Overview
History and heritage both play an important role in how we understand our world, culturally, socially, and politically. The global heritage tourism market is expected to be worth £583 billion by 2030 (source: Grand View Research). As a result, heritage skills and knowledge are in high demand.
Studying history and heritage at Stirling helps you build key academic and practical skills employers want, across heritage, museums, education and beyond.
Gain history and heritage knowledge and skills
Across this history and heritage course you’ll:
- Explore a wide range of histories from Europe, Africa, and North America. Learn how social, political, and environmental forces shaped different periods.
- See how heritage sites and museums operate.
- Study topical issues, including heritage and identities, cultural politics, conflict, decolonisation, and environmental concerns.
- Collect evidence to test or support a historical case.
- Use historical concepts to interpret and draw conclusions from primary sources.
- Communicate the results of your research effectively through oral and written presentation.
- Explore research methods to understand the historic environment, associated values, and challenges.
- Understand and critically apply principles, methods, and theories of heritage interpretation and exhibition design. You’ll use the University Art and Museum collections for hands-on practical experience.
In the final year you can undertake an independent applied research project as part of your heritage portfolio. This involves the research, design and creation of a body of work linked to a heritage topic or theme. It may involve creating an exhibition, a heritage trail, an audio tour, or outreach activities. A previous example was the development of a Dementia Friendly Heritage Interpretation for the Battle of Bannockburn. Your heritage portfolio effectively showcases your skills to employers.
Alternatively, you can write a history dissertation. It is an extended research project that lets you choose and explore a topic you find interesting.
Study in one of the most historically important cities in Scotland
Stirling has played a major role in Scottish history, especially during the medieval period. It’s one of the best-preserved historic areas in Scotland. Your history learning comes alive with trips to nearby places. Visit Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument. You'll also visit museums in Edinburgh and Glasgow including the National Museum of Scotland, Perth Museum and the Stirling Smith Musuem.
On one of your modules, you’ll delve into the history and heritage of Stirling from c.1124 to the modern day, using the city as a living case study.
Learn from specialist guest lectures
On our degree in history and heritage you're taught by our expert academic staff. You’ll also benefit from hearing from guest lecturers from different fields such as:
- Education
- Archive
- Media
- Museums
- Heritage Management
- Academic History
- Local Government
- Heritage Marketing
A recent guest lecture was from the Director of Public Engagement and Research at National Trust for Scotland. They spoke about working in the heritage sector and career development.
Prepare for the world of work
You’ll take a dedicated employability module. It helps you explore career paths in work and academia for history and heritage graduates. You’ll gain knowledge of the qualifications, skills and values associated with jobs where history and heritage play an important role. They include:
- academic research;
- archives and museums;
- history in the curriculum and heritage education;
- heritage management and conservation;
- journalism and wider media;
- community engagement.
You’ll create a CV and LinkedIn profile to enhance your employment opportunities.
You can also work on a live museum exhibition project with the University Archives and the University. This involves archival research, curation, exhibition design, and budgeting. It prepares you for your own applied research project.
Top reasons to study with us
Prizes or awards
History and heritage students can be submitted for various prizes, mostly in final year. Some are dedicated solely for history and heritage, others across history, heritage and politics, and others across the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
Environmental History Prize
An annual prize of £100 to be awarded for the best first-class dissertation in Environmental History.
Gordon Donaldson Prize
An annual prize of £50 for the best graduating student in History.
Robert and Margaret McKean Prize
An annual prize of £50 for the best performance by a final year student in European History.
Stirling Guildry Prize
An annual prize of £100 to be awarded for the best dissertation submitted by a student taking History or Scottish History.
Faculty Research based learning prize
The Division of History, Heritage and Politics has been granted £250 by the Faculty to reward undergraduate students for contributions to research through their studies (projects, dissertations etc).
