The University of Edinburgh

Edinburgh is a leading international centre for business and finance. It’s also a beautiful, inspirational city. And, here in the University of Edinburgh Business School, you have a School that is right at the heart of the city, at the heart of business.

As one of the leading business schools in Europe, at one of the world’s leading universities, we have achieved an enviably high quality of teaching and research, as well as a natural connection to business. What really sets us apart, however, is a willingness to look beyond accepted business thinking, to create debate and spark new ideas.

With the current state of the world’s financial markets it is imperative that students equip themselves with the knowledge and skills that are in demand not just today but into the future. We believe our portfolio of Masters are at the forefront of the latest ideas and techniques that will assist the business world to emerge stronger and more resilient.

See our Business School postgraduate degrees

Edinburgh College of Art is an internationally recognised art college situated at the heart of one of Europe’s most vibrant and creative capital cities.

We comprise the School of Art, the School of Design, Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA), the School of History of Art and the Reid School of Music.

At postgraduate level we offer exciting opportunities for collaboration across these subject areas, knowledge exchange with the industrial and cultural sectors, and partnerships with local, national and international groups, events and institutions.

See our Edinburgh College of Art postgraduate degrees

Established in 1726, Edinburgh Medical School was the pre-eminent medical centre of the 18th and 19th centuries. Today it retains its status as a leading force internationally in basic-to-clinical translational research and teaching.

We offer you the opportunity to study in an environment where research is an important component of every student’s life, nurturing a way of thinking that will equip you to deliver positive change for humanity. By bringing together clinicians and basic scientists, we create opportunities
to develop cutting-edge work that makes a real difference to people’s lives.

We offer enormous breadth and depth of research and learning opportunities. Our research themes include: cancer, cardiovascular science, application of basic animal sciences in human and veterinary medicine, genetics and molecular medicine, global health, infectious diseases, inflammation, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, and reproductive health.

Edinburgh Medical School consists of three Deaneries: Edinburgh Medical School: Biomedical Sciences, Edinburgh Medical School: Clinical Sciences, and Edinburgh Medical School: Molecular, Genetic & Population Health Sciences.

Moray House School of Education is home to internationally recognised experts in all aspects of education and sports-related studies. We offer postgraduate opportunities spanning a vast range of disciplines from language teaching to physical activity for health.

We are consistently ranked as one of the top three centres of excellence for educational research in the UK. In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 we were ranked first in Scotland and in the UK top 10 for both educational research (ranked fifth) and sport and exercise research (ranked ninth).

We are the UK’s largest provider of initial teacher training in physical education and we have the best sports facilities and team performance facilities of any Scottish university. We have the largest concentration of nationally and internationally recognised researchers in Scotland, with staff and doctoral students carrying out research across all aspects of education and learning – from pre-school to higher education and lifelong learning.

Our staff are recognised for their theory-informed, applied research, which enriches their teaching of postgraduate students in the fields of education; education leadership; community education; outdoor education; performance psychology; and sport policy, management and international development.

See our Moray House School of Education postgraduate degrees

The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies is a world leader in veterinary education and research. Established in 1823, we still lead the way in research. We were ranked 11th in the world for Veterinary Science in the QS World University Rankings 2016 and in the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 were ranked first in the UK for Veterinary Research.

We are the largest concentration of animal scientists in Europe, possibly the world. Our School includes the newly refurbished Roslin Institute, where we investigate animal diseases and develop sustainable animal production, the Moredun Research Institute, the Scottish Agricultural College and the Easter Bush Research Consortium.

We offer our postgraduate students a dynamic experience. Here you will find world-class research, co-location of research centres to facilitate interdisciplinarity, state-of-the-art facilities, MRC-funded centres, close collaboration with NHS hospitals, all major imaging technologies, clinical trials support and commercialisation training and opportunities.

See our Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies postgraduate degrees

Our vibrant community of staff and students are continuing a 400-year history of scientific exploration with innovative work that seeks to shape tomorrow’s world.

