Programmes and Courses

Programmes and Courses

Undergraduate Students

Part year and part-time students should adjust their curriculum accordingly.

If you are a full year full-time undergraduate student, your programme of study will normally require you to study 8 courses, worth 15 credit points each, during your first year. You will therefore be required to study 4 courses within your first half session (September to December) and a further 4 in your second half session (January to May). Please note that within MyCurriculum half-sessions will be referred to as 'sub sessions'.

Dependent on your degree programme, some of these courses will be compulsory and some may be optional. To find out more about what your programme of study entails and how to select courses see the Choosing Courses section below.

Choosing Courses

Step 1: Compulsory Courses

Refer to the University's Calendar for details of the courses you must study as part of your degree programme. The Calendar example below displays the courses a Single Honours student in Year 1 of the MA Business Management programme must study.

Programme Year 1: 120 Credit points
First Half-Session Second Half-Session
Course Code Course Title Credit points Course Code Course Title Credit points
EC 1006 Economics for Business & Society 15 AC 1515 Accounting & Entrepreneurship 15
MS 1009 Managing Organisations 15 MS 1509 The Context of Business 15
Plus 60 credit points from courses of choice

i.e. this student must study EC1006 and MS1009 in their first half-session and AC1515 and MS1509 in the second half-session and choose a further two courses to study in each half-session.

  • The first two digits of a course denote the discipline area, e.g. EC represents Economics.
  • The first numerical digit denotes the programme year, while the second digit denotes in which half session the course takes place. Please note that a '0' indicates a first half session course and a '5' indicates a second half session course.
Step 2: Optional Courses

Most students taking single honours undergraduate degrees at Aberdeen are required to take Enhanced Study. Undergraduate students are normally required to take the following number of credits of Enhanced Study:

  • Programme year 1: 30 credits (Normally, this will be one 15-credit course each half-session).
  • Programme year 2: 30 credits (Normally, this will be one 15-credit course each half-session).
  • Programme years 3 and 4: 30 credits (Normally, this will be one 15-credit course in programme year 3 and one 15-credit course in programme year 4).

Enhanced Study Options are designed to allow students to have choice, wider opportunities and greater flexibility in their learning. There are three types of Enhanced Study Options:

  1. Sixth Century Courses invite you to consider different approaches to knowledge and enquiry as you look at issues affecting the world in which we live today. For a full list of Sixth Century Courses visit the Sixth Century Courses page.
  2. Sustained Study is designed to provide you with continual exposure, throughout your first two years, to an area of study that is separate to your core subject. Should you be interested in taking a Sustained Study, this will cover your entire Enhanced Study requirements for both years one and two. For a full list of Sustained Study courses please visit the Sustained Study Options page.
  3. Discipline Breadth Courses allow you to extend the scope of your study by taking a single course that interests you. For a full list of Discipline Breadth courses please visit the University's Catalogue of Courses.

If you are studying Medicine or Dentistry, you will not be required to take any enhanced study options as the majority of your courses are compulsory.

If you are a Joint Honours student, or on a Major-Minor programme, you will not be required to undertake Enhanced Study Options, as the joint nature of your degree provides the necessary breadth.


Postgraduate Taught Students

As a Postgraduate Taught student your programme of study will lead, as appropriate, to the award of a:

  • Master’s Degree - 180 credit points including at least 150 at level 5, normally including a dissertation or individual research project;
  • Postgraduate Diploma - 120 credit points including at least 90 at level 5;
  • Postgraduate Certificate - 60 credit points including at least 40 at level 5.

Postgraduate Research Students

Research degrees provide a thorough training in a particular subject through original exploration and experiment. The research culminates in a thesis which sets out the conclusions of the research undertaken.

Programme Calendar and Catalogue of Courses

In order to help you make informed decisions about your programme of study and the courses you will take while at University, the University prepares the Degree Programme Calendar and the Catalogue of Courses.

  • The Degree Programme Calendar lists every programme offered by the University, the academic rules you must adhere to while studying for your degree and the compulsory courses you must study in order to complete your degree.
  • The Catalogue of Courses is a catalogue of all the undergraduate  and postgraduate courses the University offers in a given academic year. Listed by subject area, the catalogue can help you make decisions about which courses you would like to study or provide you with further information on the courses you must take.
Enhanced Study Courses

Most students taking single honours undergraduate degrees at Aberdeen are required to take Enhanced Study. These are courses that are outside the main discipline you are studying. Undergraduate students are normally required to take the following number of credits of Enhanced Study:

Programme years 1 and 2: 60 credits (Normally, this will be one 15-credit course each half-session).

Enhanced Study Options are designed to allow students to have choice, wider opportunities and greater flexibility in their learning. There are three types of Enhanced Study Options:

  1. Sixth Century Courses invite you to consider different approaches to knowledge and enquiry as you look at issues affecting the world in which we live today. For a full list of Sixth Century Courses you should visit the Sixth Century Courses page.
  2. Sustained Study is designed to provide you with continual exposure, throughout your first two years, to an area of study that is separate to your core subject. Should you be interested in taking a Sustained Study, this will cover your entire Enhanced Study requirements for both years one and two.

Sustained Study is available in the following:

  • Arabic (Beginners)
  • Biblical Language (Greek)
  • Business
  • Conservation & Environment
  • Computing
  • Fit For Life
  • French (Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced)
  • German (Beginners, Intermediate)
  • Gaelic (Beginners, Intermediate/Advanced)
  • Mandarin Chinese (Beginners)
  • Religions of the World
  • Scandinavian Language: Swedish (Beginners)
  • Spanish (Beginners, Intermediate)

If you wish to take Sustained Study in Arabic, Mandarin or Scandinavian Language, you should sign up for the following courses within the discipline breadth option in MyCurriculum.

ARABIC (Beginners) Level 1 AR1002
Arabic for Beginners 1
AR1502
Arabic for Beginners 2
Level 2 AR2002
Arabic for Beginners 3
AR2502
Arabic for Beginners 4
CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENT Level 1 BI1009
Frontiers in Biological Sciences
BI1511 
Ecology and Environmental Science
Level 2 BI2020 Ecology BI2509 Conservation Biology
MANDARIN CHINESE (Beginners) Level 1 MN1001
Mandarin Chinese for Beginners 1
MN1501
Mandarin Chinese for Beginners 2
Level 2 MN2001
Mandarin for Beginners 3
MN2501
Mandarin for Beginners 4
SCANDINAVIAN LANGUAGE: Swedish (Beginners) Level 1 SN1003
Scandinavian Language (Swedish) 1
SN1503
Scandinavian Language (Swedish) 2
Level 2 SN2003
Scandinavian Language (Swedish) 3
SN2503
Scandinavian Language (Swedish) 4

For all other Sustained Study options, you should choose these from the Sustained Study course listing within MyCurriculum.

For further information, please visit the Sustained Study page.

3. Discipline Breadth Courses allow you to extend the scope of your study by taking a single course that interests you. For a full list of Discipline Breadth courses please visit the University's Catalogue of Courses.

If you are studying Medicine or Dentistry, you will not be required to take any enhanced study options as the majority of your courses are compulsory.

If you are a Joint Honours student, or on a Major-Minor programme, you will not be required to undertake Enhanced Study Options, as the joint nature of your degree provides the necessary breadth.