History MA/MA(SocSci)
The study of history is the study of change and continuity in human society through time. Glasgow offers a wide-ranging programme from medieval to modern times and across the globe. Our teaching draws on research expertise in Scottish, British, European, US and global history; slavery studies; gender history; and war, intelligence and genocide studies.
The History programme is designed to prepare you for a range of careers by developing valuable skills in critical thinking, analysis, interpretation and communication through the study of the human past. We provide small-group teaching, a variety of assessments (including real-world tasks like policy papers and museum displays) and one-to-one feedback tutorials. We host leading research centres in gender history, war studies, slavery studies, American studies and Scottish & Celtic studies.
- September start
- Session dates
- History MA (Hons): V100 4 year degree
- Glasgow: Gilmorehill campus
- Degree options
- Study abroad available
Programme structure
Broad thematic courses in years 1 and 2 provide a framework for closer study of sources and topics in years 3 and 4.
Year 1
History 1A and 1B provide core knowledge for Honours study, incorporating the latest research by Glasgow historians. History 1A will reveal the dynamism of the Middle Ages through the study of themes like cross-cultural interactions, religious conversion and women and gender. History 1B will ask what it means to be modern by exploring forces of change, such as early modern empires; enlightenment and revolution; race and migration; and industrialisation and the environment.
In seminars, you will evaluate a variety of sources and experiment with specialised methods, from reading against the grain to object analysis. Assessments will confirm foundational understanding and skills in historical interpretation and writing through short tests, source analyses and essays.
Year 2
In History 2A, you will consider how historians work by examining thought-provoking new practices and influential theoretical approaches from the past century through a series of case studies. You will then apply your learning in History 2B by considering how these developments and other factors have shaped the writing of Scottish history, across a range of topics from medieval to modern. To ready you for Honours work, you will assess historical writing through literature reviews, reflective commentary and open-book exams.
You will also study other subjects in years 1 and 2: see Flexible degrees.
Years 3 and 4
If you progress to Honours (years 3 and 4), you will choose from a large variety of survey and specialist courses tackling topics in global history, gender history, war and intelligence studies, medieval history, US history, and Scottish history.
Sample courses include:
- From the space race to Star Wars: US conflict and cooperation in orbit, 1945-1999
- Traders, settlers and rebels: Africans in the Atlantic world, 1740–1938
- France, 1789–1914: Nation, revolution & empire
- The Life and Afterlife of Mary, Queen of Scots
- American Freedom: Civil Rights Movements in the ‘20th Century’
- The Mongols and the West, c1200–c1500
- What's inappropriate Cup? A Global History of Coffee.
In year 4, you can take a year-long Special Subject working in a small seminar group to closely examine a topic through primary sources. Our academics teach Special Subjects from their own research. Examples include:
- The French Revolution, 1786-95
- The transatlantic slave trade and the development of plantation slavery
- Scottish radicalism and Scottish society, 1790-1945
- Genocide in the modern world
- Global histories of children & childhood.
Course details
Courses you will take as part of a History programme may include:
Year 1
- History 1A: Scotland's Millennium: Kingdom, Union and Nation c.1000-2014
- History 1B: A Medieval Mosaic: Europe and Its Neighbours in the Middle Ages, c.400-1500
- Introduction to Scottish Culture Semester 1
- Introduction to Scottish Culture Semester 2
Year 2
- History2B: An Introduction to Global History
- History 2A: The Social and Cultural History of Europe, 1500-2000
Years 3 and 4 (Honours)
(Not all courses listed will be available in each session)
- Demanding The Impossible: European Societies In The 1960s
- Gaelic Scotland: The Scottish Highlands C1400-1609
- Patriarchy, Sex and Gender in Early Modern Europe
- REBELLION, TREASON AND POLITICAL OPPOSITION - 1066-1352
- Saints And Sinners
- The First Scottish War Of Independence, 1286-1329
- The Lost Empire: Byzantium And The Slavs, 800-1600
- Anarchy & Society:The Reign Of Stephen
- The Black Death And The Transformation Of The West
- Oral History Theory and Methods (Hons)
- The French Revolut 1786-95 (SS)
- The Highland Clearances
- The Picts And The Formation Of Alba
- The Reign Of Charlemagne 768-814: A Barbarian Empire
- The Vietnam War In American History And Culture
- The Rise of Chivalry: War and Chivalric Culture in Britain and France, c1000 - c1300
- Punishment, Internment and Containment: The History and Archaeology of Prisons and Camps
- Scottish Radicalism and Scottish Society, 1790-1945 (SS)
- The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Development of Plantation Slavery
- France, 1789-1914: Nation, Revolution and Empire (HIST 4211) - Honours.
