MA Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Studies and English
About this course
MA in Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Studies and English, a joint degree examining the history, literature, and culture of the Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Scandinavian worlds alongside English language and literature through the ages. Core topics include Laboratory Techniques, Research Methods, and Communication & Writing. Students can choose to complete a dissertation in Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Studies or an English Dissertation in their final year, and have the option to undertake a year abroad. The first year introduces the Celtic and Germanic worlds through modules such as Barbarians, Romans, Gods and Warriors, and Magic, Mystery, Spells and Potions in the Ancient World, alongside foundational study in academic writing. The second year expands into early and medieval literature through compulsory and optional modules like Encounters with Shakespeare, Arthur in Medieval Celtic and Scandinavian Literature, and Scottish Folklore and Oral Traditions. Year 3 offers advanced study spanning multiple periods and genres, including options such as Modernism: Make IT New, Romanticism, and Celtic Encounters: the Gaelic World in Irish and Scottish Literature. The final year allows further specialisation through a range of advanced options like Creative Writing: the Essential Skills, The Short Story as A Literary Form, and Screenwriting: the Narrative Within the Frame, alongside independent dissertation work.
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Entry requirements
A level: BBC IB: 32 points including 5, 5, 5 at HL. SL in English is also required. SQA Highers: BBBB. BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma: DMM in related subjects. Note: BTEC Level 3 Extended Certificate (Subsidiary Diploma) achieved at Distinction level, is normally acceptable in lieu of one A Level at grade B.) GCSE English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C/4 or above. GCSE Mathematics at Grade C/4 is also required for Accountancy, Economics and Finance programmes. Irish Leaving Certificate: Five subjects at Higher at H3.
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What students say
Based on about 32 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Teaching on my course: 91%
- Learning opportunities: 87%
- Assessment and feedback: 80%
- Academic support: 99%
- Organisation and management: 86%
- Learning resources: 92%
- Student voice: 81%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 10 students who started, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 70%
- Left higher education: 15%
- Moved to a lower qualification: 15%
What graduates do next
Based on about 17 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 65%
- Working and studying: 10%
- Further study: 10%
- Unemployed: 5%
Most common jobs
- Secretarial and related occupations: 15%
- Teaching Professionals: 10%
- Elementary occupations: 10%
- Administrative occupations: 10%
- Sales occupations: 10%
- Find their work meaningful: 70%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 50%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 50%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 65 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 6%
- North West: 4%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 2%
- London: 6%
- South East: 4%
- South West: 1%
- Wales: 1%
- Scotland: 75%
Who gets in
Based on about 10 students who started, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- A levels: 75%
- Access course: 5%
- Other HE qualification: 20%
Modules
- Academic Writing for Language & Literature
- Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen
- Barbarians, Romans, Gods and Warriors
- Magic, Mystery, Spells and Potions in the Ancient World
- Modern Irish Language for Beginners 1
- Gaelic Scotland
- Gaelic for Beginners 1a
- Latin 1
- Gaelic for Beginners 1b
- Latin 2
- Controversial Classics
- Rethinking Reading
- The Rise of Christianity
- Modern Irish Language for Beginners 2
- Acts of Reading
- Encounters with Shakespeare
- Arthur in Medieval Celtic and Scandinavian Literature
- The Rise of Christianity
- The Celts, Their Neighbours, and The Classical World
- Magic, Mystery, Spells and Potions in the Ancient World
- Scottish Folklore and Oral Traditions
- Introduction to Scottish Gaelic Literature
- Vikings: an Introduction
- The Tragedy of Knowledge
- Power, Empire and Equality
- Page and Stage: Renaissance Writings 1500 - 1640 (EL30CP)
- Knights, Virgins and Viragos: Chaucer and Medieval Writing (EL35DQ)
- Romanticism (EL35XR)
- Britain and the Nineteenth - Century World (EL35SB)
- Sympathy for the Devil: Scottish Short Stories (EL30QA)
- Modernism: Make IT New (EL30FF)
- American Voices: Self and Society, 1850 - 1930 (EL30RD)
- Queer Times (EL35WC)
- Haunted Texts (EL35KN)
- Art and Atrocity: Representations of Violence and Trauma (EL35UT)
- Art and Atrocity: Representations of Violence and Trauma (EL30UT)
- Images Adequate to Our Predicament: Art for the Anthropocene (EL35ZF)
- Bildungsroman to Alien Invasion (EL35VB)
- Fallen Women and Self - Made Men (EL30VC)
- Materialising Faith: Women, Art and Religion, 1150 - 1500
- Scottish Archaeology
- Celtic Encounters: the Gaelic World in Irish and Scottish Literature
- Brittonic Language Ia
- Independent Study In Celtic & Anglo - Saxon Studies A
- Animals and Monsters in the Greek World and Beyond
- Early Modern Gaelic Language and Texts A
- Crime and Punishment
- The Twelfth - Century Renaissance
- Brittonic Language Iia
- Celtic & Anglo - Saxon Kingship
- Dissertation in Celtic & Anglo - Saxon Studies
- English Dissertation
- Materialising Faith: Women, Art and Religion, 1150 - 1500
- Celtic Encounters: the Gaelic World in Irish and Scottish Literature
- Brittonic Language Ib
- Independent Study In Celtic & Anglo - Saxon Studies B
- Animals and Monsters in the Greek World and Beyond
- The Twelfth - Century Renaissance
- Brittonic Language Iib
- Celtic & Anglo - Saxon Kingship
- Controversy and Drama: Marlowe to Revenge Tragedy (EL40CT)
- Wandering Women: Literature, Place and Environment (EL40JA)
- Imagined Spaces: Self and Place in Twentieth Century Scottish Fiction (EL40KD)
- Creative Writing: the Essential Skills (EL40PB)
- Not the Queen's English (EL40SC)
- Amnesty, Amnesia, Archive (EL40UU)
- Sex and Death: Exploring the Forbidden in Gothic Fiction (EL40VA)
- British Poetry of the 20th Century (EL40YN)
- Staging the City: Renaissance Urban Drama (EL45AD)
- The Short Story as A Literary Form (EL45DR)
- Literature and Medicine (EL45HQ)
- Screenwriting: the Narrative Within the Frame (EL45TM)
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of MA Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Studies and English at University of Aberdeen earn?
The median salary is £26,000 after 15 months, £20,500 after 3 years, £27,500 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £21,000 and £34,000. The £27,500 median after five years is £1,500 less than the UK median for English studies.
What do graduates of MA Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Studies and English at University of Aberdeen do next?
85% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on MA Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Studies and English at University of Aberdeen?
91% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for MA Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Studies and English at University of Aberdeen?
The typical offer is BBC at A level, or 32 points in the IB. The average entrant had 162 UCAS points.
Does MA Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Studies and English at University of Aberdeen include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has an optional year abroad.
How many students continue on MA Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Studies and English at University of Aberdeen?
70% of students continued into their second year, and 15% left higher education.