Archaeology/History

Archaeology and history is a combination that brings together two disciplines united by their commitment to understanding the human past, but which approach that past through very different kinds of evidence and methods. Archaeology reconstructs how people in the past interacted with their world through the detailed study of their objects, sites, monuments, and landscapes, working with material traces that range from pottery sherds and stone tools to field systems, burials, and entire ancient cities. History works primarily with written documents, reading them critically to reconstruct the events, structures, and experiences of the past.

Together the two disciplines provide a genuinely complementary set of tools for understanding human societies across time.

At the University of Glasgow, this four-year full-time programme carries a typical entry tariff of 200 points and includes a year abroad. Glasgow has strong research traditions in both archaeology and history, with particular strengths in Scottish, British, and European material culture alongside a history department that covers medieval, early modern, and modern periods across many regions of the world. The combination is particularly well suited to students interested in the pre-modern past, where archaeology often provides the primary evidence for periods and places that left few written records.

The year abroad gives you the opportunity to study at a partner institution in another country, encountering different archaeological and historical traditions.

Graduates work in heritage management, museum curation, archaeological fieldwork, historic environment and conservation, education, archival and library work, journalism, and a wide range of public-facing and research roles where knowledge of the past and the skills to investigate it are valued. Many continue to postgraduate study in archaeology, history, or heritage management, and several routes in heritage and archaeological contracting do not require postgraduate qualification for entry-level professional roles.