Program Overview
The Geography and Middle East Studies at University of St Andrews is a MA programme in Humanities over 48 months, delivered On-campus. This programme equips graduates with advanced knowledge and practical skills for professional and academic careers in the field.
Students gain a rigorous grounding in both the theoretical foundations and applied dimensions of humanities. The programme combines coursework, research components, and practical projects that develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and specialist expertise relevant to industry and research needs.
Graduates of the Geography and Middle East Studies programme are well-prepared for careers in academia, industry, government, and the private sector across United Kingdom and internationally. The programme provides an internationally recognised qualification within the Bologna higher education framework.
Key Program Features
- Duration: 48 months
- Language of instruction: English
- Study mode: On-campus
- English requirement: IELTS 7
- Tuition: GBP 17,040 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; GBP 9,000 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
- Location: St Andrews, United Kingdom
Career Opportunities
Graduates of the Geography and Middle East Studies programme are prepared for diverse careers in humanities:
- Researcher / Academic
- Cultural Programme Manager
- Editor / Writer
- Translator / Interpreter
- Museum Curator
- Communications Specialist
Program Curriculum
In the first two years of your degree (known as sub-honours), you will take the required modules in Middle East studies along with modules from your chosen joint subject.
Typically, you will take one module including Middle Eastern history per semester during your first two years, and two modules during your third and fourth years (known as Honours).
Find out more about the modular Scottish degree system.
Students are required to take two of the following modules, which include some Middle East content, in their first year:
- The Early Modern Western World (circa 1450 to circa 1770): looks at continental European history in the early modern period, and the expansion of Europe.
- The Fall of Rome and the Origins of Europe (400-1000): examines how political, cultural and social life changed in the Byzantine, British and 'barbarian' worlds in response to major upheavals.
- Themes in Late Modern History (circa 1776-2001): provides thematic coverage of major political and social developments in the Western world during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Students are required to take the following compulsory module in their second year:
- Introduction to Middle Eastern History: provides an introduction to Middle Eastern history from the dramatic reconfiguration of the Middle East in late Antiquity to its contested and contentious recent past.
You must also choose one of the following modules:
- History as a Discipline: Development and Key Concepts: provides an introduction to key theoretical and methodological approaches which have characterised the emergence of history as a discipline since medieval times.
- Medieval Europe (11th to 15th century): examines key themes that helped to shape continental Western Europe from the aftermath of the Carolingian Empire and beginning of the Crusades to the Black Death and the Hundred Years War.
- Scotland, Britain and Empire (circa 1700-2000): provides an introduction to how and why the British nation state evolved from the separate kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland and how and why it has survived over the last three centuries.
If you take Middle East studies in your third and fourth years, you will choose from a variety of advanced options from the history of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires to contemporary issues in modern Iran.
Examples of Honours modules which have been offered in the past include:
- Arabs, Persians and Turks in the Early Islamic East in the Age of the Caliphates (600-1200)
- Britain and Iran in the Modern Era
- From Leo VI to Basil II: Byzantium in the Tenth Century
- The Imperial City: Byzantine and Ottoman Constantinople
- Nomadic Heritage and Persianate Culture: The Iranian world from Timurids to the Safavids (1370-1722)
- The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1700
In fourth year, students also undertake a dissertation of around 10,000 to 12,000 words on a topic of their choice or an Honours project
Admission Requirements
Academic Requirements
You need the following GPA score:
Applicants for graduate programs must have the equivalent of a bachelor\xe2\x80\x99s degree with a minimum GPA equivalent to Upper Second Class on the UK Honour scale. Admitted applicants typically have an undergraduate GPA of or better on the UK Honour scale. No exam grade should be lower than 4.5 (European grade scale) or D (American grade scale).
Your GPA (Grade Point Average) is calculated using the grades that you received in each course, and is determined by the points assigned to each grade (e.g. for the US grading scale from A-F).
English Proficiency: IELTS 7 or equivalent.
Tuition & Financial Information
Tuition Fee
GBP 17,040 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; GBP 9,000 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
Tuition fees: GBP 17,040 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; GBP 9,000 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
IELTS requirement: 7
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Contact University of St Andrews directly for scholarship, grant, and financial aid information for this programme. Many European universities offer merit-based and need-based funding for international and domestic students.
About University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
St Andrews, United Kingdom
The University of St Andrews, founded in 1413, is Scotland’s oldest university and one of the most prestigious institutions in the United Kingdom. Located in the historic coastal town of St...
University Profile- Start Date circa 1700
- Language English
- Duration 48 months