We are constantly seeking to shed light on the secrets of life through our wide-ranging research – more than half of which was assessed as world-leading in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014. This places us in the UK’s top three for overall research quality and confirms our position as one of the world’s leading biological science departments.

Through our membership of Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance, we work with colleagues in other institutions to maintain the country’s world-class research base. Our commitment to pioneering science, supported by a healthy flow of grant funding, helps create an environment where world firsts are possible. For example, the first genetically engineered vaccine against hepatitis B was developed here at the School of Biological Sciences. By joining us you will experience a unique opportunity to examine life processes at the very highest level.

See our School of Biological Sciences postgraduate degrees

The teaching of chemistry at Edinburgh has a long and distinguished history: 2013 marked the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the ‘Chair of Physick and Chymistry’.

Today we continue that proud tradition as a leader in the field. In collaboration with the University of St Andrews, we have formed EaStCHEM, one of the largest and most successfully funded chemistry research schools in the UK. EaStCHEM was ranked second in the UK in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 power table: a combination of excellence and volume. Overall, 95% of our research was classed world-leading or internationally excellent.

Our membership of ScotCHEM takes this collaborative spirit even further, providing links with all the major schools of chemistry in Scottish universities.

We can offer you a large, internationally recognised research community, and the benefits of the latest facilities, well-published and awarded academic staff, a lively graduate school environment and a broad range of study opportunities.

See our School of Chemistry postgraduate degrees

Theology has been taught at Edinburgh since the foundation of the University in 1583. Now housed in the historic New College building near Edinburgh Castle, the School of Divinity occupies a commanding city-centre site on the Mound, overlooking Princes Street Gardens, the Scottish National Gallery and the Royal Scottish Academy.

Our community comprises 450 students (undergraduate and postgraduate) and and more than 30 full-time academic staff. This is one of the largest centres for the study of religion in the United Kingdom.

Our international standing for research has been a traditional strength, but is also vital to our identity here and now. Historically, the School’s origins lie in providing education for ministers, but today this is a small part of our work. From the 1970s – alongside long-established strengths such as in biblical studies, systematic theology, and the history of Christianity – the School pioneered work on the comparative study of religions. In recent times we have built up areas of expertise in Christian-Muslim relations and in science and religion and we foster a variety of cutting-edge interdisciplinary approaches.

See our School of Divinity postgraduate degrees

The University of Edinburgh was the first in the English-speaking world to teach economics as an independent subject. Two centuries later, our School of Economics is a growing, vibrant academic community with strengths right across a subject that is at the heart of understanding modern society.

Located less than a mile from the final resting place of Adam Smith, the School of Economics offers an inspiring and collegial environment to postgraduate students. Our internationally renowned expertise includes research in nearly all areas of economics, with a third of our faculty having published in the top five economics journals. We are particularly strong in the study of microeconomic theory, labour and macroeconomics and applied econometrics. Our postgraduate programmes benefit from a dynamism and energy that come with being at the leading edge of discovery and scholarship.

Unique to our programmes is the Scottish Graduate Programme in Economics (SGPE), which combines the teaching and research expertise of eight universities and is hosted here at the University of Edinburgh. Benefiting from a wealth of expertise from the universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt, St Andrews, Stirling, Strathclyde and Edinburgh, students are guaranteed to be lectured by experts in their fields, with a richness of option courses to match. There is nowhere else in the UK that students of economics can enjoy the breadth and depth of this learning experience within the supportive environment of a small school.

See our School of Economics postgraduate degrees

Our School is a hotbed of innovation. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), 94 per cent of our research activity was rated world-leading or internationally excellent. We have a strong track record of producing technology spin outs and we develop industry links to help you build relationships that will last your whole career.

We have six specialist research institutes; Bioengineering, Digital Communications, Energy Systems, Infrastructure and Environment, Integrated Micro and Nano Systems and Materials and Processes.

We have computing facilities unique to the UK, including the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC), a leading European centre for research, and the silicon fabrication capabilities of the Scottish Microelectronics Centre (SMC), which also has extensive ‘class 10’ cleanrooms, and provides rare access to tools for processing 200mm silicon wafers. The SMC has strong links with industry and spin-out activity, generating annual turnover of more than £1 million.

