Skip to main content

History and International Relations

Entry Year: 2024

2 study options

History and International Relations BA (Hons)

Key information

Degree
BA (Hons)
Duration
3 years
Start
September 2024
UCAS code
VL01
Institution code
Q50
Typical A-Level offer
Grades ABB at A-Level. Excludes General Studies and Critical Thinking.
Full entry requirements (including contextual admissions)
Home fees
£9,250
Overseas fees
£23,350
Funding information
Paying your fees

History and International Relations with Year Abroad BA (Hons)

Key information

Degree
BA (Hons)
Duration
4 years
Start
September 2024
UCAS code
VL02
Institution code
Q50
Home fees
£9,250
Overseas fees
£23,350
Funding information
Paying your fees

Year abroad cost

Finances for studying abroad on exchange

View details

Overview

Make sense of the modern world by learning how the past influences international politics in the present.

Explore history and international relations to encounter diverse societies, explain cultural changes and explore the issues causing tension between countries. With new discoveries every day, combined with advancements in technology, youll uncover hidden details about the world around you. 

A degree in history and international relations is a fantastic launchpad into many careers. You could apply your historical knowledge directly in a museum or heritage role. Or use your communication and analytical skills in a career in publishing, policy making, social research or the Civil Service.  

Explore the latest thinking  

Weve designed this course to cover key areas such as the state system, security and globalisation. You'll study through the lens of historical and contemporary examples, from the 1870s Scramble for Africa to the global financial crisis, while learning how to apply theory to the real world.  

At the same time, youll expand your knowledge as you explore different histories and perspectives from Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States. Youll learn from experts who care about providing impactful research. One of our professors wrote and presented the BBC series Suffragettes Forever! The Story of Women and Power. 

Through events, conferences, and our research centres, youll hear from high-profile people working in Westminster and Whitehall and be part of conversations on the latest thinking in the area.  

 

Structure

You can complete your degree in three or four years. If you choose to study abroad, this will take place in Year 3 and Year 3 modules will instead be studied in Year 4.

Year 1

Compulsory

  • History in Practice
  • Introduction to International Relations

And at least one from

  • Unravelling Britain: British History since 1801
  • Global Encounters: Conquest and Culture in World History

Choose from

  • Building the American Nation: 1756-1900
  • Thinking Politically
  • Screening History: Representing the Past in the Contemporary Historical Film
  • Political Analysis
  • The Foundations of Modern Thought: Introduction to Intellectual History
  • Global Histories
  • Europe in a Global Context since 1800
  • Background to British Politics
  • Controversies of Science and Technology in the Making of the Modern World
  • Politics in Action
  • Europe 1000-1500: The Middle Ages and their Legacy
  • Reformation to Revolution: Europe and the World, 1500-1800
  • Latin for Historians I

Please note that remaining modules should be split equally between both schools. All modules are subject to change. 

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Year 2

Compulsory

  • History Research Project

Choose from over 30 modules, such as

  • The American Century: The History of the United States, 1900-2000
  • International Relations Theory
  • Totalitarianism: Authoritarian Politics in History and Theory, 1920-2003
  • The International Politics of the Developing World
  • History of Political Thought
  • War in World Politics
  • Colonialism, Capitalism and Development

Please note that remaining modules should be split equally between both schools. All modules are subject to change. 

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Year 3

Compulsory

Either

  • History Special Subject (including a Research Dissertation)

Or

  • Dissertation in Politics/International Relations

Then choose from over 20 modules, such as

  • Cold War America 1945 – 1975
  • Nationalism & Ethnicity in International Relations
  • The Germans and the Jews since 1871
  • Totalitarianism: History & Theory of Twentieth Century Authoritarian Politics
  • Africa and International Politics
  • Latin American Politics
  • The First Age of Globalisation: Money, Race, and Empire 1850-1933
  • The Kennedy Years
  • The War on Terror
  • The Idea of 'the West': A History from the Nineteenth to the Twenty-First Century
  • Global History of Pandemics from Plague to Coronavirus
  • Colonial Fascism: A Global History from Blackshirt Invasion to Black Power
  • Antifascism and The Global Cold War

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Study options

Apply for this degree with any of the following options. Take care to use the correct UCAS code - it may not be possible to change your selection later.

Year abroad

Go global and study abroad as part of your degree – apply for our History and International Relations BA with a Year Abroad. Queen Mary has links with universities in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia (partnerships vary for each degree programme).

Find out more about study abroad opportunities at Queen Mary and what the progression requirements are.

Testimonial

The variety of modules offered was the main reason I chose Queen Mary. Within my degree I want to fully enjoy the modules, to be engaged to the highest level. I think the more you enjoy something the better you will do.

Adam Omar, History and Politics (2024)

Teaching

Teaching and learning

For each module you’ll usually receive two hours of weekly contact time, typically comprising a one-hour lecture followed by a one-hour seminar.

Formal teaching is supplemented by one-to-one discussions in staff office hours and feedback sessions.

For every hour spent in class, you'll complete a further two to three hours of independent study. This time is spent reading, preparing for study sessions, working on projects and revising for exams.

 

Assessment

Assessment is designed around a series of programme-level essays. These are based around your teaching and learning in modules, along with additional support outside modules. You choose which modules to write essays on, and deadlines are spaced so you can receive feedback on each essay before writing the next one.

In addition, module-level assessment can involve a wide range of assessment activities, including source analyses, book reviews, blog posts, learning logs, and presentations.

In your final year you’ll work on a dissertation worth 25% of your final year mark, researching a specialised area of history that particularly interests you.

