Studying Abroad in Scotland

Buy this book »

Scottish universities are more similar to U.S. schools than English universities. In fact, the American educational system is based on the Scottish system. Students enter university without the specialized backgrounds of their English counterparts. Scottish students take an exam called the "higher" after studying four or five subjects. Instead of spending another year studying two or three subjects and taking an advanced exam like English students, Scottish students enroll in a university after the higher.

In Scotland, students don't choose their major until the end of their second year at the university. Although they do not apply directly to specific academic departments for admission, they nevertheless apply to faculties such as humanities, science, social science, law, medicine, or engineering. Professional courses like law or medicine have prescribed courses that students must take each year, but humanities and science students often can choose which classes they want to take. After choosing a major, Scottish students spend two more years at the university concentrating on their majors before earning an honours degree. After choosing a major, students may also choose to spend only one more year at university, earning a general education degree.

Scottish universities are more flexible in nature than many English universities, especially the more traditional ones. Students are admitted to a specific faculty at Scottish universities, but are likely to be able to take courses at various levels (provided they meet course prerequisites) and in a number of subjects within your faculty. You may even receive permission to take courses in another faculty.

Learning the ropes

Scottish universities may provide you with more course information than English universities, including course objectives, a reading list, lecture syllabus for an entire semester, essay topics, and schedules of important events like exams or presentations. However, considerable variation in course expectations exists from department to department.

In Scotland, introductory courses usually are large lectures. Don't let the large lecture style of intro courses mislead you into thinking that you don't need to attend to class. On the contrary, class attendance is important in introductory courses because professors rarely follow or use textbooks. Higher level courses tend to be taught seminar style or as a mixture of lectures and seminars.

As in England, Scottish professors assume that you are continuously reading on your own so that you can contribute to classroom discussions and pass an exam at the end of the course. Attendance is usually mandatory at discussions, labs, and tutorials.

Making the grade

Traditionally, Scottish universities rely heavily on final exams to determine 100 percent of the final grade for a course. The system has shifted toward more continuous assessment models, like you're probably familiar with at your home university, but the final exam for a course still can carry a significant amount of weight. Scottish universities usually use the A through F grading scale.