Persian MA (joint degree)

Program Overview

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Start date

September 2025

End date

June 2029

Duration

Four years full time

School

Department of Arabic and Persian

Entry requirements

The University offers different entry requirements, depending on your background. Find out more about Standard, Minimum and Gateway entry requirements.

We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry on to our programmes, please see our entry requirements for more information.

For degrees combining more than one subject, the subject with the higher entry requirements determines the grades you need. You will also need to meet any further subject-specific entry requirements as outlined on their pages.

SQA Highers

• Standard entry grades: AAAB
• Minimum entry grades: AABB
• Gateway entry grades: Applicants who have narrowly missed the minimum entry grades, but meet the University's contextual criteria, may be interested in one of the University’s Gateway programmes.

GCE A-Levels

• Standard entry grades: AAB
• Minimum entry grades: ABB

IB points

• Standard entry grades: 36 (HL 6,6,5)
• Minimum entry grades: 36 (HL 6,5,5)

General entry requirements

All applicants must have attained the following qualifications, or equivalent, in addition to the specific entry requirements for individual programmes.

SQA qualifications

• SQA National 5 (B) in English and one SQA National 5 (B) from the following:
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Computing science
  • Geography
  • Lifeskills Mathematics (A grade)
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Psychology.

GCSE qualifications

• GCSE (5) in English language or English literature, and one GCSE (5) from the following:
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Computing Science
  • Geography
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Psychology.

Other qualifications

We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry on to our programmes. Please see our entry requirements for more information.

Course details

The Persian element of the four-year joint Honours degree course is run by the Department of Arabic and Persian within the School of Modern Languages. Persian is relatively easy to learn, and students can gain a good command of the language within the first two years and then proceed to engage with the more challenging historical, literary and cultural aspects of the Persian-speaking world.

Your first two years focus on enabling you to read, write and converse in simple Persian. You will cover the Persian alphabet and writing system and begin studying Persian grammar and most-used vocabulary. You will also be introduced to contemporary issues and key themes in Persian culture.

Alongside Persian, in the first year of your studies, you will be required to study an additional two subjects. In the second year you will usually carry on at least one of these subjects, sometimes two.

If you are taking Persian with another language, you will have the opportunity to take an integrated year abroad between second and third year to a country in your other chosen language.

In your third and fourth year, you will have the opportunity to take more modules which focus on Persian literature, film, culture and society.

Graduates in modern languages from St Andrews can expect to have not only a high level of competency in language skills, but a highly developed appreciation for other cultures and peoples. Other transferable skills, including analysis, synthesis and communication skills, will prepare you for a career in almost any industry.

The University of St Andrews operates on a flexible modular degree system by which degrees are obtained through the accumulation of credits. More information on the structure of the modules system can be found on the flexible degree structure web page.

Modules

In the first two years of your degree (known as sub-honours), you will take the required modules in Persian along with modules from your chosen joint subject.

Typically, you will take one Persian module per semester during your first two years, and two modules per semester during your third and fourth year (known as Honours).

Find out more about the modular Scottish degree system.

First year

• Persian for Beginners 1: familiarises students with the spoken and written forms of Persian and enables them to begin to read basic authentic texts and to produce simple sentences to express themselves in written and spoken Persian.
• Persian for Beginners 2: continues the lessons from Persian 1 and provides an introduction to elementary translation and interpretation between Persian and English.

Second year

• Intermediate Persian 1: consolidates students’ understanding of Persian grammar and vocabulary and allows students to read more sophisticated texts in Persian and to translate them to English.
• Intermediate Persian 2: applies language work across passages from contemporary and modern writing selected for their relevance to the understanding of contemporary issues, language and thought in Iranian culture.

If you take Persian in your third and fourth years, you will have four compulsory modules in the Persian language across two years. In addition to these four compulsory modules, you will choose from a variety of advanced options which incorporate literary, historical and cultural studies into language learning.

Modules at Honours level offered in previous years have included, but are not limited to:

• Introduction to Classical Persian Literature
• Key Texts in Modern Persian Literature
• Modern Iran through Cinema
• Modernity and Iranian Drama
• Songs of Love and Revolution

In fourth year, students have the option of doing a dissertation module. This can be a short dissertation (5,000 words) or a long dissertation of (10,000 words) on an approved topic in Persian and Middle East studies. This independent project enables you to develop key research skills which are desired by both prospective employers and by graduate schools offering postgraduate degrees.

The compulsory modules listed here must be taken in order to graduate in this subject. However, most students at St Andrews take additional modules, either in their primary subject or from other subjects they are interested in. For Honours level, students choose from a range of Honours modules, some of which are listed above.

Teaching

• Teaching format: All modern language modules involve a combination of lectures, tutorials and practical languages classes.
• Assessment: Modules at sub-honours level are assessed by a combination of coursework (40%), oral examinations (20%) and written examinations (40%). At Honours level, all modules include at least 40% assessed coursework.
• Support: The Department aims to provide feedback on every assessment within three weeks to help you improve on future assessments.

Fees

• Scotland: £1,820
• England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland: £9,535
• Channel Islands, Isle of Man: £9,535
• EU and overseas: £31,670

Joint Honours degrees

• Ancient History
• Arabic
• Chinese Studies
• Classical Studies
• Classics
• Comparative Literature
• Economics
• English
• Film Studies
• French
• Geography
• German
• Greek
• International Relations
• Italian
• Latin
• Management
• Medieval History
• Middle East Studies
• Modern History
• Philosophy
• Russian
• Social Anthropology
• Spanish

Joint degrees taken with Arabic, Chinese Studies, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish are also available 'With Integrated Year Abroad'.

Triple subject degree options

It is possible to take Persian as part of a Modern Languages Honours degree including either three modern languages or two modern languages and one additional subject.

"With" degrees

You can take Persian as part of a "with" Honours degree in which the majority of the course deals with the first-named subject.

• Geography with Persian
• International Relations with Persian
• Medieval History with Persian
• Modern History with Persian

Careers

Persian-speaking graduates are becoming increasingly in demand with the potential rapprochement between Iran and the west. Graduates in Persian go on to pursue a wide range of careers in:

• Academia as international culture experts
• Banking
• Government
• International relations
• Journalism
• Museum curators
• Oil industry

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.