Students who wish to study English honours courses must be majors and must have completed four English literature courses each with a grade of B or higher. The philosophy and approach to education in Scottish universities is different in some ways from the U.S. system. Scottish students specialize in a specific subject, rather than study a wide range of subjects, as in the U.S. university system. Additionally, a greater emphasis is placed on independent study. Very often there is no detailed schedule and syllabus, as one would expect in the U.S. system, but rather a reading list from which it is the student's responsibility to choose what to read.
Assessment differs according to the course.
It may range from one essay with a final exam at the end of the course to 3 essays and 2 exams. UR exchange students may enroll in any course at Edinburgh, as long as they meet prerequisites. All first and second year courses go through until the summer term. British Studies 3h is a summer time course. Some courses have projects in the summer term which require tutorials.