History with Gaelic Studies

History with Gaelic studies is a combination that opens a distinctive window onto Scotland and the Celtic world. History develops your ability to investigate the past through primary sources, to situate events in their broader context, and to construct and evaluate arguments about how and why things happened. Gaelic studies brings a different kind of depth, developing your engagement with Scotland's Gaelic language and the literary, cultural, and social traditions it carries, many of which are poorly represented in English-language historiography.

At the University of the Highlands and Islands, this four-year full-time programme draws on the distinctive expertise and location of an institution embedded in Gaelic-speaking communities and Highland culture. You will study Scottish, British, and world history across a range of periods, developing the research, analytical, and writing skills that are central to historical scholarship. The Gaelic strand introduces you to the language and to the rich literary and oral traditions it sustains, as well as to the history of Gaelic Scotland and the social and political forces that have shaped the language's fortunes over centuries.

The combination gives you an unusually intimate understanding of a cultural and linguistic heritage that is of growing interest to scholars, policymakers, and heritage organisations, alongside the broader transferable skills that history develops. The programme is studied full time and the typical entry tariff is 104 UCAS points.

Graduates from this programme go on to careers in heritage, archiving, museum curation, broadcasting, journalism, education, the civil service, and cultural organisations. The depth of engagement with Scottish and Gaelic culture that the degree provides is a genuine differentiator in the heritage and cultural sector. Further study options include postgraduate degrees in Scottish history, Celtic studies, Gaelic language and literature, and heritage management.