The Scott Reid Memorial Prize
The £200 prize will be open to undergraduates in their final year of study studying History and/or Politics (including combined degrees with either subject). The prize will be awarded to the student who achieved their degree despite facing adversity during their studies and or who have shown outstanding support and selfless giving for their fellow students, local community or family.
The Alasdair Ross Memorial Essay prize.
The £200 prize is open to all University honours students who have written an essay between 2000 to 5000 words on a topic within the area of Scottish Studies, with an emphasis on environment and heritage.
Dee Amy Chin Prize for Gender and Feminist Studies
£200 is for the Dee Amy-Chinn prize for Gender Studies and is open to undergraduate students in any discipline within the University and recognises exceptional achievement in the study of gender and/or feminism (essay, dissertation, creative practice).
Entry requirements
Year 1 entry – Four-year honours
Highers
AABB
A-levels
BBB
IB Diploma
28
BTEC (Level 3)
DDM
Widening access students
Widening access students may be eligible for an adjusted offer of entry. To find out if this applies to you go to our widening access pages.
Care-experienced applicants will be guaranteed an offer of a place if they meet the minimum entry requirements.
Year 2 entry – Three-year honours
Advanced Highers
ABB
A-levels
ABB
IB Diploma
32
Essential subjects
History
Other Scottish qualifications
Scottish HNC/HND
Year one minimum entry - Bs in graded units.
Access courses
University of Stirling access course - for mature students only. You must pass the course with 50% or above.
SWAP access course - for mature students only.
Email our Admissions Team for advice about other access courses.
Foundation Apprenticeships
Considered to be equivalent to 1 Higher at Grade B
Other qualifications
English, Welsh and Northern Irish HNC/HND
Merits and Distinctions
English, Welsh and Northern Irish access courses
Access to Higher Education - 60 credits, minimum 45 at QCF Level 3, pass at 60% or above.
International entry requirements
Advanced entry
Year 2 entry
Entry into Year 2 may be possible depending on your HNC/HND course. To find out more go to our articulation pages.
Other qualifications
Advanced entry may be possible depending on your qualifications. For more information, contact our Admissions Team at admissions@stir.ac.uk.
English language requirements
If English is not your first language you must have one of the following qualifications as evidence of your English language skills:
- IELTS Academic or UKVI 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each sub-skill.
- Pearson Test of English (Academic) 60 overall with a minimum of 59 in each sub-skill.
- TOEFL exams taken before 21 January 2026: 80 overall with 18 in reading, 17 in writing, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking.
- TOEFL exams taken from 21 January 2026: 4 overall with no less than 4 in any band.
See our information on English language requirements for more details on the language tests we accept and options to waive these requirements.
Pre-sessional English language courses
If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this course, University of Stirling International Study Centre offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for entry to this degree.
Find out more about our pre-sessional English language courses
Course details
The course provides you with a knowledge and understanding of a wide range of historical periods, regions of the world, and topical issues.
Conceptual and theoretical understanding are combined with critical thinking and practical skills.
Modules
Course details
Teaching
You will learn through a combination of formal lectures, seminars and tutorials. Small group tutorials will also provide feedback and reinforcement of lecture topics throughout each semester.
Digital technologies and sources of information play an important role, with tasks facilitated by blog posts, online discussion boards, podcasts, and video presentations.
A module focusing on museum and heritage interpretation is a highlight, where students work as a group to design and produce an exhibition.
In the fourth year, students undertake either a history dissertation or a Heritage Portfolio. This is an independent supervised project, which brings together the knowledge, understanding and skills students have developed during the degree.
A key feature of this degree is the emphasis on authentic work-related learning, based on real-world tasks and case studies, supporting them to develop employability skills. For instance, in one of the heritage modules, students work as a team to design and construct an exhibition, making extensive use of digital media. In another they plan and deliver an online mini conference. One of the core modules involves the development of a LinkedIn profile encouraging students to think critically about self-presentation on online career networking platforms, while managing digital identity, reputation, wellbeing, and safety. Finally, the heritage portfolio gives students the opportunity to research, design and develop heritage outputs (e.g. an exhibition design, a guidebook, a heritage trail), accompanied by interpretation and promotional strategies and a reflective report.
