Economic & Social History/Psychology

Economic and social history uniquely combines the study of history and the social sciences, focusing on social and economic structures, activities, and experiences over time. It examines how people in the past lived and worked, how economic systems developed, and how these historical processes have affected the development of the world today. Psychology brings a different but complementary lens, asking how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how social, developmental, and biological factors shape human experience.

Together these disciplines offer a rich account of both collective and individual dimensions of human life.

At the University of Glasgow, you will study economic and social history alongside psychology, developing the historical and archival research skills of the former and the experimental and statistical methods of the latter. You will examine how people in the past experienced material and social conditions, and how psychology can illuminate historical human behaviour and social change. The programme includes a year abroad and runs over four years full-time.

Graduates of economic and social history and psychology programmes are well prepared for careers in social research, policy analysis, the civil service, education, human resources, healthcare, and the voluntary sector. The combination of historical contextualisation and psychological insight is valued in roles that require understanding human behaviour both in its immediate context and in relation to longer patterns of social and economic change. Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study in psychology, economic history, social policy, or related disciplines.