Economic & Social History/Scottish History
Economic and social history is the study of how material life, labour, trade, and social organisation have changed over time, asking how economies have developed, collapsed, and transformed, and how those changes have shaped the societies in which people lived and worked. Scottish history, by contrast, focuses on one of Europe's most distinctive national traditions, tracing the political, cultural, and social story of Scotland from the medieval period to the present. At the University of Glasgow, combining these two fields as a part-time degree with a year abroad gives you an unusually wide comparative perspective, grounding your understanding of Scotland in the broader currents of economic and social change.
You will engage with both quantitative evidence and qualitative sources, learning to read historical data, archival documents, and historiographical debates with critical precision. Glasgow's Scottish history provision draws on researchers at the cutting edge of the discipline, and the Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies at the university provides a cross-disciplinary environment in which students are encouraged to engage actively with the research community. Studying part-time allows you to progress at a sustainable pace, fitting academic study around other commitments, while the year abroad broadens your historical perspective and your international experience.
Graduates of economic and social history and Scottish history are well equipped for careers in which analytical rigour, archival literacy, and the ability to construct sustained arguments are valued. Common destinations include the heritage sector, museums and archives, journalism, public policy, the civil service, law, and education. Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study in history, Scottish studies, or related fields.
If you are drawn to understanding Scotland's past in the context of wider economic and social change, this combined programme at Glasgow provides a rich and intellectually serious education.