See our School of Engineering postgraduate degrees

At the School of GeoSciences we examine the interactions between the Earth’s geology, atmosphere, oceans and life, as well as considering our own role and impact on our planet.

The effect of these complex relationships is vitally important to our world’s future, which means the skills and knowledge you will develop as a postgraduate student here will put you in an exceptional position to help make that future better. Spanning the entire spectrum of the geosciences field, we offer opportunities that are increasingly interdisciplinary and international in focus.

We are the largest geoscience research group in the UK, with around 400 academics and researchers. The quality of our research is second to none: we were ranked top in the UK for research power in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014. We were also identified as having the greatest concentration of ‘world-leading’ and ‘internationally excellent’ researchers in the UK. We offer dedicated expertise across our core teaching areas of ecology, environmental sciences, geography, geology, geophysics, meteorology and oceanography.

See our School of GeoSciences postgraduate degrees

The School of Health in Social Science is a leading provider of postgraduate education in health, health policy and related fields.

We offer taught programmes and research opportunities in nursing studies, clinical psychology, counselling and psychotherapy. We also offer programmes in interdisciplinary social sciences in health, where social scientists are collaborating across specialisms, to pursue innovative new approaches to healthcare research.

In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 we entered three units of assessment, achieving excellent results. Overall, 82% of our research was rated world-leading or internationally excellent. Our rankings in the three units of assessment were second, third and fourth in the UK for research power, measuring research quality and volume.

Our varied postgraduate offering includes a wide range of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses. Learning and teaching includes face-to-face and online methods, with many courses including Socratic modes of discussion and critique to promote deep exploration of topics.

See our School of Health in Social Science postgraduate degrees

As one of the largest of its kind in the UK, the University of Edinburgh’s School of History, Classics & Archaeology is one of the great world centres for the study of the human past. The University of Edinburgh is ranked fourth in Europe and 12th in the world for humanities (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2014/15).

Our expertise in the School of History, Classics & Archaeology ranges from the ancient to the contemporary, and stretches to every corner of the globe. This allows us to offer an unrivalled and wide-ranging portfolio of graduate programmes.

We offer a diverse and energetic research culture, covering many periods, areas and themes. Our home is the William Robertson Wing, an A-listed building on the southern edge of Edinburgh’s Old Town – a UNESCO World Heritage site. Designed by the distinguished 19th-century architect Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, the building – part of the University’s Old Medical School – was refurbished in 2010 to an exceptional standard, providing state-of-the-art facilities for research, teaching and study.

With a tradition in research in archaeology, classics and history that can be traced back to the 18th century, we can offer our graduate students a stimulating study environment that draws from a solid foundation in research excellence. Many of our researchers are global experts in their field and the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 ranked us third in the UK for history and fifth in the UK for classics research. Overall, 67% of our research was rated world-leading or internationally excellent, with a high of 83% for our history research.

See our School of History, Classics & Archaeology postgraduate degrees

Informatics is the study of natural and engineered computational systems. It encompasses the academic disciplines of computer science, software engineering, artificial intelligence and cognitive science.

Edinburgh’s School of Informatics is the largest academic centre of its kind in Europe and the UK’s most successful informatics research institution. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 ranked us first in the UK for computer science and informatics. We produce more world-leading and internationally excellent research in this field than any other university in the UK. Our size and strength also support unparalleled breadth in our taught courses, which are consistently ranked excellent in external assessments.

By joining our School you will become part of an exciting and vibrant academic culture that will help you to develop the skills and knowledge for a successful career in industry or academia.

See our School of Informatics postgraduate degrees

The University of Edinburgh has enjoyed a long and distinguished history since its establishment in 1583 and currently ranks among the top 50 universities in the world. Edinburgh Law School was established in 1707 and for over 300 years has been educating and training the worlds finest legal scholars. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), a government-funded study into the quality of academic research produced by UK institutions, Edinburgh Law School was ranked 1st in Scotland and 7th in the UK overall in terms of academic excellence.

