MSc History

These entry requirements are for the 2026-27 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2027-28 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2026.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, a minimum US 3.25 GPA or international equivalent, in History or another humanities or social science subject with a significant historical component.

We will also consider an honours degree in another subject if you have relevant experience, or professional or other qualifications.

International qualifications

To find international equivalent qualifications, select where you studied from the country or region list.

Please see our website

Please visit https://www.ed.ac.uk/history-classics-archaeology/graduate-school/fees-funding/funding/masters

See our website for destinations

The compulsory (core) courses will provide a general introduction to graduate study in history and give you the opportunity to develop your research skills.

The compulsory courses are:

Historical Methodology
Developing Historical Research
Option courses
Option courses previously offered include those listed below:

A Modern History of Demographic Angst and Population Control
An uncertain world: the West since the 1970s
Art and Cultural Exchange in Mughal India 1500-1900
Beyond Feudalism: Economy and Society in the Global Middle Ages
Capitalism and Slavery
Christianity and Politics in Latin America, 1800 to the present
Cinema and Society in England and Scotland
Creeds, Councils and Controversies: Patristic and Medieval
Creeds, Councils and Controversies: Reformation and Modern
Data Science for the Past: Statistical Thinking & Visualization
Economic and Social Theory for Historical Analysis
Genocide in Contemporary History
History of Science and Religion in the Christian Tradition
Human Nature: Looking at Ourselves and Others in Northern European Art, 1400-1600
Intellectual History of the American Revolution
Islamic Africa
Jewish Texts through the Ages
Muslim Societies in Southeast Asia
Muslims in Europe
Nepotism and Venality: Corruption and Accountability in the Middle Ages
Patronage of the Papal Court 1471-1534
Premodern Textiles in Europe
Queens, Heiresses and Lords: Women Making Medieval Scotland
Religion and the Enlightenment: The Birth of the Modern
Scottish Palaeography 12th-16th centuries
Scottish Reformation Culture, c. 1540-c. 1640
Studying Women in Late Medieval England: Sources and Approaches
The Arab-Israeli Conflict: Nations in Collision
The Civil Rights Movement
The Cold War in Latin America
The 'Dark Side': Dark Tourism and Difficult Heritages
The Global Renaissance
The History and Culture of Iran
The Holocaust in History and Culture
The Medieval Indian Ocean: Climates, Communities and Commodities
The Nine Lives of the Medieval Church
The Politics of History in the Arabic-Speaking World (c.1750-Present)
Theology in the Long Reformation 1400-1600
Unfolding Afghanistan in a Globalised Context
War and Identities in Twentieth-Century Britain and Ireland