Italian and Scottish History

Italian and Scottish history is a combination that rewards exactly the kind of comparative thinking that gives historical study its real intellectual power. Italian offers access to one of the great languages of Europe, opening up a literary, artistic, and intellectual heritage that stretches from the medieval period to the present, and a modern nation whose political and cultural development has shaped the continent profoundly. Scottish history provides an incisive lens on questions of nationhood, religion, empire, and identity that resonate well beyond their geographical origins, connecting the local to the global in illuminating ways.

At the University of St Andrews, this four-year full-time programme develops your Italian language skills to a high level of proficiency while building your capacity for historical inquiry across both Italian and Scottish contexts. You will engage with specialist topics in Italian literature, culture, history, politics, and film, developing the close reading and interpretive skills that are central to language and literary study. The historical strand trains you to work with primary sources, evaluate historiographical debates, and construct sustained arguments about the past and its relationship to the present.

The programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to immerse yourself in Italian language and culture through a period of study at an Italian institution, which is transformative both academically and personally.

Graduates from Italian and history programmes bring a distinctive combination of linguistic competence, cultural knowledge, and analytical skill. Careers in diplomacy, international relations, journalism, publishing, education, and the heritage sector are natural destinations. The research and critical thinking skills the degree develops are also valued in law, public policy, the civil service, and management.

Postgraduate study, including research degrees in Italian studies, European history, or related fields, is a well-established route for those wishing to deepen their expertise or pursue an academic career.