Resources and facilities

The School offers excellent resources to aid your studies, including:

  • membership of the Queen Mary Library, the University of London Library at Senate House, and reading access to other college libraries within the University of London
  • a vibrant History Society
  • an impartial Politics and International Relations Society
  • the Queen Mary History Journal, a major scholarly publication stocked by the British Library, which is written, produced and edited entirely by students
  • a central London location that offers ready access to a wealth of world-class libraries, archives, museums and galleries

Entry requirements

A-LevelGrades ABB at A-Level. Excludes General Studies and Critical Thinking.
IBInternational Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum of 32 points overall, including 6,5,5 from three Higher Level subjects.
BTECSee our detailed subject and grade requirements
Access HEWe consider applications from students with the Access to Higher Education Diploma. The minimum academic requirement is to achieve 60 credits overall with 45 credits at Level 3, of which 15 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher. This must include at least 6 Level 3 credits in History modules at Distinction.
GCSEMinimum five GCSE passes including English at grade C or 4.
EPQ

Alternative offers may be made to applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification.

For further information please visit: qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/entry/epq

Contextualised admissions

Our standard contextual offer: Grades BBC at A-Level. Excludes General Studies, Critical Thinking.

Our enhanced contextual offer (for care experienced students, refugee/asylum seekers or students who have completed Realising Opportunities or Access to Queen Mary): Grades BCC at A-Level. Excludes General Studies, Critical Thinking.

More information on how this information is used for a contextual offer can be found on our contextualised admissions page.

A-LevelGrades ABB at A-Level. Excludes General Studies and Critical Thinking.
IBInternational Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum of 32 points overall, including 6,5,5 from three Higher Level subjects.
BTECSee our detailed subject and grade requirements
Access HEWe consider applications from students with the Access to Higher Education Diploma. The minimum academic requirement is to achieve 60 credits overall with 45 credits at Level 3, of which 15 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher. This must include at least 6 Level 3 credits in History modules at Distinction.
GCSEMinimum five GCSE passes including English at grade C or 4.
EPQAlternative offers may be made to applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification. For further information please visit: qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/entry/epq
Contextualised admissionsOur standard contextual offer: Grades BBC at A-Level. Excludes General Studies, Critical Thinking.

Our enhanced contextual offer (for care experienced students, refugee/asylum seekers or students who have completed Realising Opportunities or Access to Queen Mary): Grades BCC at A-Level. Excludes General Studies, Critical Thinking.

More information on how this information is used for a contextual offer can be found on our contextualised admissions page.

Non-UK students

We accept a wide range of European and international qualifications in addition to A-levels, the International Baccalaureate and BTEC qualifications. Please visit International Admissions for full details.

If your qualifications are not accepted for direct entry onto this degree, consider applying for a foundation programme.

English language

Find out more about our English language entry requirements, including the types of test we accept and the scores needed for entry to the programme.

You may also be able to meet the English language requirement for your programme by joining a summer pre-sessional programme before starting your degree.

Further information

See our general undergraduate entry requirements.

Funding

Loans and grants

UK students accepted onto this course are eligible to apply for tuition fee and maintenance loans from Student Finance England or other government bodies.

Scholarships and bursaries

Queen Mary offers a generous package of scholarships and bursaries, which currently benefits around 50 per cent of our undergraduates.

Scholarships are available for home, EU and international students. Specific funding is also available for students from the local area. International students may be eligible for a fee reduction. We offer means-tested funding, as well as subject-specific funding for many degrees.

Find out what scholarships and bursaries are available to you.

Support from Queen Mary

We offer specialist support on all financial and welfare issues through our Advice and Counselling Service, which you can access as soon as you have applied for a place at Queen Mary.

Take a look at our Student Advice Guides which cover ways to finance your degree, including:

  • additional sources of funding
  • planning your budget and cutting costs
  • part-time and vacation work
  • money for lone parents.

Careers

As a School of History graduate, you can apply your degree knowledge directly to a career in museums, education or the arts and heritage sector. Our graduates are also highly employable in other sectors and commonly enter roles in publishing, journalism, policy, consumer and social research, management consulting and the Civil Service – making use of skills gained from the programme, including verbal and written communication, research, critical analysis and attention to detail.

Recent graduates from the School of History have been hired by:

  • Bank of England
  • Croud Marketing
  • Deutsche Bank
  • Gillamor Stephens
  • J.P. Morgan
  • LexisNexis

Career support

The School of History has a dedicated Careers Consultant who can offer specialist advice. We hold an annual ‘History Futures’ event where you can meet former students and discover how their studies have helped them progress in their career.

The Queen Mary careers team can also offer:

  • advice on choosing a career path
  • support with finding work experience, internships and graduate jobs
  • feedback on CVs, cover letters and application forms
  • interview coaching.

Learn more about career support and development at Queen Mary.

Data for these courses

History and International Relations - BA (Hons)

History and International Relations with Year Abroad - BA (Hons)

The Discover Uni dataset (formerly Unistats)

About the Schools

School of History

The School of History is one of the top 100 in the World according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021. Our staff are at the forefront of research in their respective fields - world-leading scholars engaged in innovative teaching and bringing history to the wider public on TV and radio. 

School of Politics and International Relations

We’re a growing School invested in high-quality teaching, and we pride ourselves on our friendly and informal approach. Our London location is home to the nation’s Parliament, political think tanks and economic powerhouses, we host high-profile speakers, and we offer students regular contact with Westminster, Whitehall and the third sector.

Our staff are active researchers with diverse interests, from British politics to the Middle East, which is reflected in our teaching and the breadth of our programmes.

Back to top