Celtic Studies

A Masters by Research (MScR) programme is ideal if you would like to complete a short piece of independent research in Celtic Studies. The programme is a good stepping-stone to a PhD, but is equally of value as a stand-alone qualification.

As a Masters by Research student, you will be part of a wider masters community while specialising in what interests you most for the duration of the programme, which is the key difference to a taught Masters (MSc).

We specialise in the languages, literatures, and cultures of the Celtic - and in particular the Gaelic-speaking peoples, from Iron Age Europe to the present.

Based in Scotland’s capital and festival city, our research community is at the forefront of policy development and cultural innovation, and of linguistic, cultural, literary, and sociolinguistic research in the Celtic languages, with a particular focus on Scottish Gaelic. We play a leading role in relation to language planning and maintenance, particularly for Scottish Gaelic.

Research excellence In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), our research in Celtic Studies was submitted in Modern Languages and Linguistics (Panel D - Arts and Humanities; Unit of Assessment 26).

The results reaffirm Edinburgh’s position as one of the UK’s leading research universities - ranked third in the UK.

As published in Times Higher Education's REF power ratings, this result is based on the quality and breadth of our research in the unit of assessment.

Join our community and undertake a 20,000-word dissertation under the guidance of an experienced and well-published supervisor. Our Celtic Studies expertise covers:

Celtic sociolinguistics and language policy

Gaelic folklore

Gaelic language and culture in the diaspora

Gaelic linguistics, dialectology, and language technology

Medieval Gaelic religious culture

Old Irish and Middle Welsh language, literature and culture

Scottish Gaelic and Modern Irish language, literature, and culture

The 'Celtic Revival' in Scotland

We are happy to discuss your proposed topic with you prior to application.

Go beyond the books Beyond the Books is a podcast from the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at research and the people who make it happen.

Listen to a mix of PhD, early career and established researchers talk about their journey to and through academia and about their current and recent research. In the first episode of Series 2, host Emma Aviet talks to Wilson McLeod, Emeritus Professor of Gaelic, about diversity, technology and more.