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Cultural Heritage Futures (Online Learning) at The University of Edinburgh - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
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There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Open days

23Jul
The University of Edinburgh - Introduction to Postgraduate Online Learning
Virtual and digital

Course summary

This programme has been designed to shape the future of the heritage sector. Through this interdisciplinary and challenge-driven programme, you will become creative heritage professionals committed to data-informed innovation with social purpose. The programme is based on a critical understanding of heritage as the contemporary processes and outcomes of interacting with tangible and intangible aspects of the past and attributing cultural and social meanings to them. You will be introduced to cutting-edge theory, digital skills, future-facing social science methods, policies and practices that equip you to create, enhance, preserve, communicate, and research heritage in ways that address pressing social and environmental issues at local to global scales. Upon completion, students will be able to address questions such as:

  • how can we decolonise museum collections and heritage sites through data activism?
  • how can ocean heritage contribute to sustainable local economies?
  • how do we negotiate between human and non-human rights, including animal rights, in heritage conservation practice?
  • how can transnational heritage site management help peace-building in countries affected by violent conflict?
MSc Cultural Heritage Futures will be taught with a sensitivity that attends to decolonisation and a truly international outlook. Courses will draw on examples and case studies from different geographic areas including the Global North, South, East, and West. The programme team consists of a unique blending of leading academics at the University of Edinburgh, who collaborate with heritage organisations in Scotland, the UK and internationally (e.g. UNESCO, ICCROM, Aliph, ICOMOS, Historic Environment Scotland, Historic England, National Museum Scotland, Museum of London Archaeology). Students will benefit from interactions with these heritage professionals and from the collaborative and making spaces at Edinburgh Futures Institute, which will help them to undertake creative, co-design and digital activities collaboratively. Postgraduate study at the Edinburgh Futures Institute This programme is part of an interconnected portfolio of postgraduate study in the Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI). EFI supports interdisciplinary teaching, learning and research that is focused on complex global and social challenges. Our programmes are taught by academic experts from many different subject areas. As an EFI student, you will develop creative, critical and data-informed thinking that cuts across traditional disciplinary boundaries. You will have the space to think deeply about questions linked to your own passions and professional goals and will develop a project based on an issue that you care about. As well as knowledge specific to your area of study, studying at Edinburgh Futures Institute will give you the skills and understanding you need to become a creative, confident and critical citizen in a fast-changing world. These include:
  • core data skills
  • data ethics
  • the ability to interrogate issues of global scope using methods from across disciplines
  • creative and analytic approaches to knowledge
You can join us regardless of whether you already have skills in the use and application of digital data.

Modules

See the University of Edinburgh website for detailed programme information.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for individual programmes vary, so please check the details for the specific programme you wish to apply for on the University of Edinburgh website. You will also need to meet the University’s language requirements.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

No fee information has been provided for this course

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Tuition fees vary between degree programmes. Find the specific fees for your chosen programme on our website.
Cultural Heritage Futures (Online Learning) at The University of Edinburgh - UCAS