Introduction
History at Aberdeen offers the opportunity to immerse yourself in rich study of all aspects of human adventure in the past, exploring the medieval, early modern and modern periods in Scotland, Europe, America, Asia and Africa. You will study at a university steeped in 500 years of history.
Study Information
At a Glance
- Learning Mode
- On Campus Learning
- Degree Qualification
- MA
- Duration
- 48 months
- Study Mode
- Full Time
- Start Month
- September
- UCAS Code
- V100
- Pathway Programme Available
- Undergraduate Foundation Programme
You will learn in buildings centuries old, yet with the most modern teaching and technology, enthused and inspired by teachers who are leaders in their fields, with expertise as diverse as medieval Scandinavia, early-modern Poland and modern East Asia.
You will have the opportunity of courses in historical chronological order, ranging from the ancient world to the present day and gain a deeper understanding of the relationships between cultures and national traditions.
You will benefit from access to our historic treasures including manuscripts, books, and museum exhibits collected by distinguished alumni, thinkers and explorers over 500 years, in collections accredited as nationally significant, and of international importance.
Our History graduates are highly attractive to employers for their skills in research, critical analysis, and communication, as well as the understanding of different aspects of human society and culture. Your career options will cover almost every field including politics, education, law, business, ministry, nursing, social work, the armed forces, journalism, NGOs and the heritage sectors.
You will enjoy all the benefits of learning and living in our friendly and vibrant international community, on our beautiful campus with great facilities for learning, sports and leisure and many opportunities to develop the extra skills to boost your employability and to broaden your horizons through studying abroad.
What You'll Study
History at Aberdeen is diverse and takes a holistic approach to the subject. Courses are studied in chronological order so you will benefit from studying the subject within a solid context. You will gain an in-depth knowledge of past events, human activity and the relationships between cultures over a range of historical periods. Some topics that you will explore, include Scottish and European History, The Vikings, Medieval Europe, History and Philosophy of Science and The British Experience.
- Year 1
-
Compulsory Courses
- Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (PD1002)
-
This course, which is prescribed for level 1 undergraduate students and articulating students who are in their first year at the University, is studied entirely online, is studied entirely online, takes approximately 2-3 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across the first 4 weeks of term.
Topics include University orientation overview, equality & diversity, MySkills, health, safety and cyber security, and academic integrity.Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Transcript as ‘Achieved’.
- Making History (HI1027)
-
15 Credit Points
This course will introduce students to the subject of university level history. Team taught lectures will introduce students to approaches, sources, and the dilemmas facing academic historians.
Optional Courses
Select from:
- Europe in the Twentieth Century
- Renaissances and Reformations (c.1450-c.1750)
- American Civilisations (c.1400s-c.1900s)
- The Scientific Revolution (c.1500-c.1700)
Also, add further optional level 1 courses in History, Art History and other subjects across the MA.
- Year 2
-
Optional Courses
Select from:
- Birth of Modernity: Politics, Culture and Science in Europe 1700-1870
- Power and Piety (c.1100-c.1500)
- Global Empire in the Long Nineteenth Century
- Kingship, Clearances & Conflict: Debates in Scottish History (c.1000-c.2000)
- Vikings: An Introduction
- ‘The Other’: Histories of Minorities and the Marginalised (c.1500-c.2000s)
Also, add further optional level 2 courses in History, Art History and other subjects across the MA.
- Year 3
-
Compulsory Courses
- Thinking History (HI356J)
-
30 Credit Points
This course looks at how history is written. It considers the problems involved in studying and explaining the past, and the many dilemmas faced by historians in reconstructing it. By examining the ways in which history has been written from the Ancient Greeks to Postmodernism, it considers the limits of historical study, asks whether history can ever be a science, and reveals the assumptions behind the various approaches to history that inform its writing. It is designed to provide honours history students with an essential understanding of what they are doing when they study history.
Optional Courses
In recent years, options have included:
- Aztecs, Mayas and Incas: Empires on the Eve of Apocalypse
- World War I: International Perspectives
- Decolonisation: The British Experience
- The Long Black Freedom Struggle in America, 1865-2020
- Stewart Scotland
- Cultural History of Sport
You may also choose from one of the following approved courses.
- Architecture and Power (AH3014)
-
30 Credit Points
Architecture can be a synonym for power. Castles that loom over the landscape, the country house and its links with the British Empire and the Victorian prisons designed to incarcerate and extinguish hope. This course takes a thematic approach to the history of architecture to examine the institutions that define our landscapes and cities. Far from being neutral blocks of stone, brick and wood, the architecture of power is designed to define the ways we navigate the world, to intimidate and to reinforce institutions and power structures.
- History of Medicine (ME33HM)
-
30 Credit Points
The course will involve each student working individually on a historical project of his or her own choice, under the supervision of the course co-ordinator.
