MA German and History
About this course
MA (Hons) in German and History, a German and History degree centred on modern and historical study. The curriculum includes a full academic year abroad, which students can spend studying or working in destinations such as Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, and Heidelberg. The programme spans four years and incorporates a range of options for language learning and historical analysis. The first year covers a wide-ranging core course focused on key skills alongside introductory options spanning the medieval or early modern period, business, politics, and the arts. Year two offers specialised options such as Researching Disability in German Literature and Society, Culture, Modernity and the City in the Weimar Republic, and Reading Testimony in German, alongside language studies. During the third year, students undertake a full year abroad involving study or work across one or two destinations or institutions. The final year concentrates on advanced linguistic competence and textual analysis through modules including spoken German, German-to-English translation of literary and journalistic texts, Bertolt Brecht, and The Third Reich in Literature and Testimony.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
A level: from AAA to ABB (required: no specific A level subjects required) IB: 34 points with 655 at HL
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Admissions (2022 entry, home applicants)
Offer rate 70%: 26 offers from 37 applications, from the university's Freedom of Information return.
What students say
Based on about 9 final-year students who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 85%
- Learning opportunities: 75%
- Assessment and feedback: 52%
- Academic support: 88%
- Organisation and management: 71%
- Learning resources: 100%
- Student voice: 64%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 15 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 100%
What graduates do next
Based on about 6 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 60%
- Working and studying: 5%
- Further study: 20%
- Unemployed: 10%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 305 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 2%
- North West: 4%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 3%
- East Midlands: 1%
- West Midlands: 2%
- East of England: 4%
- London: 36%
- South East: 5%
- South West: 3%
- Scotland: 38%
Who gets in
Based on about 10 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- A levels: 85%
- Baccalaureate: 10%
- No formal qualifications: 10%
Modules
- practise professional communication
- discover the value of languages in the workplace
- gain insights into possible career options
- a wide-ranging core course focused on key skills and habits, and showcasing the variety of topics available at Edinburgh, including in modern history
- one of two courses, covering either: the medieval period the early modern period
- the medieval period
- the early modern period
- business, economics and informatics
- politics, social policy, social anthropology and international relations
- art and architectural history
- history, classics and archaeology
- Celtic and Scottish ethnology
- linguistics and language sciences
- philosophy, divinity and law
- Researching Disability in German Literature and Society
- Culture, Modernity and the City in the Weimar Republic
- Reading Testimony in German
- The Contemporary Short Story in German
- Screening Sex: Gender, Sexuality, and Identity on the German Screen and Beyond
- German Colonialism: History, Memory, Controversy
- Cultural Responses to War
- Migration, Exile, Diaspora
- Crime and Detection in Literature
- Gender and Culture
- The Coming-of-Age Narrative
- Introduction to European Cinema
- Dynamics of Language and Power
- Languages Beyond University
- Berlin
- Augsburg
- Hamburg
- Heidelberg
- Tübingen
- Freiburg
- Leipzig
- Mainz
- Vienna
- study in one or two destinations
- work in one or two destinations
- study in one destination and work in another
- two semesters at a single institution
- one semester at two different institutions (in different destinations)
- arrange to work or volunteer with a private company or charity
- apply to an established placement scheme, such as the British Council’s English Language Assistants programme
- Student Wellbeing Service
- Student Counselling
- Student Disability and Learning Support
- University emergency helpline (available 24 hours a day)
- spoken German
- essay and précis writing
- German-to-English translation of literary and journalistic texts
- Bertolt Brecht
- From Girls in Uniform to Men in Drag: Gender, Sexuality and Ethnicity on the German Screen
- Goethe and Schiller
- Identity and Self in Contemporary German Literature
- The Third Reich in Literature and Testimony
- Vulnerability and the City: German Literary Cartographies of Danger and Refuge
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of MA German and History at University of Edinburgh earn?
The median salary is £28,000 after 3 years, £34,500 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £26,500 and £45,000. The £34,500 median after five years is £2,000 more than the UK median for German and Scandinavian studies.
What do graduates of MA German and History at University of Edinburgh do next?
80% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on MA German and History at University of Edinburgh?
85% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for MA German and History at University of Edinburgh?
The typical offer is ABB at A level, or 34 points in the IB. The average entrant had 178 UCAS points.
What is the offer rate for MA German and History at University of Edinburgh?
70% of home applicants received an offer for 2022 entry: 26 offers from 37 applications, according to the university's Freedom of Information return.
Does MA German and History at University of Edinburgh include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has a compulsory year abroad.
How many students continue on MA German and History at University of Edinburgh?
100% of students continued into their second year, and 0% left higher education.