History and Legal Studies

History and legal studies is a combination that brings together two disciplines whose relationship is deep and enduring. Law is itself a product of history: every legal system carries within it the marks of the societies that shaped it, and understanding how law has developed over time is genuinely important for understanding how it works now. History develops the critical reading, argumentation, and contextual understanding that legal analysis benefits from, while legal study gives the historian a framework for understanding how rules and institutions have structured social life across different periods and places.

At the University of Aberdeen, this four-year full-time programme adds legal knowledge to the wide and deep study of human activity that history provides, examining UK, European, and international law alongside historical analysis of events, societies, and ideas. The programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to study in a different academic and legal environment and to broaden your understanding of how legal and historical questions are approached in different national contexts. A typical entry tariff of 200 points reflects the demands of a challenging dual honours programme at a research-intensive university.

You will develop skills in critical reading of primary sources, historical argument, legal reasoning, statutory and case analysis, research, and written communication. The combination builds a graduate profile that is both analytically rigorous and culturally informed, able to engage with legal questions in their historical context and with historical questions within a legal framework.

Graduates from history and legal studies programmes go on to careers in law (via professional qualification routes), the civil service, journalism, heritage, education, policy research, international organisations, compliance, and business. The transferable skills the degree develops are valued across many fields, and postgraduate study in law, history, or public policy is a natural route for those seeking specialisation.