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: Philosophy and Scottish Literature (MA Hons) (UTMAHPHISL1F)

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 five compulsory courses.

You are expected to pass all three of your compulsory Year 1 Philosophy courses. Students who fail any of these three courses may be permitted to progress; however, the failed course(s) will need to be retaken (and passed) in Year 2.

You must also pass both Literary Studies 1A and Literary Studies 1B to progress to Year 2 of the Philosophy and Scottish Literature programme.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses
Morality and Value
PHIL08015 20 credits
Logic 1
PHIL08004 20 credits
Introduction to the History of Philosophy A
PHIL08019 20 credits
Literary Studies 1A

Must be passed

ENLI08020 20 credits
Literary Studies 1B

Must be passed

ENLI08021 20 credits

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 20 credits in this group.

Philosophy of Science 1

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
Notes:
You have the option to take Philosophy of Science 1 in Year 1 or Year 2, but it is not required.
Philosophy of Science 1
PHIL08005 20 credits
OR

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

Select exactly 20 credits from Level 7 and 8 courses in Schedules A to Q, S, T, W and Y
Notes:
You are permitted a maximum of 40 credits at Level 7 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.
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. In order to progress into Year 3 of the Philosophy and Scottish Literature programme, you must:

- Pass both Mind, Matter and Language (MML) and Knowledge and Reality (K&R) with a mark of 40% or above,
- Achieve an average of 50% across both MML and K&R, and
- Pass both Scottish Literature 2A and Scottish Literature 2B with a mark of 50% or above in each course, achieved at first attempt.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses
Mind, Matter and Language

Must be passed

PHIL08014 20 credits
Knowledge and Reality

Must be passed

PHIL08017 20 credits
Scottish Literature 2A

Must be passed 1st time at 50%

ENLI08022 20 credits
Scottish Literature 2B

Must be passed 1st time at 50%

ENLI08023 20 credits

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 40 credits in this group.

Philosophy Electives (Pre-honours)

Select between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses
Notes:
If you have not taken Introduction to the History of Philosophy A or Philosophy of Science 1, you have the option to take these courses in Year 2.
Philosophy of Science 1
PHIL08005 20 credits
Introduction to the History of Philosophy A
PHIL08019 20 credits
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 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:

- 40-80 credits (2-4 courses) of Philosophy Year 3 courses,
- 40 credits (2 courses) of Scottish Literature Year 3 Option courses, one of which must be taken in each semester, and
- 0-40 credits (0-2 courses) of English Literature Reading Theory courses.

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

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 120 credits in this group.

Philosophy Year 3 courses - Theoretical Philosophy

Select between 0 and 80 credits of the following courses
Philosophy of Religion
PHIL10007 20 credits
Metaphysics
PHIL10155 20 credits
Logic 2: Modal Logics
PHIL10162 20 credits
Topics in Mind and Cognition
PHIL10174 20 credits
Late Modern Philosophy
PHIL10175 20 credits
Ancient Philosophy
PHIL10181 20 credits
Early Modern Philosophy
PHIL10182 20 credits
Philosophy of Time
PHIL10225 20 credits
Philosophy of Technology
PHIL10231 20 credits
AND

Philosophy Year 3 courses - Practical Philosophy

Select between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses
Applied Ethics
PHIL10017 20 credits
Normative theory
PHIL10078 20 credits
Political Philosophy
PHIL10093 20 credits
Aesthetics
PHIL10117 20 credits
Social Philosophy
PHIL10204 20 credits
Moral Philosophy
PHIL10213 20 credits
Feminist Philosophy
PHIL10214 20 credits
Philosophy of Technology
PHIL10231 20 credits
AND

Philosophy Year 3 courses - History of Philosophy

Select between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses
Political Philosophy
PHIL10093 20 credits
Late Modern Philosophy
PHIL10175 20 credits
Ancient Philosophy
PHIL10181 20 credits
Early Modern Philosophy
PHIL10182 20 credits
Japanese Philosophy
PHIL10222 20 credits
AND

Scottish Literature Year 3 Option Courses - Semester 1

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
Selected courses must be taken during Semester 1
Mystery and Horror
ENLI10207 20 credits
Creative Writing Part I: Poetry
ENLI10210 20 credits
Haunted Imaginations: Scotland and the Supernatural'
ENLI10349 20 credits
AND

Scottish Literature Year 3 Option Courses - Semester 2

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
Selected courses must be taken during Semester 2
Death and Dying in Late Medieval Literature
ENLI10387 20 credits
AND

English Literature_Year 3_Reading Theory

Select between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses
Notes:
If you would like to take more than 40 credits in Literature this year, you must select from these options. It is not possible to take more than two Scottish Literature Option courses.
Reading Theory 1
ENLI10423 20 credits
Reading Theory 2
ENLI10424 20 credits

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

Notes:
You will need to take:

- Dissertation in Philosophy, English Literature Dissertation, or two Philosophy coursework dissertations (two 20-credit courses - one in each semester) (Group A),
- Two Philosophy Year 4 courses (Group B), and
- Two Scottish Literature Year 4 Option courses, one of which must be taken in each semester (Group B).

