History and Politics
History and politics is a combination that makes deep sense: political institutions and ideologies are always the products of historical processes, and understanding how the world came to be as it is provides crucial context for analysing how it works today. History develops the skills to investigate the past through primary sources, to construct sustained arguments, and to understand how events and structures are conditioned by their contexts. Politics develops the analytical tools to understand how power is exercised, how states and institutions function, and how societies debate and resolve their most fundamental questions.
At the University of Dundee, this four-year full-time programme teaches social, cultural, and political history from the early modern period through to the present day, focusing in particular on the British Isles, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and India. This international reach is distinctive: rather than confining historical study to a single national tradition, the programme engages with the global dimensions of political history, from colonialism and decolonisation to the development of democratic institutions across different cultural contexts. The politics strand develops your engagement with political theory, comparative politics, international relations, and political institutions in a way that directly informs and is informed by your historical studies.
The programme includes a year abroad, which deepens your international engagement.
Graduates from history and politics programmes go on to careers in the civil service, journalism, the law, international organisations, think tanks, education, research, and political organisations. The combination of historical depth and political analytical rigour is valued in any professional context that requires sophisticated engagement with power, institutions, and change. Further study at postgraduate level in history, politics, international relations, or public policy is a natural route for those who wish to develop specialist expertise.