Scottish Literature and Classics

Scottish literature and classics is a combination that connects two of the most enduring literary traditions connected to the soil and culture of Scotland. Scottish literature in Gaelic, Scots, and English has a continuous history stretching from the medieval period to a vibrant contemporary creative scene, and it encompasses poetry, fiction, drama, and song forms that are inseparable from Scottish history, landscape, and identity. Classics brings the foundational texts of Western civilisation, written in ancient Greek and Latin, many of whose ideas and images have permeated Scottish writing and shaped the intellectual world in which it developed.

At Edinburgh you will explore the great works of Scottish literature alongside the poetry, history, philosophy, and drama of Greece and Rome. Scottish literature study will engage you with canonical figures such as Robert Burns, Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Hugh MacDiarmid alongside contemporary writers, attending to the distinct qualities of writing in Gaelic, Scots, and Scottish English and to the national and international contexts in which Scottish writers have worked. Classics will develop your engagement with texts that were written in Latin or Greek, with translation available for those without prior language study, alongside ancient history, philosophy, and the reception of classical culture in the modern world.

The four-year full-time programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to study in a different national context.

Graduates pursue careers in education, publishing, heritage, journalism, the arts, research, the civil service, and a wide range of roles where close reading, historical knowledge, and clear communication are valued. Many continue to postgraduate study in Scottish literature, classics, or related humanities fields.