French and History
French and history is a combination that enriches both disciplines. French opens the door to one of the world's great literary and intellectual traditions and to the contemporary culture of France and the Francophone world, developing genuine linguistic proficiency alongside deep cultural and historical understanding. History provides the broader context, developing your ability to engage with the full sweep of human experience across different periods, nations, and themes, and to construct arguments from primary and secondary evidence with scholarly rigour.
Together they give you both a living linguistic skill and a powerful analytical framework for understanding how the past has shaped the present.
At the University of Aberdeen, this five-year full-time programme develops both disciplines with depth and seriousness, giving you the time to build genuine expertise in each. You will develop your French language proficiency across all four skills, engaging with French literature, culture, and contemporary society, while also studying history at a level that encourages you to engage with a wide range of periods and historical questions. Aberdeen's strong institutional history and its collections of historical materials provide a particularly rich context for the historical dimension of the degree.
The typical entry tariff of 168 points reflects the dual demands of a serious combined honours programme.
You will develop linguistic fluency, historical research skills, critical thinking, close reading, and the ability to write clearly and persuasively in both English and French.
Graduates pursue careers in publishing, journalism, education, heritage and museums, the civil service, international organisations, translation, business with a European focus, and academia. The combination of a major world language and a broad humanities education is valued across an exceptionally wide range of professional contexts. Postgraduate study in French, history, or European studies is a natural continuation.