- Sex and Religion in Britain, Ireland and North America 1945-1980
- The United States in Depression and War, 1929-1945 (SS)
- Lenin and Leninism (SS)
- Society and Religion in the Medieval Crusader States
- Poland and its Neighbours, 1000-1795
- Culture Wars: Reformation and Revolution in England, 1530-1700 (SS)
- Gender, Sexuality and Modernity in Scotland, c. 1800-1918
- The Mongols and the West, c.1200 - c.1500
- The Rise and Fall of an Empire: France and Algeria, c.1830-1962 (SS)
- The Medievalists: the Middle Ages in 20th century Eastern and Central Europe
- Plantation and Civility in the Hebrides and in Ulster, c1541-1639
- Century of the refugee: refugees & statelessness in the long twentieth century, c.1900-present (SS)
- The Norman Conquest 1042-1087 (SS)
- Atheists: A Social History in the West
- The Making of Britain? Scotland and Ireland, 1707-c.1815
- Czechoslovakia: A case study of a country in Europe through the history of film
- A Global History of Giving: from Begging to Basic Income
- Genocide in the Modern World
- Atomic Dreams: Society, Science and Soldiers in Nuclear America, 1945-1979
- Shining City Upon A Hill: American in the 1980s
- Urban Lives: Gender, Culture and Society in the Eighteenth-Century Town
- History through film and literature: Crisis situations
- Covert action: the secret pursuit of foreign policy from the Second World War to today
- The Life and Afterlife of Mary Queen of Scots
- The Second World War in History and Legacy, 1939-1945
- Scotland and the American Revolution, c.1763-c.1783 (SS)
- What's in a Cup? The Global History of Coffee
- Silver and Sacraments: The Making of the Spanish Empire
- Islands at War in the 20th Century: Invaders, Occupiers and Liberators:
- From the Space Race to Star Wars: US Conflict and Cooperation in Orbit, 1945-2019
- Imperial States: Race, War, and Expansion in American History, 1860s-1920s
- Becoming an Historian
- Manliness to #MeToo: A Global History of Modern Masculinities
- Rwanda: Peace, Conflict and the Politics of History
- The Social Life of Things: Material Culture and Everyday Life
- The Making of the Spanish Empire: Indigenous American, African, Asian and European perspectives
- From Scrolls to Screens: the Materiality of Manuscripts in the 21st Century
- Surviving and Resisting Enslavement in the British Caribbean
- The United States in the Age of Polarisation, 1960-Present
- History Dissertation
- Applied Dissertation with Placement in History
- Landscape and Power in Ancient Western Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean
- Kingdoms and societies in northern Britain AD 400-800
- Geographical Information Systems in Archaeology
- Archaeology of Religion
- Viking Movements
- Environmental Archaeology; Plants, Animals and People
- Archaeology, Games and Interactive Media
- Contemporary and future archaeologies
- Archaeological Digital Imaging
- Assembling the Artefacts
- Medieval Welsh Literature In Translation
- Cleopatra: Life and Legend (Hons)
- Religion in Ancient Greece
- The Later Roman Empire, 270-400 AD
- Imperium Indivisum?: The Collapse of the West Roman Empire in the fifth century AD
- Polybius between Greece and Rome
- Stargazing: Astronomy, Astrology and Meteorology in Antiquity
- Narrating the City: Representation of Urban Space in Literature and Film
- Classic European Cinema East and West
- Subsidiary Czech Language (Beginners)
- Gaelic (Beginners) for Honours Students
- Subsidiary Polish Language (Beginners)
- Russian Literature and State Power
Programme alteration or discontinuation
The University of Glasgow endeavours to run all programmes as advertised. In exceptional
circumstances, however, the University may withdraw or alter a programme. For more information,
please see: Student contract.
Special Glasgow feature
Our History special subjects in year 4 allow you to study a topic in depth using original sources. You will also write a dissertation based on your own research on a topic of your choice developed with an academic supervisor. Many of our year 3 and 4 courses make use of the original resources available to us through the University’s collections.
Our international links
You will have the opportunity to study abroad at one of our partner universities as part of your degree. This won’t add any extra time to your studies. See Study abroad.
Entry requirements
for entry in 2027
Admissions guidance
English language
For applicants from non-English speaking countries, as defined by the UK Government, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level.
English language requirements
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic and Academic Online (not General Training)
- 6.5 with no subtests under 6.0
- IELTS One Skill Retake Accepted
- Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.
