Enhanced Study Options | Study Here | The University of Aberdeen

Enhanced Study Options

One thing about the 21st century is certain: you’ll need to be more versatile and more adaptable than ever before to meet the challenges of life and work. At Aberdeen we believe this demands an appreciation of disciplines other than your own, and a deeper understanding of the context of your own core discipline. We call the courses that provide for this, and for other broadening experiences, Enhanced Study.

All single honours undergraduate degrees at Aberdeen, with the exception of Medicine and Dentistry, include Enhanced Study. The degree programmes are structured in such a way that this will not increase your overall workload.

There are three types of Enhanced Study, the details of which you will find below.

Discipline Breadth Courses

You may expand the scope of your study by taking a Discipline Breadth course – which is a course that is outside your degree discipline. It might be related to your core degree subject or entirely unrelated to it – the choice is yours. For example, if you are taking a degree in History, you might also want to do a course in Archaeology (related) or in Biology (unrelated). You have the whole catalogue of courses for your year of study to choose from, as long as you meet any pre-requisites and entry to the course is not restricted to a specific degree (e.g. Medicine, Law, Primary Education).

View our Catalogue of Courses

Sustained Studies

Would you benefit from having a language, or perhaps some knowledge of science, alongside your main degree subject? Sustained Study is designed to provide you with continual exposure, throughout the first two years of your degree programme, to an area of study that is separate from your core discipline. Sustained Study involves a total of four courses, one each half-session for your first two years. Students must pass all four courses in order to qualify for Sustained Study.

To ensure that Sustained Study adds breadth to your chosen degree programme, you will not be eligible for Sustained Study in a subject area which is close to your core degree subject. Sustained Study is not available at Levels 3 and 4.

Students may choose from the following:

Arabic (for beginners)
Business
Conservation and Environment
Counselling
Fit for Life
French (beginner or qualified/advanced)
Gaelic (beginner, intermediate or advanced)
German (beginner or qualified/advanced)
Mandarin Chinese (beginner)
Scandinavian Language (beginner)
Spanish (beginner, intermediate)

Full details of the Sustained Study courses can be found in the Catalogue of Courses

Sixth Century Courses

People have been studying at Aberdeen for over five centuries and Sixth Century Courses are exciting cross-disciplinary courses that place you at the cutting-edge of modern learning.

They invite you to consider different approaches to knowledge and enquiry as you look at issues affecting the world in which we live today. They are designed to help you develop a deeper critical understanding of your chosen area of study by setting the subject in a wider context. You will normally be expected to take one of these courses during your degree programme.

All Sixth Century Courses are taught using innovative techniques and students are continually assessed throughout the course.

Level 1-2 courses:

Full details of the Sixth Century Courses can be found in the Catalogue of Courses

Level 3-4 courses:

Full details of the Sixth Century Courses can be found in the Catalogue of Courses