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.

University Homepage
DRPS Homepage
DRPS Search
DRPS Contact
DRPS : DPTs :  School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences DPTs
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 Economics 1A and Economics 1B to progress to Year 2 of the Philosophy and Economics programme.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses

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.
OR

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.

Year 2 Academic year: 2026/27, Starting in: August

Notes:
You will be automatically enrolled on your five compulsory courses. In order to progress into Year 3 of the Philosophy and Economics 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 Economics 2A, Economics 2B, and Statistical Methods for Economics.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 20 credits in this group.

Philosophy of Science 1

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
Notes:
If you have not taken Philosophy of Science 1, you have the option to take it in Year 2.
OR

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.

Year 3 Academic year: 2026/27, Starting in: August

Notes:
You will need to take:

- Essentials of Econometrics and Topics in Microeconomics,
- Either Applications of Econometrics or Topics in Macroeconomics, and
- Three Philosophy Year 3 courses.

Compulsory courses

You must take these courses

Course options

Group A

Select exactly 80 credits in this group.

Economics Options (Year 3)

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
AND

Philosophy Year 3 courses - Theoretical Philosophy

Select between 0 and 60 credits of the following courses
AND

Philosophy Year 3 courses - Practical Philosophy

Select between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses
AND

Philosophy Year 3 courses - History of Philosophy

Select between 0 and 40 credits of the following courses

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

Notes:
You will need to take:

- Dissertation in Philosophy, Economics Honours 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 Economics Year 4 Option courses (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 Economics Dissertation Options

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

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.
OR

Philosophy Coursework Dissertation Options - Semester 1

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
AND

Philosophy Coursework Dissertation Options - Semester 2

Select exactly 20 credits of the following courses
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.
AND

Economics Course Options Year 4 (joint programmes)

Select exactly 40 credits of the following courses

General Disclaimer