[arielvale]

Hello! I am currently a rising high school senior in the US, and I'm considering applying to the University of Edinburgh. I already have a major in mind, but I'm not sure if it's offered there, it would be a double major in Political Science and Economics, would that be possible?
Also, does this university offer Arabic and Chinese as possible minor (or whatever it is called in the UK) options?

Thank you so much in advance!

[I Kant Spall]

I'm an American who got an offer for Arabic & Persian from Edinburgh this year. The Scottish university system is more similar to ours than that of the English, but there are still a couple things that should be cleared up. You apply for a specific degree offered by the university, usually applying for the same (or a similar) degree at other universities in the UK. Scottish universities confer an MA, Master of Arts, unto graduating undergraduate students. A Scottish MA is the undergraduate academic degree in Humanities and Social Science faculties given at the five Scottish ancient universities (including Edinburgh). Although the degree is named MA (Master of Arts), it is considered equivalent to the BA (Bachelor of Arts) awarded elsewhere by most universities.

At Edinburgh, there are a few degrees you can apply for, given your interests. Although I suggest reading this page about Scottish degrees first, I'll make a few recommendations anyway. The first is an Economics & Politics degree, which does indeed cover both of your interests. In the UK, Political Science departments and degrees are shortened to just Politics. I can imagine that you'll be able to study Arabic or Chinese while pursuing this degree, but it is not part of the degree itself.

However, if you'd like to include some academic study of a foreign language in your degree, you can Economics & Chinese or Arabic & Politics. The two languages and subjects are interchangeable. The flexible system at Edinburgh allows you to take outside courses in subjects you may never have considered otherwise.

Take some time browsing Edinburgh's degree finder and research options that may interest you. Additionally, make sure to check the "non-UK qualifications" part for each degree. SATs and SAT2s are not sufficient to gain admission to British universities and you will be asked to complete AP exams, usually getting a 4 or 5 in desired subjects.

[jasonsiewitz]

finally an American who's asking about a university in Scotland other than St. Andrews...
Anyway, to clarify, there are no majors and minors here. You get a degree in what you study and thats final. Throughout the course you may take languages and other classes that you're interested in etc., but it won't count as part of your degree (like a minor would). However, there is a joint degree for a language and a course (Arabic & Econ, for example).

According to the social sciences website, political sciences is not a joint course, so if you want to do polisci, you're gonna have to get a degree in just polisci (you can take classes in economics probably, but it won't state it on your final degree, Bsc political science, not Bsc political science and economics as such). However, in regards to the economics department, they do offer numerous joint degrees. I've attached the link below for both political science degrees and economics degrees (the economics link will lead you straight to the degrees they offer and the political science link will show the degrees on the right side of the website). Hope that helped.

http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/undergrad/prospective/politics

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departme.../joint-honours