Research groups

The University of Edinburgh has one of the largest concentrations of scholars researching the late antique, early Islamic and Byzantine worlds in the UK, and many of these staff and students are in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology.

The Cultural Heritage and Community Engagement research group (CHCE) provides a forum for research and meaningful engagement with tangible and intangible heritages – from Scotland to the wider world.

Economic and Social History – as a research and teaching unit at the University of Edinburgh – dates back to 1884 when Economic History was first taught here.

The History and Games Lab (H&GL) explores games as a medium for historical research, teaching and public understanding of history, including fostering practical collaborations between historians, game designers, and other practitioners who engage with games.

The Histories of Gender and Sexuality Research Group is an interdisciplinary research group based in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh.

The History of Science, Medicine and Technology Research Group (HSMT-Ed) is an interdisciplinary research group based in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh.

The Intellectual History research group brings together staff and students from across the School who are interested in the history of ideas, intellectuals, and intellectual movements.

Edinburgh University is one of the world’s leading centres for the advanced study of modern Irish history, with a tradition of excellence dating back over 40 years.

The Medieval History Group covers all aspects of medieval history.

An international forum for scholars interested in aspects of medicine, health, and disease in the premodern period.

The One Health Archaeology Research Group provides a forum to support interdisciplinary approaches for the study of past human, animal and environmental health and the contribution of these long-term records to current global health challenges.

Edinburgh is one of the most active centres for the study of political history. Our members research within every historical period (from ancient to contemporary) and within a wide range of geographical contexts, covering all aspects of the subject from intellectual history to the study of elections. Our links with political scientists in the School of Social and Political Science provide interdisciplinary perspectives.

History at Edinburgh is one of the largest and most distinguished departments of its kind and is home to the oldest established Chair in Scottish History.

The Second World War Network (Scotland), funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, formally launched in April 2021.