Course summary

History and Sociology at Aberdeen is a great combination to add to your wide and deep study of all aspects of human activity in the past with a with a fascinating awakening of your ‘sociological imagination’ – exploring society, and how the societies we live in shape us as individuals in all sorts of ways. A culture of top-rated teaching and dynamic research will give you the specialist and transferable skills to be a sought-after graduate by employers in many sectors. You will be 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 and enthralled by our wonderful collections of historic treasures collected by distinguished alumni over the centuries. Sociology at Aberdeen will complement your History studies very well. You will explore how society shapes us as individuals in all sorts of ways and study sociology of the family, work-life balance, religion and society. You will be taught by experts in social movements, conflict and peace, religion and secularisation and global political sociology and become skilled in the social research methods used to gather the evidence to better understand aspects of society – such as observation, interviews, large-scale surveys or analysing the content of documents and videos. You will develop great skills in thinking critically and posing probing questions – which have tremendous value to employers, for example in journalism, marketing and advertising, social and market research, teaching, health and social services, charities and human resources. **History teaching rated ‘Highly Satisfactory’ in the last national quality assessment and student satisfaction of 95%. History research at Aberdeen is ranked top in Scotland. Sociology at Aberdeen is rated 4th in Scotland in the Complete University Guide 2023. Sociology at Aberdeen is ranked 10th in the UK and 2nd in Scotland by The Guardian’s Best UK Universities, 2021.**