Postgraduate
All our exciting, innovative MLitt programmes are informed by the unique history and culture of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. They have a global reach attracting students from across the world.
You can study the rich heritage and culture of the Highlands and Islands with masters in Scottish Heritage and Highlands and Islands Literature, or you can study the Northern Isles with a masters in Orkney and Shetland Studies (the only one of its kind). Our Island Studies masters takes a global approach, and our distinctive masters in Viking Studies explores gender issues as well as the Vikings as imagined today.
- MLitt Highlands and Islands Literature
- MLitt Island Studies
- MLitt Scottish Heritage
- MLitt Viking Studies
From our taught programmes you will be able to progress on to research degrees, gaining many valuable personal development skills along the way.
"I was attracted to studying in Orkney because it gave me the chance to physically visit the sites and access specialised material. I received great support and encouragement from all teaching staff and the lecturers always had time to invest in their students and their needs. Studying on the course has helped me to develop fundamental interpersonal, problem solving and team building skills."
Fleur Ward, originally from Melbourne, Australia, relocated to Orkney to undertake the MLitt Orkney and Shetland Studies. She is now a PhD researcher in the discipline of Island Studies based at the Institute for Northern Studies, Orkney College
"The Institute for Northern Studies is based in Orkney and Shetland, the northern most part of the UK. Our students come from a variety of places and backgrounds, even from as far away as Canada and Australia. Our exciting, innovative programmes are embedded in the history and culture of our area. These include Viking Studies, Highlands and Islands Culture, Highlands and Islands Literature, Orkney and Shetland Studies and Island Studies."
Dr Andrew Jennings, programme leader for the institute’s masters programmes, is the author of a number of publications on Scottish history, Norse place-names and island studies, and is currently involved in a number of projects, including an international project with the Estonian War Museum.
Student Experiences Studying Around the World with INS
Student Experiences Studying Around the World with INS
Maggie Hirt
I attend UHI via my sailboat as my husband, four children, and I sail the world. Since I started school last Fall for a MLitt in Highlands and Islands Literature, we have left quarantine in southern England, crossed the Bay of Biscay, spent time in Glacia, Spain, sailed south to the Canary Isles, south again to Cape Verde, and then across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. All of this while tuning into Zoom classes via the cockpit or aft cabin. We have also spent a year sailing Scotland, hence my love for the country. I meet travelers from around the world and always talk about UHI and how adjustable the program is for anyone interested. After the summer, we plan to start a four-year circumnavigation, and I will take UHI wherever I go. To find out more about Maggie's adventures head to Sealonging Selkie.
Catriona Weiser
I live in Vienna, a little out of the city centre, where the vineyards are, and the Wienerwald begins, but I am originally from Inverness. I met my Viennese husband when we were both working in London. We have lived in Vienna with our three children for thirteen years now and I feel very at home here. I do miss the Highlands though. Studying for the MLitt has helped to prevent homesickness, especially when travel restrictions have kept me away. My brain has been able to get home, even when I can't.
Colin Souness
Colin Souness originally hails from Argyll and Bute. A glaciologist by education he has spent the last ten years working as a Polar Regions guide both in Antarctica and throughout the Arctic. Greenland and the N. Atlantic isles have always had a particular fascination for Colin and it was working in this Arctic / Norse / Celtic transition zone that led him to begin his studies at UHI. He currently lives with his safari guide wife Nicky in S. Africa, where they manage a nature reserve in the semi-desert Karoo.