Economics/History

Economics and history are disciplines that illuminate each other with particular force. Economics provides the tools for understanding how individuals and societies allocate scarce resources, how markets work, how incentives shape behaviour and how economic policy affects outcomes for different groups. History gives those tools a temporal dimension, showing how economic systems, institutions and patterns of production and distribution have developed over time, how they have produced inequality and growth, and how economic forces have shaped political and social change.

Together they give you a framework for understanding both the present and the processes that created it.

At the University of Glasgow you will study economics and history as complementary disciplines, developing expertise in both quantitative economic analysis and the historical methods of primary source research and critical interpretation. You will engage with economic theory, econometrics and applied economics alongside historical study across a range of periods and themes, from the economic history of industrial societies to contemporary debates about development and globalisation. The programme runs over four years full time, reflecting the Scottish honours degree structure, and includes a year abroad, which extends the full course and gives you the opportunity to pursue your studies in a different national and institutional context.

You will develop strong analytical and quantitative skills alongside the capacity for historical research, critical reading and extended academic writing. These are transferable abilities that employers across many sectors value highly.

Graduates from economics and history programmes pursue careers in finance, consultancy, the civil service, international development, economic research, journalism, think tanks and education. The combination of economic analysis and historical understanding is particularly valued in roles that require both rigorous quantitative reasoning and contextual judgement. Postgraduate study in economics, economic history, international relations or public policy is also a natural route.