MA History/Philosophy

About this course

History and philosophy are disciplines that have always belonged together. History traces the changes and continuities of human society through time, examining the forces that shaped political orders, economies, cultures and ideas. Philosophy asks the fundamental questions that underlie all inquiry, about the nature of knowledge, what constitutes a good argument, how we can justify moral claims, and what it means to understand the past at all. Studied together, they produce a kind of critical depth that each discipline alone cannot quite achieve. At the University of Glasgow, this part-time joint degree draws on a genuinely wide-ranging history programme, spanning medieval to modern times and reaching from Scotland and Britain across Europe, the United States and the globe. You will engage with historical research expertise in areas including Scottish and British history, European history, slavery studies, gender history, and the history of war, intelligence and genocide. The philosophy component develops your capacity for precise argumentation, conceptual analysis and the evaluation of competing claims, skills that sharpen the way you read and interpret historical evidence. A year abroad is built into the programme, extending both your academic horizons and your personal experience. The part-time structure makes the degree accessible to students who need to balance their studies with other commitments, while preserving the intellectual rigour and breadth of the full undergraduate curriculum. Graduates of history and philosophy programmes are consistently sought after by employers who value careful thinking, research skill, and the ability to construct and communicate complex arguments. Careers in journalism, law, the civil service, politics, education, archiving, heritage management and the cultural sector all draw on these qualities. Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study in history, philosophy, political theory, law or international relations, where the analytical formation of an undergraduate joint degree provides a particularly strong foundation.

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