History and Criminology

History and criminology is a combination that offers complementary ways of understanding why societies produce crime, how they have responded to it across time, and what the study of the past reveals about the justice systems and social conditions of the present. History teaches you to read evidence critically, to construct arguments from primary and secondary sources, and to understand how contingent and contested the stories we tell about the past always are. Criminology approaches crime, deviance, and social control through the lenses of sociology, psychology, law, and politics, asking not just what crime is but how it is defined, managed, and experienced.

At the University of the Highlands and Islands, this four-year degree brings both disciplines into dialogue, developing analytical and research skills that draw on the methods and frameworks of each. Historical study will range across periods and themes, training you to handle a wide range of sources and to interpret them with care and rigour. Criminology will introduce you to the major theoretical traditions in the field, from classical and sociological approaches to contemporary debates about policing, punishment, victimology, and restorative justice.

The combination is particularly illuminating for questions about how crime has been understood and managed differently in different historical periods, and about the long roots of contemporary criminal justice problems.

Graduates of history and criminology degrees are well placed for careers in criminal justice, social work, probation, the prison service, the police, and policy development. The research and analytical skills developed through both disciplines are also valued in journalism, the civil service, legal support, and the voluntary sector. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in criminology, criminal justice, history, law, or social policy, developing specialist knowledge that leads into professional practice or research careers.