Fieldwork
Field visits are an important element in the teaching and learning strategy for heritage modules, allowing you to engage with heritage places and organisations. They are also increasingly used in history modules.
If you choose to do a heritage portfolio in Year 4, you will have the opportunity to design heritage and museum outputs. These practical teaching environments encourage you to take a proactive, responsible and independent role in your learning.
Assessment
The teaching and learning strategies draw on a variety of methods of assessment to enable you to demonstrate your progress and attainment against the intended learning outcomes of each module. Assessment methods are wide-ranging to accommodate a wealth of learning styles. They include:
- essays
- presentations
- exams
- projects
- exhibition design
- reports on primary sources
- critical reviews
- policy papers
- academic posters
- reflective reports
- career development planning and networking profiles
- final year dissertation or heritage portfolio
Your active preparation and contribution to tutorial and seminar work may also be assessed.
Classroom hours
Lectures usually last 50 minutes and are recorded to allow students to listen again. Most teaching is done in small groups. In years one and two, tutorials last one hour. In year three, seminars last two hours, and in year four, seminars in special subjects last three hours (with a break in the middle).
Work placement opportunities
An optional Faculty of Arts and Humanities module, "Putting Arts & Humanities to Work", gives you the opportunity to undertake 30 hours of work placement in a career area linked to your degree subject.
Study abroad
As a University of Stirling student, you’ll have the opportunity to broaden your horizons and study abroad through our well-established connections with several international universities.
Contact
Professor Siân Jones, Course Director
Fees and funding
| Scottish students | ||
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This fee is set by the Scottish Government and is subject to change. Although you’re liable for annual tuition fees, if you are domiciled in Scotland you can apply to the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) to have your tuition fees paid by the Scottish Government on your behalf. |
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| Students from England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland | ||
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This tuition fee may be subject to change depending on guidance provided by the UK Government. You can apply for financial assistance, including a loan to cover the full cost of your tuition fees, from your relevant funding body. Students from the Republic of Ireland are eligible for a tuition fee loan of up to £9,535 from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS). We also offer additional funding for students from England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. See our funding opportunities section below for more information. | ||
| International students (including EU) | ||
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Eligible students will automatically receive a scholarship worth between £10,000–£20,000 over the duration of your course. See our range of generous scholarships for international undergraduate students. |
Fee information
You will be charged the annual fee each year when you enrol.
If you need to take additional modules or resit modules, you will be liable for an additional fee.
For more information on courses invoiced on an annual fee basis, please read our tuition fee policy.
Additional costs
There are some instances where additional fees may apply. Depending on your chosen course, you may need to pay additional costs, for example for field trips. Learn more about additional fees.
Funding
See what funding opportunities and loans are available to help you with tuition and living costs.
Students from Scotland
Find funding opportunities for Scottish students.
Students from England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland
Eligible students will receive our Stirling Success Scholarship which is worth £5,000.
International students
Eligible international students will automatically receive a scholarship worth between £10,000-£20,000 over the duration of your course. Find funding opportunities for international students.
Cost of living
If you’re domiciled in the UK, you can typically apply to your relevant funding body for help with living costs. This usually takes the form of student loans, grants or bursaries, and the amount awarded depends upon your personal circumstances and household income.
International (including EU) students won’t normally be able to claim living support through SAAS or other UK public funding bodies. You should contact the relevant authority in your country to find out if you’re eligible to receive support.
Payment options
We aim to be as flexible as possible, and offer a wide range of payment methods—including the option to pay fees by instalments. Learn more about how to pay.
After you graduate
A History and Heritage degree from the University of Stirling opens up career opportunities in a range of sectors, from museums and heritage trusts to the civil service and worlds of teaching, marketing and journalism.
