German and History

German and history is a combination that illuminates some of the most significant events and intellectual traditions of the modern world. Germany has been central to European and global history in ways both inspiring and catastrophic: the Reformation, the Enlightenment, the revolutions of 1848, the First and Second World Wars, the Holocaust, and the Cold War division and reunification of the country are all events that cannot be understood without engaging with Germany and the German language. Studying German alongside history gives you both direct linguistic access to that past and the analytical tools to understand it.

This four-year full-time programme at the University of Edinburgh develops your German language proficiency to an advanced level alongside rigorous historical study covering modern European and world history. With a typical tariff of 184 points, the programme is selective and attracts students with strong ability in both areas. Edinburgh's excellent German department and its strong history faculty, with particular strengths in European and modern history, provide an outstanding environment for this combination.

The four-year Scottish degree structure allows for greater breadth and depth than an equivalent three-year programme.

You will develop your German across all four skills alongside study of German literature, culture, and contemporary society, while also engaging with historical questions that range from the causes of the First World War through the Nazi period and the Holocaust to postwar Germany and the cold war. The ability to read German primary sources changes the depth at which you can engage with modern European history, and the historical formation changes the depth at which you understand German culture.

Graduates from German and history programmes move into careers in the civil service and diplomatic service, journalism, academia, international business, heritage, publishing, education, and a range of roles where European cultural and historical knowledge combined with German language is valued. Postgraduate study in history, German, or European studies is a well-established next step.