Scottish History
Undergraduate Study

Undergraduates at Edinburgh can study the full span of Scotland’s history, from the Roman Iron Age to the twenty-first century.

Our courses are research-led, with students being taught by scholars at the forefront of their subject. They range widely over Scottish political, social, intellectual and economic history. They also offer undergraduates many opportunities to study Scotland in its British, European and even global contexts.

Why study Scottish History at Edinburgh?

Situated in Edinburgh’s compact city centre, the University is quite literally surrounded by Scottish history, from the Iron Age remains of Holyrood Park and the famous Castle, to the eighteenth-century New Town with its evocative street-names, and the new Scottish Parliament. This same small area contains the National Library of Scotland, the National Museum of Scotland, the National Archives of Scotland, and other repositories of the nation’s historical documents and artifacts. When you live in Scotland’s beautiful capital city, the country’s history lies just outside your door.

With its peerless access to historical materials, Scottish History at Edinburgh encourages hands-on learning. Undergraduate coursework provides opportunities to study real archival, documentary and material relics of Scotland’s past. Some Scottish History graduates have produced final-year dissertations that are original contributions to scholarship, and some have been published as academic articles.

Degrees on offer

As a top Scottish university, Edinburgh offers a four-year MA Honours Degree. The first two years of the degree programme in Scottish History provide flexibility to study two outside subjects, and to combine the study of Scotland with other areas of historical interest. The third and fourth years are more specialised, with students choosing from a wide range of subjects to study in detail, and researching a dissertation on a topic of their choice.

Degree programmes:

• MA Honours in Scottish History
• Combined MA degrees that include Scottish History

The study of Scotland at Edinburgh extends well beyond the discipline of History. Whether formally (by way of combined degrees) or informally (through the system of ‘outside subjects’), undergraduates can combine historical study with the study of Scottish Gaelic language and literature; Scottish ethnology (i.e. traditional culture); Scottish literature; the archaeology of Scotland; religion in Scotland; and Scots law. All this choice makes for a winning combination.

Further information

For further information about studying at the University of Edinburgh, see the University’s Undergraduate Prospectus.