UG Choosing your Courses
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If you require this document in an alternative format, please contact us by email at sps.pre-selection@ed.ac.uk.
On this page you will be able to find information on how to choose and submit your course choices, please ensure you take the time to read this carefully. Use the quick links on the right hand side to guide you through this page.
Choosing courses
Before you submit your course choices, please take some time to watch our short video as well as read the guidance below.
- Credit load
A normal year load is 120 credits (most commonly six 20 credit courses). For most degrees, your courses should be distributed evenly between Semester 1 and Semester 2.
- Compulsory courses
Use DRPS to view your degree programme and identify your compulsory courses. See guidance below on how to do so:
- Optional courses (electives)
Once you know compulsory courses on your programme, check what optional courses you can take.
When selecting your optional courses, always check the following:
- you meet all prerequisites of the course
- the year and level of the course are appropriate
Which compulsory and optional courses are open to you is dependent on your degree programme and your year of study.
- Timetable
Check the timetabling information for each optional course choice using the timetabling system, Timetabler, which can be accessed through MyEd (in the 'Studies’ tab, under ‘My Course’ column). You can also check the timetabling information for each optional course choice on DRPS. If you're unsure how to do this, see page 7 of the Using DRPS to choose your optional courses document.
- Additional information and course listings
Course listings
In SPS, teaching activities will be campus-based and in-person. Any exceptions to this will be detailed on the course listings page.
These course listings will show you the draft timetabling details for courses within SPS.
These documents will not show the full details of all the courses available to you, so please ensure you review DRPS to see all of your options.
- PIR Honours Students - additional information
Please see the additional information for PIR honours students at Course Sign Up PIR Honours
- Sustainable Development (Geography Pathway) Honours Students - additional information
Students on MA Sustainable Development (Geography Pathway) programme need to complete both SPS as well as Geography form. Further communication with guidance will be provided directly by the School of Geosciences.
- Sociology and Psychology
From the 2026/27 academic year, this degree programme will move to the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences (PPLS) and will be renamed Psychology and Sociology.
Current Sociology and Psychology students should submit their course choices to PPLS. Further communication with guidance will be provided directly by PPLS.
Completing course enrolment form
We strongly recommend completing your form via a desktop browser (Google Chrome works best), instead of a mobile device. If you have any technical difficulties, please clear your browsing history and cache first.
- List all your courses
When completing the course enrolment form, you will need to list all your compulsory and optional courses for each semester, including those from other schools.
- Order of preference and back up options
Please indicate your options in order of preference, and list more than the required 120 credits, in case your first choices for optional courses are over-subscribed. Please provide us with four (Year 1 and 2) or six (Years 3 and 4) different optional courses.
Listing the same course more than once does not increase your chances of being allocated to that course.
- Check your University email regularly
Due to the volume of forms being processed by the Undergraduate Teaching Office (UTO), no confirmation emails are issued when you have been signed up for your selected courses. If there are problems with your selections, we will contact you via your student email address. Please also check your junk and clutter folders in case any of our communications end up there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about submitting your course choices? Download our Frequently Asked Questions.
- Students entering Year 1
Updated guidance for students entering Year 1 will be available in August 2026.
- Students entering Years 2, 3 and 4
If you have a question not listed here, please speak to your Student Adviser or email us at sps.pre-selection@ed.ac.uk.
Submit your course choices
Students on programmes run by SPS should submit their choices via the forms below.
Students on programmes run by other schools: please follow the instructions provided by your own school for pre-selection. SPS does not need to pre-approve your courses.