Economic & Social History/Politics

Economic and social history uniquely combines the study of history and the social sciences. The discipline focuses on social and economic structures, activities, and experiences over time, examining how people in the past lived and worked and how this has affected the development of the world today. Adding politics to this combination creates a degree of exceptional breadth, connecting the historical analysis of economic and social change with the contemporary study of institutions, power, and policy.

Together, the three perspectives allow you to understand the present as a product of historical processes and to analyse the political systems and decisions that continue to shape societies.

At the University of Glasgow, this four-year full-time programme develops your skills in economic and social historical analysis alongside political theory, comparative politics, and empirical social science. You will study the history of capitalism, industrialisation, labour, and social movements alongside the analysis of contemporary political institutions and processes, developing both historical depth and political analytical capability. A year abroad is built into the programme, giving you the experience of studying in a different national and academic context.

Entry typically requires around 200 UCAS tariff points.

Graduates work in government, the civil service, research organisations, journalism, think tanks, international organisations, policy analysis, education, and a wide range of roles that require both historical understanding and political analytical skill. The combination of disciplines is distinctive and valued by employers who want people who can contextualise policy in historical perspective and analyse political change with rigour. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in history, economics, politics, or related fields.