Year 1

Core modules

• Barbarism and Civilisation: Medieval and Early Modern Europe
• The Shock of the Modern
• Key Concepts in International Relations (double module)
• Order and Disorder: International Relations from 1989 to the Present

Option modules

Choose one option module from:

• Power in the World Economy

Then choose two option modules from:

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

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

Core modules

• Perceiving the Past
• Becoming the Historical Researcher

Option modules

You will then choose one History module and four International Relations modules.

You can choose:

• One module from List 1 plus two modules from List 2 plus two modules from List 4, or
• One module from List 3 plus three modules from List 2 plus one module from List 4.

List 1: History modules

• Religious History
• Histories of Violence
• Blood, Position and Power: The Nobility of Later Medieval England, 1066-1485
• Madness, Monarchy and Politics in Georgian Britain
• Jack-the-Ripper: Crime, Popular Culture and Policing in Victorian Times
• Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union

List 2: International Relations modules

• International Theory
• The Making of Contemporary US Foreign Policy
• 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
• The Latin World: Ancient, Medieval and Modern
• 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: International Relations modules

• European Union Politics
• International Security Studies
• The Making of Contemporary US Foreign Policy
• 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 (International Relations dissertation)

If you plan to take the International Relations Dissertation in your Final Year, you will take these three modules:

Core modules

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

Option modules

You will then choose two International Relations modules and three History modules. You can choose any of the following combinations:

• One module from Lists 1/2 plus one module from List 3 plus two modules from Lists 4/5 plus one module from List 6 - at least one History module must be from either List 1 or List 4
• Two modules from Lists 1/2 plus one module from Lists 4/5 plus two modules from List 6 - at least one History module must be from either List 1 or List 4
• Two modules from List 3 plus three modules from Lists 4/5 - at least one History module must be from List 4

List 1: History modules

• Religious History
• Histories of Violence

List 2: History modules

• Blood, Position and Power: The Nobility of Later Medieval England, 1066-1485
• Madness, Monarchy and Politics in Georgian Britain
• Jack-the-Ripper: Crime, Popular Culture and Policing in Victorian Times
• Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union

List 3: International Relations modules 

• International Theory
• The Making of Contemporary US Foreign Policy
• Sex and Gender in Global Politics
• Politics of the Global South

List 4: History modules

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

List 5: History modules

• The Latin World: Ancient, Medieval and Modern
• 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 6: International Relations modules

• European Union Politics
• International Security Studies
• Foreign Policy Analysis
• 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.

Politics and International Relations at Leicester 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:

• Université de Strasbourg, France
• Universiteit Leiden, Netherlands
• Maastricht University, 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:

• Deakin University, Australia
• Flinders University, Australia
• La Trobe University, Australia
• 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.

Year 3 (History dissertation)

Core module

• History dissertation

Option modules

If you take the History dissertation in your Final Year, you will choose:

• either one History module and four International Relations modules 
• or two History modules and three International Relations modules.

You can choose:

• One module from List 1 plus two modules from List 2 plus two modules from List 4, or
• Three modules from List 2 plus one module from List 3 plus one module from List 4, or
• Two modules from List 1 plus one module from List 2 plus two modules from List 4, or
• One module from List 1 plus two modules from List 2 plus one module from List 3 plus one module from List 4, or
• Three modules from List 2 plus two modules from List 3.

