Economic and Social History
Postgraduate Study

Economic and Social History attracts students from all over the world to a teaching and research environment of international excellence.

The subject area comprises eleven full-time members of academic staff who specialise in the economic, social and cultural history of Britain and beyond.

The range of expertise in Economic and Social History is reflected in the taught options offered by the subject area at postgraduate level. These include courses focusing on civil society, material culture, youth, gender, crime, cinema, economic growth and energy policy in a variety of historical contexts.

The Postgraduate Community

Postgraduates enrol for postgraduate degrees in Economic and Social History at Edinburgh with a wide range of previous experience in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Most have a qualification in some aspect of historical studies but this is not essential and courses are designed to expose students to sources, approaches and techniques in the study of the past that are likely to be unfamiliar.

A Postgraduate Resource Centre located at the heart of the William Robertson Building, home to both History and Economic and Social History, provides a focal point and social hub for our graduate community. There are four weekly seminars within the School of History, Classics and Archaeology in which postgraduates play an active and instrumental part.