Academics at Edinburgh Law School are regarded as world-leaders in their fields of study, and in many cases the work produced by the school's different research centres is of a quality that is recognised as world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour.

The School offers an excellent and wide range of facilities to support your legal studies. The Law Library, based within the School of Law, offers you a superb collection of legal books, journals, law reports, and other research materials. You will have access to the leading electronic legal research resources such as LexisNexis and Westlaw, and electronic access to numerous journals. You will be able to use one of three computer labs here in the Law School or, if you prefer, use wireless access available in the Law Library and almost all of our seminar rooms.

Edinburgh Law School offers a rich programme of visiting speakers and lecturers. All our postgraduate students (LLM, MSc, or PhD) have the opportunity and are encouraged to attend these events, and can thereby benefit from access to a wide variety of international academics and other experts.

See our Law School postgraduate degrees

Influencing the world since 1583, the University of Edinburgh is the ideal place to further your understanding of, and contribution to, global cultures.

Our School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) offers one of the widest range of languages of any UK university, from Arabic to Norwegian, Scottish Gaelic to Japanese.

Based in the first UNESCO City of Literature, we are home to the oldest department of English Literature in the UK - one of the longest established in the world - and the oldest Celtic department in Scotland.

From Translation Studies to Comparative Literature, we don’t just teach our subjects, we live them in the classroom, thriving on our place in a global festival city, with masters degrees in Theatre, Film, and Creative Writing.

By joining the University of Edinburgh’s School of Mathematics, you’ll follow in the footsteps of mathematical pioneers and study alongside some of the most exciting minds working in the field today.

Whether you wish to follow a taught masters programme or pursue your own line of investigation, we offer a dynamic academic environment, supported by excellent facilities.

We have an outstanding reputation for mathematics teaching and research. We were judged ‘excellent’ in the most recent Teaching Quality Assessment and, in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 we were ranked fifth in the UK with 83% of our research rated world-leading or internationally excellent.

See our School of Mathematics postgraduate degrees

From unravelling the secrets of the ageing process to shaping tomorrow’s speech technologies, the University of Edinburgh’s School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences is at the forefront of innovation.
The School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences (PPLS) offers a rich environment for postgraduate study and research. Our students benefit from the close links between the three core teaching areas, as well as from our connections with other world-class research groups at the University and beyond.
In all subject areas the School is recognised as world-leading, as shown in its high rankings across all areas in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework.

As the birthplace of the Higgs mechanism and the prediction of the Higgs boson, the University of Edinburgh’s School of Physics & Astronomy has a strong track record of innovation and research excellence.

Our research – which was ranked fourth in the UK in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 with 96% rated world leading or internationally excellent – pushes the frontiers of scientific thinking.

From the smallest to largest scales, the School’s pioneering work regularly attracts global attention. Not only have we played a vital role in the world’s largest scientific experiment – to find the Higgs boson – but we have also carried out the biggest exercise yet to map dark matter, spanning billions of light years across the universe.

See our School of Physics & Astronomy postgraduate degrees

The School of Social & Political Science provides an intellectually vibrant teaching and research environment, boasting an international community of more than 200 world-class academic staff and 700 postgraduate students.

The School was established to promote a culture of interdisciplinary research and collaboration across various subject areas, research groups and centres. These include the subject areas politics and international relations, social anthropology, social policy, social work, sociology and science, technology and innovation studies; the Centres of Canadian Studies, African Studies and South Asian Studies; and an array of specialist institutes and centres for the study of governance, public policy, global development, the EU, families and relationships, criminal justice, social work and innovation in genomics.

The School is one of Europe’s leading lights for research in the social sciences. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), 77% of our research was rated world-leading or internationally excellent and all of our assessed research units were ranked in the top eight in the UK. Our research has recently attracted large grants from the Economic and Social Research Council, EU Framework Programmes and the Leverhulme Trust, among others.

See our School of Social & Political Science postgraduate degrees