How many marks is SQA Advanced Higher History out of?

The award is graded A to D out of 140 marks, made up of the question paper (90 marks) and the project-dissertation (50 marks). Both components are externally marked by the SQA, so there is no internal coursework grade to bank.

What are the two parts of the question paper?

Part A (Historical Issues) is two extended essays worth 25 marks each, drawn from the chosen field. Part B (Historical Sources) is a three-part source exercise worth 40 marks: a source evaluation (12 marks), a how fully contextual question (12 marks) and a two-source comparison (16 marks). The paper lasts three hours.

Does the Advanced Higher History dissertation have to be on my field of study?

No. The project-dissertation may range beyond your chosen field of study. You choose a suitable historical issue, frame it as a question, and research it independently, so you have real freedom to pursue a question that interests you provided it has enough source material and a genuine historiographical debate.

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Course and assessment overview: SQA Advanced Higher History

A guide to the structure and assessment of SQA Advanced Higher History: the single chosen field of study, the 90-mark question paper (two 25-mark essays and the source exercise), the compulsory 50-mark project-dissertation, the SCQF level 7 standard, and grading out of 140 marks.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.89 min readAdvanced HigherUpdated 2026-06-14

Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed

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One field, studied in depth
The 90-mark question paper
The 50-mark dissertation
The SCQF level 7 standard
How to use this hub

SQA Advanced Higher History is a one-year SCQF level 7 course built around one chosen field of study, studied in depth with explicit attention to historiography. This guide gives the map of the course and its assessment; the module dot points take each part in detail.

One field, studied in depth

At Higher you study three options; at Advanced Higher you study one field of study (for example Germany 1815 to 1939, Russia 1881 to 1921, the USA 1918 to 1968, the Crusades, the American Revolution, or a Scottish field) in much greater depth. The field supplies the issues for the essays and the sources for the source exercise, and it carries its own historiography, the differing interpretations of historians, which is rewarded across the paper.

The 90-mark question paper

The paper lasts three hours and has two parts:

Part A (Historical Issues), 50 marks. Two extended essays of 25 marks each, rewarding detailed knowledge, a sustained line of argument, analysis and historiography.
Part B (Historical Sources), 40 marks. A source evaluation (12), a how fully contextual question (12) and a two-source comparison (16), rewarding provenance, interpretation, contextual development and historians' views.

With 90 marks in 180 minutes, budget roughly two minutes per mark and do not over-run the first essay.

The 50-mark dissertation

The project-dissertation is an independent piece of research of up to 4,000 words, worth 50 marks and externally marked. It requires a clear question, a range of primary and secondary sources, critical engagement with historiography, a sustained argument and a substantiated conclusion. At roughly a third of the award, it deserves an early start.

The SCQF level 7 standard

Advanced Higher sits at SCQF level 7, above Higher (level 6) and pitched at first-year undergraduate demand, carrying 32 credit points. A strong Advanced Higher, and especially a strong dissertation, signals readiness for degree-level history and carries UCAS tariff points.

How to use this hub

Work through the course and assessment module first, then the source-handling skills, the extended essay, the dissertation, and a representative spread of field studies. Always revise from the current SQA specification and past papers.

Sources & how we know this

Advanced Higher History Course Specification — SQA (2019)