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Common equivalent English language qualifications for entry to this programme
TOEFL (ibt, mybest or athome)
Tests taken up to 20 January 2026
- 90 Overall, no subtest lower than Reading 20; Listening 19; Speaking 19; Writing 21
- Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of programme start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test, this includes TOEFL mybest.
Tests taken from 21 January 2026
- 92 Overall, no subtest lower than Reading 22; Listening 20; Speaking 23; Writing 21
- Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of programme start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test, this includes TOEFL mybest.
Pearsons PTE Academic
- 59 with minimum 59 in all subtests
- Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.
Cambridge Proficiency in English (CPE) and Cambridge Advanced English (CAE)
- 176 overall, no subtest less than 169
- Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.
Oxford ELLT
- 7 overall with no subtest less than 6
- Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.
LanguageCert Academic SELT
- 70 overall with no subtest less than 60
- Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.
Password Skills Plus
- 6.5 overall with no subtest less than 6.0
- Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.
Trinity College Tests
- Integrated Skills in English II & III & IV: ISEII Distinction with Distinction in all sub-tests
- Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.
University of Glasgow Pre-sessional courses
- Tests are accepted for 2 years following date of successful completion.
School Qualifications
- IGCSE English First Language, grade C
- IGCSE English Second Language, grade A
- A Level English, grade C
- International Baccalaureate English A SL5 or HL5
- International Baccalaureate English B SL6 or HL5
- SQA National 5 English or ESOL, grade B
- SQA Higher English or ESOL, grade C
International School Qualifications
- Brunei: O-Level English Language 1120 grade B and above
- Denmark: Studentereksamen English at 7
- European Baccalaureate: English as Language 1 pass, if taken as Language 2 grade 7, if taken as Language 3 grade 7.5
- Finland: Ylioppilastutkinto / studentexamen English grade C or 4
- France: International Option Baccalaureate (OIB) / Baccalauréat Français International (BFI) grade 12
- Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone: West African Examination Council (WAEC) / Senior Secondary School Certificate English grade C6
- Germany: German Abitur English Grade 11
- Hong Kong: Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education, English Language grade 4
- India: Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) / All India School Certificate (ISC) English at 80%
- Kenya: Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) English grade B
- Netherlands: Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs (VWO) grade 7
- Norway: Vitnemal English grade 4 or above
- Singapore: Cambridge International O Level English Language (1128 Singapore only) at Grace C; Singapore Integrated Programme Secondary 4 English Language at grade B
- South Africa: National Senior Certificate (NSC) / Independent Exam Board (IEB) Grade 4 (English as Home Language) OR Grade 4 (English as First Additional Language)
- Sweden: Avgangsbetyg / Fullständigt Slutbetyg fran Gymnasieskolan English grade VG
- Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe General Certificate of Education at English at Ordinary Level grade C
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Alternatives to English Language qualification
- Degree from majority-English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI including Canada if taught in English)
- students must have studied for a minimum of 2 years at Undergraduate level, or 9 months at Master's level, and must have completed their degree in that majority-English speaking country within the last 6 years.
- Undergraduate 2+2 degrees from majority-English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI including Canada if taught in English)
- students must have completed their final two years study in that majority-English speaking country within the last 6 years.
For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use these tests to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level programmes. The University is also able to accept UKVI approved Secure English Language Tests (SELT) but we do not require a specific UKVI SELT for degree level programmes. We therefore still accept any of the English tests listed for admission to this programme.
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Pre-sessional courses
We would strongly encourage you to consider the pre-sessional courses at the University of Glasgow's English for Academic Study (EAS) Unit. Our Pre-sessional courses are the best way to bring your English up to entry level for University study. Our courses give you:
- direct entry to your University programme for successful students (no need to take IELTS)
- essential academic skills to help you study effectively at University
- flexible entry dates so you can join the right course for your level.
For more detail on our pre-sessional courses please see:
- English for Academic Study: Pre-sessional courses
We can also consider the pre-sessional courses accredited by the below BALEAP approved institutions to meet the language requirements for admission to our postgraduate taught degrees:
- Heriot Watt
- Kingston Upon Thames
- Middlesex University
- Manchester University
- Reading University
- Edinburgh University
- St Andrews University
- UCL
- Durham
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FAQs
What do I do if...
my language qualifications are below the requirements?
The University's School of Modern Languages and Cultures offers a range of Pre-sessional courses to bring you up to entry level. The course is accredited by BALEAP, the UK professional association for academic English teaching.
my language qualifications are not listed here?
