LASC10115 20 credits
Structure of a Language A
LASC10123 20 credits
Semiotics
LASC10124 20 credits
Quantitative Methods in Linguistics and English Language (Hons)
LASC10125 20 credits
Language Endangerment and Revitalisation
LASC10126 20 credits
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