History enables us to understand how the world has developed and become what it is today. Studying events and issues from the past also affects the way we see the present and future. This programme combines courses on Scottish history with those from the wider arena of historical study in an exciting joint programme. It enables you to combine a well-rounded and broadly-based training in history with a particular focus on Scotland's past. The University has always been one of the great centres for the study of Scottish history. It offers an unrivalled concentration of expertise in this field with courses covering the political, intellectual, economic, social and cultural history of Scotland from the medieval period to the recent past. This programme fuses Edinburgh's excellence in this particular field with the wider offerings of its large and diverse history department. Your study will seek to place Scotland's development over time in the broadest context and make connections, comparisons and contrasts with the history of other countries. It will draw on the rich archival resources available within the University as well as the research materials afforded by the great collections based in the city, including the National Library, National Records, National Galleries and National Museums of Scotland.