Politics/Scottish History
Politics and Scottish history is a combination that brings together the study of power, governance, and political institutions with the distinctive historical experience of one of the oldest nations in the British Isles. Politics is the study of how power and influence are distributed within society and how this shapes decision-making within and among countries and states. Scottish history traces the political, social, economic, and cultural development of Scotland from its medieval kingdom through union, industrialisation, and the constitutional debates of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Together, they give you an unusually rich perspective on how institutions are built, how political identities are formed, and how historical experience shapes contemporary politics.
At the University of Glasgow, this four-year full-time programme includes a year abroad, enriching your understanding of politics and history by exposing you to different political systems and academic traditions. Glasgow is uniquely well-placed for this combination, as one of the leading universities in both Scottish history and political science, and the programme benefits from the depth of expertise that both departments bring. You will study political theory, comparative politics, international relations, and the empirical analysis of political behaviour alongside detailed historical scholarship on Scotland's past, from the Wars of Independence and the Reformation through the Enlightenment, the Union, and the modern constitutional settlement.
Graduates go on to careers in politics, the civil service, journalism, public policy, education, heritage, and research. The combination of political analysis and historical depth is particularly valuable in Scottish public life, where questions of governance, identity, and constitutional arrangements remain live and contested. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in political science, Scottish history, or related fields, and some pursue research or academic careers.