List 1: History modules

• The USA and the Vietnam War
• Fourteenth Century Crisis in England? Politics and Society 1297-1413
• Crime and Punishment in African American History
• Disasporas and Migrations in the Modern World
• From Empire to Nation: Modern South Asia, c. 1857-1947
• Gender, Crime and Deviance in Eighteenth Century Britain

List 2: International Relations modules

• The Politics of War and Peace: Northern Ireland After 1972
• American Political Development
• The Politics of Intelligence
• The Politics of Nuclear Weapons
• The Politics of Contemporary British Foreign Policy
• Politics of the International Drug Trade
• International Migration in the Age of Securitisation
• Corruption, Informality and Scandals
• Emotions in Conflict and Cooperation

List 3: History modules

• The Imperial Economy: Britain and the Wider World, 1815-1914
• What Difference Did the War Make? British Society and the Great War, 1900-1939
• Women in American Society from the Civil War to First World War
• Clothing and Fashion in Historical Perspective. Case Studies of Modern European History in Transnational Context
• When Two Dragons Fight: China and Japan at War in the Twentieth Century
• Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, c1350-1650
• The Medieval Natural World

List 4: International Relations modules

• The Changing Character of War
• Global Justice and Human Rights
• Political Legacies of Conflict in Northern Ireland
• Democracy and EU Membership in Post-Communist Europe
• Politics and War in Outer Space
• Gender, Race and War
• Strategy and International Security

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 3 (International Relations dissertation)

Core module

• Dissertation

Option modules

If you take the International Relations dissertation in your Final Year, you will choose:

• either one International Relations module and four History modules
• or two International Relations modules and three History modules. 

The History modules in List C are ‘special subjects’ and are each equivalent to three regular modules.

You can choose:

• Two modules from List 1 plus one module from List 2 plus two modules from List 3, or
• Three modules from List 1 plus one module from List 3 plus one module from List 4, or
• One module from List 1 plus two modules from List 2 plus two modules from List 3, or
• Two modules from List 1 plus one module from List 2 plus one module from List 3 plus one module from List 4, or
• Three modules from List 1 plus two modules from List 4, or
• One module from List 1 plus one module from List 2 plus one module from List 5, or
• Two modules from List 2 plus one module from List 5

List 1: History modules

• The USA and the Vietnam War
• Fourteenth Century Crisis in England? Politics and Society 1297-1413
• Crime and Punishment in African American History
• Disasporas and Migrations in the Modern World
• From Empire to Nation: Modern South Asia, c. 1857-1947
• Gender, Crime and Deviance in Eighteenth Century Britain

List 2: International Relations modules

• The Politics of War and Peace: Northern Ireland After 1972
• American Political Development
• The Politics of Intelligence
• The Politics of Nuclear Weapons
• The Politics of Contemporary British Foreign Policy
• Politics of the International Drug Trade
• International Migration in the Age of Securitisation
• Corruption, Informality and Scandals
• Emotions in Conflict and Cooperation

List 3: History modules

• The Imperial Economy: Britain and the Wider World, 1815-1914
• What Difference Did the War Make? British Society and the Great War, 1900-1939
• Women in American Society from the Civil War to First World War
• Clothing and Fashion in Historical Perspective. Case Studies of Modern European History in Transnational Context
• When Two Dragons Fight: China and Japan at War in the Twentieth Century
• Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, c1350-1650
• The Medieval Natural World

List 4: International Relations modules

• The Changing Character of War
• Global Justice and Human Rights
• Political Legacies of Conflict in Northern Ireland
• Democracy and EU Membership in Post-Communist Europe
• Politics and War in Outer Space
• Gender, Race and War
• Strategy and International Security

List 5: History modules

• The French Revolution, 1789-1804 
• Ideals of Womanhood in Nineteenth-Century America 1
• From Gin Lane to Westminster: politics, culture and society in the age of Walpole
• The British Anti-Slavery Movement 1787-1833 
• Israel/Palestine: The Story of a Land 1882 to the present
• The Presidency of Franklin D Roosevelt
• The Cause: Women's Suffrage Movement in Britain c.1897-1918
• Genocides and Mass Violence in Europe and its Colonies in the 20th Century
• Church, State and Belief in Soviet Russia, 1941-1991
• After Hitler: Culture and the Politics of the Nazi Past in the Two Germanies, 1945-1990
• Poverty and Welfare in Britain 1597 to the Present
• Beauty, Sex and Science: Whose Body is it Anyway? C. 1551-2015

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.