Summer Courses
Summer Course 2026 - Stories Written in Stone: The People who Built Scotland
Date: 15-19 June 2026
Venue: UHI Perth, Scotland, UK
Following on from the success of the 2025 INS Summer Course, we are delighted to announce that the Summer Course 2026 is now open for registration. The theme of the week-long series of lectures, seminars and field excursions will follow the stories associated with some of Scotland's most iconic buildings.
Scotland’s built heritage encapsulates its complex history and identity. The echoes of those who dwelt in now ruined castles and abbeys have long fired imaginations. However, long before the first cracks appeared in their edifices, the buildings themselves had stories to tell: Sometimes a tale of power and those who wielded it, sometimes a tale of the lives of those over whom power was exerted, sometimes a tale of knowledge and skill passed down through countless generations.
This summer course will explore how the stories of Scotland’s people shaped, and were shaped by, its built heritage from the earliest times to the present day. We will look at how people from all walks of life put something of their own stories into their buildings. We will also ask how the built heritage of Scotland has shaped the stories told by its people.
Summer Course 2025 - The Birth of Scotland: Celtic & Viking Legacies in the Forging of a New Kingdom
Following the success of the 2024 summer course, the Institute for Northern Studies' Viking and Early Medieval Studies (VEMS) was pleased to announce our summer course for 2025: "The Birth of Scotland." This residential course took place between Monday, June 16, 2025, to Friday, June 20, 2025, at the UHI Perth campus.
Throughout the week, students explored the origins of the Kingdom of Scotland. They investigated how a diverse patchwork of kingdoms—comprising speakers of Pictish, Gaelic, Norse, British, and English—came to be politically and culturally incorporated into what became the emerging Kingdom of Scotland. This process was neither smooth nor inevitable. Students also considered how the legacies of these various groups contributed to the shaping of the fledgling kingdom.
The course consisted of morning and evening classes, as well as workshops that covered a variety of topics. Afternoons and full-day excursions visited key sites associated with the birth of Scotland. The group explored important locations and museum collections in places such as Perth, St Andrews, Dunfermline, and Edinburgh.
Summer Course 2024 - Rulers and Raiders: Celts and Vikings in Central Scotland
The UHI Institute for Northern Studies invited participants to explore the legacies of the Celts and Vikings in central Scotland. In this summer course, students learned how the culture and society of the Celtic and Norse peoples helped shape the region. The group visited significant sites, including locations of battles and raids, remarkable sculptures created by early medieval stonemasons, important ecclesiastical sites, and places where kings were inaugurated and exercised their power.
Students participated in daily lectures and excursions led by our engaging team of experts, who brought these historic places to life. This was a unique opportunity to discover the stories of the Celts and Vikings, explore fascinating locations, and meet new people.
On Friday evening, a ceilidh was organised, allowing students to experience modern Scottish culture firsthand.