I am an American student applying to the University of Edinburgh. I am extremely confused because the IR major is listed under “undergraduate degrees” but also says that it is a masters degree. Is this possible?
Yes, in Scotland St Andrews, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee & Heriot Watt call an undergraduate degree ‘Masters’. The equivalent of what you are used to thinking of as a Masters (MA, Master of Arts) is called an MLitt (Master of Literature). The newer Scottish universities (Strathclyde, Edinburgh Napier) use ‘BA’.
To make it more confusing, at the ancient Scottish universities a four year undergraduate humanities degree is a masters but a four year undergrad degree in math or science is a BSc.