Celtic Studies/Music

Celtic studies and music is a combination that brings together two disciplines deeply rooted in the cultural traditions of the British Isles and beyond. Celtic studies provides the opportunity to combine language study with courses on the medieval and modern Celtic cultures of Britain and Ireland, engaging with Welsh, Gaelic, and Irish literary and cultural traditions that stretch back more than a millennium. Music at university level develops both your practical musicianship and your understanding of musical history, theory, and culture.

The two subjects connect naturally through the extraordinary richness of Celtic musical traditions, from the bardic poetry of medieval Wales and Ireland to the living musical cultures of the Gaelic world, but they also develop complementary analytical skills that enrich each other more broadly.

At the University of Glasgow, this four-year full-time MA (Hons) includes a year abroad and gives you access to the university's significant strengths in both Celtic studies and music. In Celtic studies you will develop language skills in Welsh or Gaelic alongside engagement with the literary, historical, and cultural dimensions of the Celtic tradition. In music you will develop your musicianship, engage with music history and analysis, and explore the theoretical frameworks that allow you to understand how musical traditions develop and communicate meaning.

Glasgow's own relationship with Gaelic culture gives the Celtic studies component a particular vitality and contemporary relevance.

Graduates of Celtic studies and music programmes pursue careers in arts administration, broadcasting, music education, heritage and cultural organisations, and the promotion of Celtic and Gaelic language and culture. Many work with bodies including BBC Scotland, the arts councils of Scotland and Wales, Bord na Gaidhlig, and organisations supporting the continuation of living Celtic cultural traditions. Teaching music and Celtic languages in schools is another significant route.

Some graduates pursue careers as performers or composers within Celtic musical traditions, while others move into academic research, archival work, or cultural policy. Postgraduate study in Celtic languages, musicology, or ethnomusicology is a natural next step.