Law/Economic & Social History

Few combinations of disciplines illuminate each other as effectively as law and economic and social history. Law provides the formal structures through which societies regulate behaviour and allocate rights, while economic and social history reveals the material conditions and human experiences that those structures reflect, shape, and sometimes fail to address. Studying them together produces a graduate capable of understanding legal frameworks not as abstract systems but as historically situated institutions with traceable origins and ongoing social consequences.

This four-year full-time programme at the University of Glasgow combines rigorous legal training with a serious grounding in how economies and societies have developed over time. You will study the core subjects required for Scots law, alongside the history of work, poverty, trade, inequality, and social change across Britain, Europe, and the wider world. The programme includes a year abroad, which gives you the opportunity to study at an international partner institution and to bring a comparative perspective to both the legal and historical dimensions of your degree.

With a typical tariff of 232 points, this is one of the most selective programmes available and expects a very high level of academic ability.

The combination develops a particular kind of analytical sharpness. Reading legal texts and historical sources require different skills, and moving between them stretches your ability to interpret evidence, construct arguments, and understand how context shapes meaning. Glasgow's strong standing in both law and history, and its location in a city with a rich industrial and social past, provides an excellent environment for this kind of integrated study.

Graduates from this programme move into careers in law, the civil service, policy analysis, academia, journalism, and international organisations. Those who continue to professional legal training have a broader historical understanding than many peers, which is particularly valuable in areas such as human rights, labour law, and regulatory practice. Postgraduate study in legal history, economic history, or comparative law is a further option for those who wish to specialise.