Students will be required to produce a research proposal and progress reports, to prepare an essay and make a presentation of their findings to the class. The aim of the option is to give students the opportunity to research and present, individually, in spoken and written forms, a history of medicine topic of their own choice, using both primary and secondary sources. - Painting in Tudor and Early Stuart England (AH3517)
-
30 Credit Points
This course examines the use of art as a tool for propaganda, diplomacy and education in England between 1520 and 1640. It explores how paintings were commissioned, created and consumed in a world of changing religious and political circumstances, and considers the role of art in both consolidating and challenging power. Case studies range from Queen Elizabeth I’s construction of a distinct visual identity as a female monarch, and Peter Paul Rubens’ creation of a grand mural scheme for King Charles I, to the function of jewel-like portrait miniatures, and the recording through pictures of the first encounters between English colonialists and Indigenous American peoples.
- Year 4
-
Compulsory Courses
- History in Practice (HI4518)
-
30 Credit Points
History is not simply a dry, academic study of the past; it shapes a host of contemporary political, economic and cultural attitudes and is a central underpinning to the tourist and heritage industries - now one of the largest sectors of employment among mature western economies. This course is designed to give a critical understanding of the theoretical and practical links (as well as clear distinctions) between the practice of 'academic' History and 'public' History. This is done by having students assess how heritage and tourist businesses project a particular version of the past.
- Undergraduate Dissertation in History (HI4516)
-
30 Credit Points
The undergraduate dissertation is the final-year major research undertaking, based on primary and secondary material and providing a critical analysis of a specific subject chosen by the student. It is obligatory for Single Honours students, whereas Joint Honours students choose to write their dissertation in either of the two subjects. After initial sessions about the nature of the dissertation and research approaches, students develop a topic with the help of a member of staff, who will also supervise their project throughout.
Optional Courses
Select one Special Subject course (examples listed below from courses run in recent years), plus a further 30 credits from other level 4 courses in History or another approved course (further examples listed bellowing from courses run in recent years):
- Architecture and Power (AH3014)
-
30 Credit Points
Architecture can be a synonym for power. Castles that loom over the landscape, the country house and its links with the British Empire and the Victorian prisons designed to incarcerate and extinguish hope. This course takes a thematic approach to the history of architecture to examine the institutions that define our landscapes and cities. Far from being neutral blocks of stone, brick and wood, the architecture of power is designed to define the ways we navigate the world, to intimidate and to reinforce institutions and power structures.
- History of Medicine (ME33HM)
-
30 Credit Points
The course will involve each student working individually on a historical project of his or her own choice, under the supervision of the course co-ordinator.
Students will be required to produce a research proposal and progress reports, to prepare an essay and make a presentation of their findings to the class. The aim of the option is to give students the opportunity to research and present, individually, in spoken and written forms, a history of medicine topic of their own choice, using both primary and secondary sources. - Special Sub: Enlightenment Compared: Ireland, Scotland, Central Europe (HI4003)
-
30 Credit Points
This course examines the emergence and the variations of Enlightenment thinking in Scotland and Central Europe (with particular emphasis on the German and East Central European Enlightenment, to which the Scottish Enlightenment had strong historical links). It emphasises the varieties of the European Enlightenment, against the traditional assumption that the Enlightenment was exclusively 'located' in France.
- Special Sub.: Britain and Revolutionary Russia 1917 - 1924 (HI4012)
-
30 Credit Points
This course explores Britain's relations with Russia during the early years of the Soviet regime. It highlights a series of key developments in the relationship, especially major changes in British government policy that charted a course from military intervention to diplomatic recognition. Most of the seminars trace an aspect of the relationship within a fairly short time-frame, but some seminars investigate a particular issue through the whole period 1917–24. Several sessions will be used specifically for analysing gobbets. Knowledge of the Russian language is not required.
- Special Sub: the Child as Subject in the British World (HI401F)
-
30 Credit Points
Historians concur that ideas about the nature of children and the place of childhood have changed over time. This course explores both how modern societies have understood childhood and the way in which this has shaped the treatment of young people. It places a particular focus upon how ideas and understandings of childhood have spanned regional and national borders, as well as the ways in which the concept of youth has been adapted to suit new cultural contexts.
- Spec Sub: Court Society in Late Medieval Europe (C. 1300 – C. 1500) (HI401G)
-
30 Credit Points
The courts of kings and other rulers in the later middle ages (c. 1300 – c. 1500), in which they and their households lived and hosted their subjects as well as visitors from other lands, have been characterised by scholars as both a grand stage for a dying chivalric culture and a creator of conditions for the modern state. This course addresses this apparent paradox and examines the many facets of this phenomenon, using the Scottish royal court as its starting point but also making use of evidence from around Europe. It draws on theories and methods from a range of academic disciplines including sociology, anthropology, art history and literature. Topics include the household, the palace, the competition for status amongst elites at court and the court as a stage for presenting political messages. Students taking the course will emerge with a detailed understanding of the court and the different forms it took and a view on how it shaped the broader history of Europe.
