BA (Hons) History & Social Policy at University of Strathclyde

Programme overview

History & Social Policy is a joint Honours BA at the University of Strathclyde combining History and Social Policy within the Humanities & Social Sciences programme. Students follow both subjects through to Honours level and complete an Honours dissertation in their final year.

Faculty: Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences | Duration: 4 years (Honours) | Intake: September 2027 | Study mode: full-time | Location: Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

What you will study

History: Year 1 introduces themes including industrialisation, empire, political reform, war and social change; Year 2 offers national history classes; Year 3 includes Historiography and Research Methods; Year 4 centres on an Honours dissertation and optional classes. Social Policy: challenges facing Scottish society in health, housing, education and social security in Year 1; the development of social policy in Scotland since 1845 in Year 2; options such as welfare reform and criminology in Year 3; global challenges core module and specialist options in Year 4.

Career pathways

History graduates progress to education, social welfare, the Civil Service and the Scottish Government, finance, teaching, and museums and heritage; many continue to postgraduate study. Social Policy graduates go to local and national government policy development and research, regional and urban development, business administration, third-sector research and policy, children's services, education, health and social welfare, and protective services.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Scottish Highers (standard offer): AAAA at first sitting, AAAAB at second sitting, including Higher English plus Maths or Applications of Mathematics at National 5 grade C or equivalent. Minimum (contextual) offer: AABB at first sitting or AABBB at second sitting with the same subject requirements. Preferred subjects: Classical Studies, Drama, Economics, Gaelic, Geography, History, Modern Studies, a modern language (German, French, Spanish or Italian), Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies, Sociology. A-levels: ABB-BBB (Year 2 entry AAA-ABB). International Baccalaureate: 32-30 points (Year 2 entry 36-32). Irish Leaving Certificate: two H2 passes and three H3 passes including English. HNC (Social Sciences): Year 1 entry with A in the Graded Unit and Maths National 5 C or equivalent. Students are required to register with the Scottish Government's Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme. Contextual admissions: lower offers are made to certain widening-access applicants. International applicants: IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with no component below 5.5 (University of Strathclyde standard requirement). Overseas qualifications are assessed against Strathclyde's country-specific entry requirements. International students without the academic entry level can take the Undergraduate Foundation Programme at the University of Strathclyde International Study Centre.

Domestic applicants: GBP 9,790 a year (2026/27). Rest of UK (England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Republic of Ireland) rate for full-time undergraduate programmes; Scotland-domiciled fee to be confirmed by the Scottish Funding Council Source

International applicants: GBP 24,100 a year (2027/28). Annual tuition for international students Source

Intake: September 2027

Duration: 4 years (Honours)

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