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

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 40 credits in this group.

Philosophy and Literature Dissertation Options

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

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

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

- The coursework dissertation option involves enrolling in two additional Philosophy Year 4 courses and submitting a 4,000-word essay in place of the standard assessment for each of these two courses. To complete the coursework dissertation option, you must select two courses from the Coursework Dissertation Options listed below. You must complete one coursework dissertation in Semester 1 and one in Semester 2. These courses are attended as normal. With this option, you will be enrolling in a total of four Philosophy Year 4 courses.
English Literature Dissertation
ENLI10329 40 credits
Dissertation in Philosophy
PHIL10026 40 credits
OR

Philosophy Coursework Dissertation Options - Semester 1

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
Selected courses must be taken during Semester 1
Moral Psychology
PHIL10023 20 credits
Self, Agency and the Will
PHIL10082 20 credits
Free Will and Moral Responsibility
PHIL10090 20 credits
Ancient Theories of Mind
PHIL10103 20 credits
Epistemology and Evidence Law
PHIL10185 20 credits
Philosophy of Friendship
PHIL10195 20 credits
Islamic Philosophy
PHIL10197 20 credits
The Philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre
PHIL10200 20 credits
Radical Black Philosophies of Race and Racism
PHIL10216 20 credits
Epistemic Injustice
PHIL10249 20 credits
Mind, World, and Language: Wittgenstein
PHIL10251 20 credits
AND

Philosophy Coursework Dissertation Options - Semester 2

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
Selected courses must be taken during Semester 2
Meta-Ethics
PHIL10019 20 credits
Philosophy and the Environment
PHIL10064 20 credits
Philosophy of Time Travel
PHIL10125 20 credits
Logic, Computability and Incompleteness
PHIL10133 20 credits
Philosophy: Fun and Games
PHIL10143 20 credits
Puzzles and Paradoxes
PHIL10156 20 credits
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
PHIL10167 20 credits
Philosophies of Decolonization: Anti-Humanism and Further Explorations in the Construction of Racial Others
PHIL10188 20 credits
Meaning and Fulfilment
PHIL10212 20 credits
Philosophy of Risk
PHIL10219 20 credits
Buddhist Philosophy
PHIL10229 20 credits
Consciousness, Life and Mind
PHIL10238 20 credits
Work, Justice, and Freedom: Simone Weil
PHIL10250 20 credits
AND

Group B

Select exactly 80 credits in this group.

Philosophy Year 4 courses

Select exactly 40 credits of the following courses
Notes:
If you are completing Philosophy coursework dissertations, you must select different courses in this group than the ones selected above.
Meta-Ethics
PHIL10019 20 credits
Moral Psychology
PHIL10023 20 credits
Philosophy and the Environment
PHIL10064 20 credits
Self, Agency and the Will
PHIL10082 20 credits
Free Will and Moral Responsibility
PHIL10090 20 credits
Ancient Theories of Mind
PHIL10103 20 credits
Philosophy of Time Travel
PHIL10125 20 credits
Logic, Computability and Incompleteness
PHIL10133 20 credits
Philosophy: Fun and Games
PHIL10143 20 credits
Puzzles and Paradoxes
PHIL10156 20 credits
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
PHIL10167 20 credits
Epistemology and Evidence Law
PHIL10185 20 credits
Philosophies of Decolonization: Anti-Humanism and Further Explorations in the Construction of Racial Others
PHIL10188 20 credits
Philosophy of Friendship
PHIL10195 20 credits
Islamic Philosophy
PHIL10197 20 credits
The Philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre
PHIL10200 20 credits
Meaning and Fulfilment
PHIL10212 20 credits
Radical Black Philosophies of Race and Racism
PHIL10216 20 credits
Philosophy of Risk
PHIL10219 20 credits
Buddhist Philosophy
PHIL10229 20 credits
Consciousness, Life and Mind
PHIL10238 20 credits
Epistemic Injustice
PHIL10249 20 credits
Work, Justice, and Freedom: Simone Weil
PHIL10250 20 credits
Mind, World, and Language: Wittgenstein
PHIL10251 20 credits
AND

Scottish Literature Year 4 Option Courses - Semester 1

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
Selected courses must be taken during Semester 1
Creative Writing Part I: Poetry
ENLI10210 20 credits
Fiction and Espionage
ENLI10388 20 credits
AND

Scottish Literature Year 4 Option Courses - Semester 2

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
Selected courses must be taken during Semester 2
Medicine in Literature 2: Medical Ethics in Literature
ENLI10354 20 credits
Contemporary Science Fiction
ENLI10381 20 credits
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