Humanities and Social Sciences

Humanities and social sciences together cover the broadest terrain in university education, encompassing the study of human culture, history, language and thought alongside the analytical investigation of society, behaviour, politics and institutions. Studying them together develops both the interpretive depth associated with the humanities and the empirical and theoretical rigour that the social sciences bring, producing graduates with an unusually broad and flexible set of intellectual capabilities.

Strathclyde's part-time programme in humanities and social sciences is designed for students who are pursuing higher education alongside other commitments, whether work, family or other responsibilities, and who want to engage seriously with this range of subjects at their own pace. The part-time mode requires self-direction and commitment, but it also allows you to develop your learning in a way that fits your life, and many students find that studying while working deepens their engagement with the content because they can connect ideas directly to their own experience and professional context. The curriculum draws on multiple disciplines within the humanities and social sciences, developing both breadth of knowledge and the ability to think analytically across disciplinary boundaries.

This kind of broad education trains adaptability, the capacity to evaluate evidence from different disciplinary traditions, the ability to construct careful arguments and to communicate ideas to different audiences. These are capabilities that prove valuable in almost any professional context.

Graduates move into a very wide range of careers, as the breadth of the degree is itself an asset in environments that value generalism, adaptability and the ability to make connections across different kinds of knowledge. Education, the civil service, social care, the third sector, communications, journalism, management and public administration are all common destinations. The programme also provides a foundation for postgraduate study in any of the constituent disciplines, or for professional training routes in social work, teaching, law or related fields.