Please contact External Relations
If you require a Tier 4 student visa, your qualification must be one of the secure English language tests accepted by UK Border Agency:
- UK Border Agency Tier 4 English Language requirements
- UKBA list of approved English language tests [pdf]
Visa requirements and proof of English language level
It is a visa requirement to provide information on your level of English based on an internationally recognised and secure English language test. All test reports must be no more than 2 years old. A list of these can be found on the UK Border Agency website. If you have never taken one of these tests before, you can get an initial idea of your level by using the Common European Framework self-assessment grid which gives you a level for each skill (e.g. listening B1/writing B2 etc.) However, please note that this is not a secure English language test and it is not sufficient evidence of your level of English for visa requirements.
Further information about English language: English for Academic Study
Careers and future opportunities
Graduate destinations
The following are examples of roles that graduates are in 15 months after completing their programme:
- Sessional Worker
- Assistant Project Officer
- Associate Analyst
- Civil Servant
- History Teacher
- Customer Engagement Specialist
- Finance Graduate
- Policy Officer
- Zero Carbon Living Advisor
- Events Administrator.
Example job titles are taken from responses received through the HESA Graduate Outcomes survey. Graduates surveyed 15 months after graduation. Includes single and joint honours programmes.
Job prospects
Graduate Outcomes data shows that:
- 93.3% of students are in work or further study within 15 months of graduating
- 75.4% of those in work are in graduate-level employment
- The average professional salary after 15 months is £29,161.
This university-level data is from HESA Graduate Outcomes survey. It relates to graduates who completed their programme in 2023–24 and were surveyed 15 months after graduation. Includes single and joint honours programmes.
Skills development
As well as building subject specific knowledge and skills throughout your degree, you’ll also develop transferable skills by:
- Analysing historical evidence from a range of periods and places, interpreting both primary and secondary sources critically.
- Evaluating competing historical arguments, recognising the complexity of interpretation and the contested nature of historical knowledge.
- Communicating historical insights clearly in written, oral and digital formats for different audiences.
- Investigating past societies using diverse methodologies and interdisciplinary approaches.
- Conducting independent historical research, developing your own lines of enquiry and evidence‑based arguments.
Careers & employability support
Our Careers, Employability & Opportunity team are here to support you at every stage of your career journey. They’ll provide you with opportunities to explore your options, connect with employers in the UK and abroad, build your confidence and develop in demand skills.
You’ll have access to a wide range of support and resources that are designed to help you plan and prepare for your future including: masterclasses, 1:1 career coaching, a dedicated jobs board, employer events and much more.
Studying a degree programme in the College of Social Sciences will also give you access to the College Employability Programme. This consists of a suite of professional skills workshops, online modules, skills days and 1-1 appointments. These are designed to help you develop and communicate your key experiences and the transferable skills you need, to succeed in your studies and in your future careers.
Degrees and UCAS codes
When applying you will need to know the UCAS code for the subject or subject-combination that you wish to apply to:
MA (Hons)
MA(SocSci) (Hons)
History can also be taken in combination with Law programmes:
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
How and when you pay tuition fees depends on where you’re from: see Tuition fees for details.
Scholarships
The University is committed to supporting students and rewarding academic excellence. That's why we've invested more than £1m in additional scholarship funding in recent years.
The scholarships shown are relevant to this programme. For more funding opportunities search the scholarships database
How to apply
Full-time students must apply through the Universities & Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
SQA applicants who are eligible for our Widening Participation programmes are encouraged to participate in one or more of these programmes, including Summer School, to support your application and the transition to higher education.
International students to Arts, Engineering, Law, Nursing, Science, and Social Sciences can also apply using The Common Application: however, if applying to more than one UK university, we recommend using UCAS. Applications to Dentistry, Education, Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine must be made through UCAS.
Application deadlines
- 15 October: if including Dentistry, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine or also applying to Oxford or Cambridge
- 13 January: all other UK applicants (unless otherwise stated on the UCAS website)
- 30 June: international students.
We do not usually accept any applications after these deadlines.
It's your responsibility to ensure the accuracy of your application before submission. Requests to correct application content, change degree programme or change college of entry, will not be accepted after these deadlines. This policy is in place to ensure fairness and consistency to all applicants, and no exceptions will be made.
- Apply at www.ucas.com or through your school or college
- Contact UCAS on 0871 468 0468
- Apply at commonapp.org (international students to certain areas only)
How to apply for Advanced Entry
Apply for year 2 (Y2) on your UCAS application. If the specific subject is unavailable for Advanced Entry or your application for year 2 entry is unsuccessful, you will be automatically considered for year 1 entry. You do not have to submit a separate UCAS application.
Subject league tables
Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide [History]
Complete University Guide [History]
QS World University Rankings [History]
