Arabic MA (joint degree) 2026 entry

All modern language modules involve a combination of lectures, tutorials and practical language classes. Lectures provide information, stimulate thought, and suggest directions for further reading and personal study. Small language tutorials allow you to work actively together with your tutors to practice language skills, present papers, and discuss texts and issues relevant to the course.

Sub-honours Arabic modules are delivered through lectures and small-group tutorials. At Honours level, lectures are replaced by small classes alongside tutorials. Typical class sizes for Arabic:

• first year: lectures 40 to 80 students, tutorials 10 to 15 students
• second year: lectures 20 to 40 students, tutorials 10 to 15 students
• Honours: classes 5 to 20 students, tutorials 5 to 15 students

When not attending lectures, tutorials and practical language classes, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. Typically this will involve working on individual and group projects.

• undertaking research in the library and online
• preparing coursework assignments and presentations
• preparing for examinations

• Assessment

  Modules in Arabic are assessed by a combination of coursework and end-of-semester examinations. Coursework includes advanced language exercises, discursive essays in English, and oral presentations in Arabic.

  Examinations are held at the end of each semester during a dedicated exam diet with revision time provided beforehand. Examinations are either entirely in written format or comprise both written and oral components.

  Tutors advise you closely on the preparation of written work and give individual assessments of your performance. The Department aims to provide feedback on every assessment within three weeks to help you improve on future assessments.

  Undergraduates at the University of St Andrews must achieve at least 7.0 on the St Andrews 20-point grade scale to pass a module. To gain access to Honours-level modules, students must achieve the relevant requisites as specified in the policy on entry to Honours and in the relevant programme requirements. To find out the classification equivalent of points, please see the common reporting scale.

• Support

  You can find contact information for all staff in the Department of Arabic and Persian on the School of Modern Languages website.

  In addition to your studies in the Department of Arabic and Persian, optional academic support is available through practical study skills courses and workshops hosted within the University.

  The University's services and support teams can help students with additional needs resulting from disabilities, long-term medical conditions or learning disabilities, as well as many other difficulties and challenges students might face while studying.

Joint Honours degrees

You can only take Arabic as part of a joint Honours degree in which you will take core modules of your chosen subjects.

Triple subject degree options

You can take Arabic as part of a Modern Languages joint Honours degree. You would take Arabic with two other modern languages or with one other modern language and one additional subject. All Arabic triple degrees are also available With Integrated Year Abroad. In taking a 'triple' modern languages degree, you are required to take core modules in all of your subjects.

"With" degrees

You can take Arabic as part of a "with" Honours degree in which the majority of the course deals with the first name subject. St Andrews offers the following "with" degrees in Arabic:

• Bachelor of Science (Honours) Biology with Arabic - UCAS code CT16

"With" degrees taken with Arabic are also available 'With Integrated Year Abroad'.

Careers

Graduates in Arabic go on to a wide range of careers for which an Arts degree is a recognised qualification. Graduates of the Department have become:

• academics in international institutions
• civil servants in government departments (notably the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the US State Department)
• employees in non-governmental organisations and international companies
• human rights lawyers
• journalists

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students to build their employability skills.