- Special Sub:european Constitutional Monarchies in the Long 19thcentury (HI4023)
-
30 Credit Points
On the eve of the First World War Europe was a continent of monarchies. A long 19th century of revolutions, wars, growing literacy, an expanding public sphere, changes in social, economic, intellectual and technological life and imperial expansion lay behind them, but the continent’s monarchical systems had survived in surprisingly rude health. That monarchies had flourished throughout these profound transformations points to their suppleness and ingenuity. This course offers new perspectives on the political cultures of the states and societies of 19th-century Europe.
- Special Subject: History of the Israeli Palestinian Conflict (HI4025)
-
30 Credit Points
The course examines the origins of the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and its developments from multiple angles in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex dynamic that constitutes ‘the conflict’. The course will investigate the causes of the Palestinian refugee crisis and of the Arab-Israeli wars. It will introduce students to the Arab-Israeli peace process and familiarise students with the polarised historiography surrounding the Arab-Israeli conflict.
- Special Subject: Myths of the North (HI4026)
-
30 Credit Points
This course critically evaluates representations and functions of Old Norse myth and legend in both medieval and modern contexts. It will enable students to better understand the myths, beliefs and stories of Viking and medieval Scandinavia in their own historical contexts, and to analyse the political and cultural implications of their endurance, significance and popularity into the modern world.
We will endeavour to make all course options available. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page.
How You'll Study
In first and second year, teaching involves two one-hour lectures per week and eight hour-long tutorials. At Honours level, students are assessed on a variety of skills, including teamwork, presentational and analytic skills and engagement with historical debate. All courses are supported by extensive online materials delivered through Aberdeen's Virtual Learning Environment, MyAberdeen.
Learning Methods
- Group Projects
- Lectures
- Tutorials
Assessment Methods
Students are assessed by any combination of three assessment methods:
- Coursework such as essays and reports completed throughout the course.
- Practical assessments of the skills and competencies they learn on the course.
- Written examinations at the end of each course.
The exact mix of these methods differs between subject areas, years of study and individual courses.
Honours projects are typically assessed on the basis of a written dissertation.
Why Study History?
- Teaching rated ‘Highly Satisfactory’ in the last national quality assessment and student satisfaction of 95% – way above the national average of 86%.
- Particular strengths in Irish and Scottish studies, Scandinavian studies, late medieval and early modern period and research centres studying the history of global empires, history and philosophy of science, technology and medicine, Russian and Eastern European history.
- Spectacular, award-winning Sir Duncan Rice Library, combining top-class study facilities with state-of-the-art technology and an online catalogue giving you access to thousands of books and millions of journal articles on the web.
- Major international treasures including 7,000 early printed books, the magnificent 12th century Aberdeen Bestiary, a large Jacobite collections, works of the Scottish Enlightenment, and fascinating local records dating from the middle ages.
- A packed campus programme of student and public events, exhibitions, seminars, invited speakers and the annual May Festival which welcomes world-famous authors, broadcasters and personalities including historians to campus every spring.
- The inspiration of our beautiful historic campus in Old Aberdeen, centred around the ancient building of King’s College Chapel, begun in 1490s5 by University founder Bishop Elphinstone, is a treasure-house of history and religious turbulence.
Aberdeen Global Scholarship
The University of Aberdeen is delighted to offer eligible self-funded international on-campus undergraduate students a £6,000 scholarship for every year of their programme.
View the Aberdeen Global ScholarshipEntry Requirements
Qualifications
The information below is provided as a guide only and does not guarantee entry to the University of Aberdeen.
General Entry Requirements
- 2024 Entry
-
SQA Highers
Standard: AABB
Applicants who have achieved AABB (or better), are encouraged to apply and will be considered. Good performance in additional Highers/ Advanced Highers may be required.
Minimum: BBB
Applicants who have achieved BBB (or are on course to achieve this by the end of S5) are encouraged to apply and will be considered. Good performance in additional Highers/Advanced Highers will normally be required.
Adjusted: BB
Applicants who achieve BB over S4 and S5 and who meet one of the widening access criteria are guaranteed a conditional offer. Good performance in additional Highers/Advanced Highers will be required.
More information on our definition of Standard, Minimum and Adjusted entry qualifications.
A LEVELS
Standard: BBB
Minimum: BBC
Adjusted: CCC
More information on our definition of Standard, Minimum and Adjusted entry qualifications.
International Baccalaureate
32 points, including 5, 5, 5 at HL.
Irish Leaving Certificate
5H with 3 at H2 AND 2 at H3.
