Year 1

The core modules introduce important skills and key developments in modern history and international relations. You will also choose optional modules on British, European, American or global history; different aspects of the 20th-century political order; and a People and Places option, studying one historical person or place in depth.

Core modules

• Making History (double module)
• The Shock of the Modern
• The Global Cold War: International Relations 1945-1989
• People and Places (double module)

Option modules

Choose one option module from:

• Comparative European Politics
• Order and Disorder: International Relations from 1989 to the Present

Then choose one option module from:

• Global History: Connections and Cultures in a Changing World, 1750 to the present
• Great Britain: The State We're In
• US History since 1877
• Europe 1861-1991: Emancipation and Subjugation

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Year 2 (History dissertation)

In the second year you will start transforming from a student of history into a practising historian, through core modules which enhance your critical thinking, independent research skills and intellectual creativity. You'll explore even more new areas of modern history and politics, choosing from a wide range of optional modules.

If you plan to take the History dissertation in your Final Year, you should take these modules:

Core modules

• Perceiving the Past (double module)
• Becoming the Historical Researcher (double module)

Option modules

You will also choose four option modules, one each from: List 1 (History), List 2 (Politics), List 3 (History) and List 4 (Politics).

List 1: History modules

• Religious History
• Histories of Violence
• Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union

List 2: Politics modules

• The Making of Contemporary US Foreign Policy
• Political Parties in Contemporary Britain
• Sex and Gender in Global Politics
• Politics of the Global South 

List 3: History modules

• Gender History
• Race and Ethnicity
• All Bourgeois Now? Class in History
• Enter the Dragon: Modern Chinese History, 1839-1989
• From Beer to Fraternity: Alcohol, Society, and Culture in North America
• History in the Classroom
• Living with Dictatorship: European Societies, 1918-1941
• Heritage Field Project

List 4: Politics modules

• European Union Politics
• Governing Societies in Conflict
• Latin American Politics

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Year 2 (Politics dissertation)

In the second year you will start transforming from a student of history into a practising historian, through core modules which enhance your critical thinking, independent research skills and intellectual creativity. You'll explore even more new areas of modern history and politics, choosing from a wide range of optional modules.

If you plan to take the Politics dissertation in your Final Year, you should take these modules:

Core modules

• Perceiving the Past (double module)
• Political Analysis 1: Understanding Political Science Research
• Political Analysis 2: Preparing for your Dissertation

Option modules

You will then choose four option modules:

• one from List 1 (History)
• one from List 3A/B (History)
• one from List 4 (Politics)
• and another one from List 3A/B or List 4

If you choose two List 3 History modules, there must be one from 3A and one from 3B.

NB. List 2 modules are not available if you take this route.

List 1: History modules

• Religious History
• Histories of Violence
• Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union

List 3A: History modules

• Gender History
• Race and Ethnicity
• All Bourgeois Now? Class in History

List 3B: History modules

• Enter the Dragon: Modern Chinese History, 1839-1989
• From Beer to Fraternity: Alcohol, Society, and Culture in North America
• History in the Classroom
• Living with Dictatorship: European Societies, 1918-1941
• Heritage Field Project

List 4: Politics modules

• European Union Politics
• Governing Societies in Conflict
• Latin American Politics

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Year Abroad (optional)

If you want to, you can spend your third year studying abroad at one of our partner institutions (eligibility is dependent on your academic performance in Years 1 and 2). Alternatively, you can opt to continue studying at the University and complete your degree in three years.

Studying abroad is not just for people who are interested in travelling and meeting new people. It is about acquiring life skills that are becoming increasingly significant for a wide range of jobs in our modern globalised society. Whether you go on to work in the private sector, the state sector, a non-governmental organisation, or become self-employed you will find the experience invaluable. Find out more from our Study Abroad Unit.

Please note that a year spent abroad still incurs a tuition fee, but this is much lower than for a normal year at Leicester. See our Fees and Funding section for details.

The School of History, Politics and International Relations has links with several European universities, administered through the Erasmus+ scheme. If you are eligible for a loan from Student Finance you can apply for a travel grant from them. Languages courses, at both beginners and advanced level, are available through the University’s Languages at Leicester scheme.

• For the latest information on the future of the Erasmus+ scheme at UK universities please see our Brexit microsite.

We have links with the following universities:

• Universitat de València, Spain
• Université de Strasbourg, France
• Università degli Studi di Pisa, Italy
• Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
• Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany
• Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, Netherlands
• Universiteit Ghent, Belgium
• Charles University Prague, Czech Republic

We also have links with some universities outside Europe. If you are receiving financial assistance from Student Finance your support will continue and you may also be eligible to apply for additional travel grants or scholarships. We have links with the following universities:

• Flinders University, Adelaide
• Deakin University, Melbourne
• La Trobe University, Melbourne
• Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan
• Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan
• Seoul National University, South Korea
• Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Final year (History dissertation)

Your final year is shaped entirely by your preferred areas of interest and specialisation. You will research and write an original dissertation - an independent research project of your own design - with the support of an expert supervisor. You will also choose from a wide range of optional modules that reflect the cutting-edge research expertise of your tutors.

Core module

• History dissertation

Option modules

Choose one option module from:

• The Holocaust: Genocide in Europe
• After Hitler: Society, Culture and The Politics of The Nazi Past in The Two Germanies, 1945-1990
• How Soon is Now? A Social History of Urban England, 1945-1985
• The Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Church, State and Belief in Soviet Russia, 1941-1991

Then choose one option module from:

• The American Presidency
• The Politics of War and Peace: Northern Ireland After 1972
• Parliamentary Studies
• Brexit and British Politics
• The Politics of Contemporary British Foreign Policy
• Politics of the International Drug Trade

Finally choose one option module from:

• The Conservatives: Crisis and Recovery
• American Political Development
• Political Legacies of Conflict in Northern Ireland
• Political Participation in Britain
• Democracy and EU Membership in Post-Communist Europe

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.

Final year (Politics dissertation)

Your final year is shaped entirely by your preferred areas of interest and specialisation. You will research and write an original dissertation - an independent research project of your own design - with the support of an expert supervisor. You will also choose from a wide range of optional modules that reflect the cutting-edge research expertise of your tutors.

Core modules

• Dissertation

Option modules

Choose one option module from:

• The Holocaust: Genocide in Europe
• After Hitler: Society, Culture and The Politics of The Nazi Past in The Two Germanies, 1945-1990
• How Soon is Now? A Social History of Urban England, 1945-1985
• The Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Church, State and Belief in Soviet Russia, 1941-1991

Then choose one option module from:

• The USA and the Vietnam War
• Crime and Punishment in African American History
• From Empire to Nation: Modern South Asia, c. 1857-1947
• Disasporas and Migrations in the Modern World
• The American Presidency
• The Politics of War and Peace: Northern Ireland After 1972
• Parliamentary Studies
• Brexit and British Politics
• The Politics of Contemporary British Foreign Policy
• Politics of the International Drug Trade

Finally choose one option module from:

• The Imperial Economy: Britain and the Wider World, 1815-1914
• What Difference Did the War Make? British Society and the Great War, 1900-1939
• When Two Dragons Fight: China and Japan at War in the Twentieth Century
• The Conservatives: Crisis and Recovery
• American Political Development
• Political Legacies of Conflict in Northern Ireland
• Political Participation in Britain
• Democracy and EU Membership in Post-Communist Europe

Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.