History and Archaeology

History and archaeology are two disciplines that work together in the investigation of the human past. History traces the development of human societies through documents, records and written accounts, while archaeology recovers and interprets the material traces that survive in the ground and in the landscape: buildings, tools, settlements, objects and the physical environments in which past people lived and worked. Each discipline has limitations that the other can help to address: historical sources privilege the literate and the powerful, while archaeological evidence gives access to lives and periods that left no written record.

Together they provide the most complete picture of human experience across time.

At the University of the Highlands and Islands this programme runs over four years full time, within the institution's distinctive distributed campus model serving the communities of the Scottish Highlands and Islands. The region is archaeologically and historically rich, with prehistoric monuments, Norse settlement, clan culture and the history of the Clearances all forming part of an unusually layered local heritage. You will engage with historical methodology and primary source analysis alongside archaeological fieldwork and the interpretation of material culture, developing a range of skills suited to the study of the past in both its documentary and physical dimensions.

You will develop abilities in source criticism, archival research, fieldwork, artefact analysis, academic writing and the construction of historical and archaeological arguments from incomplete and contested evidence. These transferable skills are valued across many professional and academic contexts.

Graduates from history and archaeology programmes pursue careers in heritage management, museums, archives, cultural tourism, education, the civil service and archaeological fieldwork. Postgraduate study in history, archaeology, heritage management, museum studies or conservation is also a common route for those seeking specialist expertise or research careers.