Entry from College
Advanced entry to this degree may be possible from some HNC/HND qualifications, please see www.abdn.ac.uk/study/articulation for more details.
- 2025 Entry
-
SQA Highers
Standard: BBBB
Applicants who have achieved BBBB (or better), are encouraged to apply and will be considered. Good performance in additional Highers/ Advanced Highers may be required.
Minimum: BBC
Applicants who have achieved BBC at Higher and meet one of the widening participation criteria above are encouraged to apply and are guaranteed an unconditional offer for MA, BSc and BEng degrees.
Adjusted: BB
Applicants who have achieved BB at Higher, and who meet one of the widening participation criteria above are encouraged to apply and are guaranteed an adjusted conditional offer for MA, BSc and BEng degrees.
We would expect to issue a conditional offer asking for one additional C grade at Higher.
Foundation Apprenticeship: One FA is equivalent to a Higher at A. It cannot replace any required subjects.
More information on our definition of Standard, Minimum and Adjusted entry qualifications.
A LEVELS
Standard: BBC
Minimum: BCC
Adjusted: CCC
More information on our definition of Standard, Minimum and Adjusted entry qualifications.
International Baccalaureate
32 points, including 5, 5, 5 at HL.
Irish Leaving Certificate
5H with 3 at H2 AND 2 at H3.
Entry from College
Advanced entry to this degree may be possible from some HNC/HND qualifications, please see www.abdn.ac.uk/study/articulation for more details.
The information displayed in this section shows a shortened summary of our entry requirements. For more information, or for full entry requirements for Arts and Social Sciences degrees, see our detailed entry requirements section.
English Language Requirements
To study for an Undergraduate degree at the University of Aberdeen it is essential that you can speak, understand, read, and write English fluently. The minimum requirements for this degree are as follows:
IELTS Academic:
OVERALL - 6.0 with: Listening - 5.5; Reading - 5.5; Speaking - 5.5; Writing - 6.0
TOEFL iBT:
OVERALL - 78 with: Listening - 17; Reading - 18; Speaking - 20; Writing - 21
PTE Academic:
OVERALL - 59 with: Listening - 59; Reading - 59; Speaking - 59; Writing - 59
Cambridge English B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency:
OVERALL - 169 with: Listening - 162; Reading - 162; Speaking - 162; Writing - 169
Read more about specific English Language requirements here.
International Applicants who do not meet the Entry Requirements
The University of Aberdeen International Study Centre offers preparation programmes for international students who do not meet the direct entry requirements for undergraduate study. Discover your foundation pathway here.
Fees and Funding
You will be classified as one of the fee categories below.
| Fee category | Cost |
|---|---|
| RUK | £9,535 |
| Tuition Fees for 2025/26 Academic Year | |
| EU / International students | £20,800 |
| Tuition Fees for 2025/26 Academic Year | |
| Self-funded international students commencing eligible undergraduate programmes in 2025/26 will receive a £6,000 tuition waiver for every year of their programme - See full terms and conditions | |
| Home Students | £1,820 |
| Tuition Fees for 2025/26 Academic Year | |
Additional Fees
- In exceptional circumstances there may be additional fees associated with specialist courses, for example field trips. Any additional fees for a course can be found in our Catalogue of Courses.
- For more information about tuition fees for this programme, including payment plans and our refund policy, please visit our Tuition Fees page.
Scholarships and Funding
UK Scholarship
Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, who pay tuition fees may be eligible for specific scholarships allowing them to receive additional funding. These are designed to provide assistance to help students support themselves during their time at Aberdeen.
Aberdeen Global Scholarship
The University of Aberdeen is delighted to offer eligible self-funded international on-campus undergraduate students a £6,000 scholarship for every year of their programme. More about this funding opportunity.Funding Database
View all funding options in our Funding Database.
Careers
History graduates from Aberdeen acquire skills that are highly praised by employers, including critical analysis, research, clarity of expression and the ability to work independently. You will also gain an unrivalled understanding of the different aspects of human society and culture throughout history. Our previous graduates have gone on to work in a variety of different fields, including politics, law, business, journalism, the media, education, NGOs and the heritage sectors.
What our Alumni Say
Christina Mackenzie
Our Experts
Information About Staff Changes
You will be taught by a range of experts including professors, lecturers, teaching fellows and postgraduate tutors. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page.
Facilities
As a History student at Aberdeen, you will have the opportunity to study in one of the oldest history departments in the UK. You will have access to a range of resources unique to the department, including texts from the University Library and research centres.
Discover Uni
Discover Uni draws together comparable information in areas students have identified as important in making decisions about what and where to study. You can compare these and other data for different degree programmes in which you are interested.
Get in Touch
Contact Details
- Address
-
Student Recruitment & Admissions
University of Aberdeen
University Office
Regent Walk
Aberdeen
AB24 3FX