How is SQA Advanced Higher RMPS structured, and what does the question paper and dissertation actually demand?
The course structure: two areas of study (Philosophy of Religion mandatory plus one optional area), the 90-mark question paper of extended essays, the 50-mark dissertation, and the 140-mark total graded A to D.
How SQA Advanced Higher RMPS is structured and assessed. Covers the two areas of study (Philosophy of Religion plus one optional area), the 90-mark question paper of extended essays, the 50-mark project-dissertation, the 140-mark total, and what the marker rewards.
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What this key area is asking
Before any content, you need the shape of the course: what you study, how it is examined, and what the marker is paid to reward. Advanced Higher RMPS asks you to study two areas, the mandatory Philosophy of Religion plus one optional area (Medical Ethics or Religious Experience), and to demonstrate sustained analysis and evaluation in two settings: a 90-mark question paper of extended essays and a 50-mark independent dissertation. Knowing this map tells you where the marks are and how to revise.
The two areas of study
Centres normally teach Philosophy of Religion plus one optional area, so for most candidates the pair is fixed by the centre. The point to internalise is that there is no optional content within your two areas: everything in each studied area is examinable, and the question paper expects an essay on each.
The question paper
With three hours for two extended essays you have substantial time per essay, which is why the marker expects depth, structure and a developed argument rather than a rushed summary. The choice of title within each section means you can play to the parts of an area you know best, but you cannot avoid either of your two areas.
The project-dissertation
The dissertation is treated in full in its own overview. The headline for course planning is that it carries as many marks as either essay area and more, so it cannot be left late: it is the component that most directly tests the independent research that defines the course.
What the marker rewards
Across both components the higher mark bands reward the same things: a clear line of argument sustained through the answer, the use of scholarship, thinkers and evidence, analysis (explaining why a point matters) and evaluation (weighing competing positions and judging between them), and a substantiated conclusion that answers the question. Description, however accurate, sits in the lower bands. This single fact should shape every essay you write.
Worked example
Try this
Q1. What are the two components of the Advanced Higher RMPS course assessment, and what is each worth? [2 marks]
- Cue. The question paper (90 marks, three hours) and the project-dissertation (50 marks), totalling 140 marks.
Q2. Which area of study is mandatory, and how is the optional area chosen? [2 marks]
- Cue. Philosophy of Religion is mandatory; the optional area is one of Medical Ethics or Religious Experience, and you are examined on both your areas.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA AH (assessment skills)10 marksDescribe how the Advanced Higher RMPS course is assessed, and explain what each component is worth.Show worked answer →
A strong answer sets out both externally marked components and the marks, and shows what each rewards.
The award is graded A to D out of 140 marks from two components. The question paper is worth 90 marks and lasts three hours: candidates answer an extended essay on the mandatory area, Philosophy of Religion, and an extended essay on their one chosen optional area (Medical Ethics or Religious Experience), normally choosing one essay from a small choice in each section. The project-dissertation is worth 50 marks and is an independent research piece of around 3,000 to 4,000 words on a chosen religious, moral or philosophical question. The essays reward a sustained line of argument, the use of scholarship and evidence, analysis and evaluation over description, and a substantiated conclusion; the dissertation rewards independent research and the critical use of a wide range of views. A full answer links the marks to these demands rather than just listing components.
SQA AH (assessment skills)8 marksExplain why the Advanced Higher RMPS question paper is built around extended essays rather than short-answer questions.Show worked answer →
The marks reward an explanation that links the essay format to the skills the course develops.
Advanced Higher RMPS assesses sustained analysis and evaluation, not recall, so the extended essay is the natural vehicle: it requires a candidate to build and hold a line of argument across an answer, deploy scholarship and evidence, weigh competing positions, and reach a substantiated conclusion, none of which a short-answer format can test. The essay mirrors the independent, argued writing the dissertation demands and the kind of work expected at the start of a degree, which is the SCQF level 7 standard. A full answer connects the format to analysis, evaluation and sustained argument, and notes that description alone cannot reach the higher mark bands whatever the question.
Related dot points
- The skills of Advanced Higher RMPS - analysis, evaluation, sustained argument and independent research - and how the demand rises above Higher RMPS at SCQF level 7.
The skills assessed in SQA Advanced Higher RMPS and how it differs from Higher. Covers analysis and evaluation, the use of scholarship, sustained argument, independent research, and the step up from Higher RMPS to SCQF level 7 degree-style study.
- The existence of God: theism, atheism and agnosticism, the burden of proof, and the distinction between a priori and a posteriori arguments that frames the cosmological, teleological and ontological arguments.
How the existence of God is debated in SQA Advanced Higher RMPS Philosophy of Religion. Covers theism, atheism and agnosticism, the burden of proof, and the distinction between a priori and a posteriori arguments that frames the cosmological, teleological and ontological arguments.
- Applying ethical theories to medical ethics: utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, the sanctity of life and quality of life, and the four principles of biomedical ethics (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice).
The ethical frameworks used in SQA Advanced Higher RMPS Medical Ethics. Covers utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, the sanctity of life and quality of life debate, and the four principles of biomedical ethics (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice), and how each shapes conclusions on medical issues.
- The nature and types of religious experience: mystical, conversion, numinous, corporate and revelatory experiences, with key examples and the features (ineffability, noetic quality) that mark them.
What religious experience is in SQA Advanced Higher RMPS. Covers the main types (mystical, conversion, numinous, corporate, revelatory), James's marks of mystical experience (ineffability, noetic quality, transiency, passivity), Otto's numinous, and key examples, with how to analyse them.
- The dissertation: an independent research piece of around 3,000 to 4,000 words worth 50 marks, requiring a focused question, a range of researched views, a sustained argument and a substantiated conclusion.
An overview of the SQA Advanced Higher RMPS dissertation: a 50-mark, independent research piece of around 3,000 to 4,000 words on a chosen religious, moral or philosophical question. Covers choosing a focused question, researching a range of views, building a sustained argument, and reaching a substantiated conclusion.