Economic & Social History/Social & Public Policy

Economic and social history and social and public policy is a combination that brings together the historical study of how economies and societies have developed over time with the rigorous analysis of how modern policies are designed, implemented, and evaluated. Economic and social history examines how people in the past lived and worked, how economic systems were organised, and how the structures of social life, including class, gender, labour, and welfare, have evolved across centuries. Social and public policy examines the contemporary counterpart to those questions, asking how societies today address the problems of inequality, poverty, unemployment, housing, and healthcare through political and institutional mechanisms.

At the University of Glasgow, you will study both fields over four years full-time, developing skills in historical research, quantitative analysis, social theory, and policy evaluation. The combination gives you both the deep historical perspective needed to understand why things are the way they are and the analytical tools to assess how they might change. The programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to study at a partner institution in a different country and encounter different national approaches to economic history and social policy.

The typical entry tariff is 200 UCAS points.

Graduates work in the civil service, local government, social research, policy think tanks, international development, the voluntary sector, and organisations concerned with economic inequality and social welfare. The combination of historical depth and policy analysis is particularly valuable for roles that require understanding why particular problems are so persistent and what has or has not worked in addressing them. Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study in economic history, social policy, public administration, or related disciplines.