History / Mathematics

History and mathematics is an unusual combination that reflects a genuine truth about intellectual life: the skills that make someone a good historian and the skills that make someone a good mathematician are not as different as they might appear. Both disciplines require careful reasoning, precision in the use of language and symbols, and the ability to construct and evaluate arguments against evidence. What differs is the kind of evidence and the kind of argument, and studying both means you develop a range of analytical tools that is broader than either discipline provides alone.

At Aberystwyth University, this three-year full-time programme allows you to pursue both subjects alongside each other without sacrificing depth in either. Your history studies will develop your ability to research from primary sources, write extended historical arguments, and engage with the methodological debates that define the discipline. Your mathematics studies will take you through analysis, algebra, statistics, and applied mathematics, developing quantitative and logical reasoning skills that complement the more interpretive work of the historical side.

The combination is genuinely unusual in British higher education, which itself makes it a conversation-starter in interviews and applications.

Graduates from history and mathematics programmes are well placed for careers across the civil service, data analysis, financial services, policy research, education, publishing, and management. The quantitative skills from the mathematics side and the research and communication skills from history make graduates versatile analytical thinkers. Postgraduate study in mathematics, statistics, history, and data science is available for those who wish to develop their expertise in either direction.