History and Economics

History and economics is a degree that combines two perspectives on how the world came to be the way it is and why it continues to change. History examines the past through the traces it has left in documents, objects, and institutions, developing the skills to construct and evaluate arguments about why events unfolded as they did and what their consequences have been. Economics provides the analytical and quantitative tools to understand markets, growth, inequality, trade, and the behaviour of individuals and organisations in the face of scarcity and uncertainty.

Together, they offer a particularly rich understanding of how commercial systems and social structures develop over time, reinforcing each other in ways that strengthen both disciplines.

At the University of Strathclyde, this four-year, full-time degree develops your historical analysis alongside your economic understanding, giving you both the narrative depth of history and the theoretical and empirical rigour of economics. A year abroad is incorporated into the programme, giving you the opportunity to study at a partner institution in a different national context, broadening your comparative perspective on both the historical and economic dimensions of the degree. A typical entry tariff of 200 points reflects the high academic standard expected of students entering this programme.

Graduates of history and economics degrees are well placed for careers in finance, banking, economic research and policy, the civil service, consulting, journalism, business, and academia. The combination is particularly valuable in economic history research and in roles that require understanding both how markets function and how they have developed historically. Postgraduate study in economic history, economics, history, or a quantitative social science is a natural further step, and many graduates go on to careers in research, policy, and international organisations.