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History, Politics and International Relations BA (Hons)

Explore, debate, and analyse the pivotal events and ideas that have shaped the modern world, both through contemporary global history and within the dynamic landscape of international politics.

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Block teaching designed around you

You deserve a positive teaching and learning experience, where you feel part of a supportive and nurturing community. That’s why most students will enjoy an innovative approach to learning using block teaching, where you will study one module at a time. You’ll benefit from regular assessments - rather than lots of exams at the end of the year - and a simple timetable that allows you to engage with your subject and enjoy other aspects of university life such as sports, societies, meeting friends and discovering your new city. By studying with the same peers and tutor for each block, you’ll build friendships and a sense of belonging.

Read more about block teaching

Overview

Our programme is diverse, international in focus, and innovative. You will develop the skills needed for effective research and analysis, honing your ability to understand, communicate, and critically analyse complex information.

Reflecting the globalised world we live in, the History curriculum covers a wide range of modern and contemporary European and non-European histories. Topics explored include colonialism, decolonisation, immigration, ethnic minorities, racism, and gender.

You will also gain a deeper understanding of the role politics plays at local, national, and global levels, while exploring key issues in contemporary international politics that are shaping our world. Our research-informed curriculum provides both practical tools and theoretical knowledge to help you understand and respond to the social, political, and economic challenges we face today.

As you progress through the course, we will challenge you with more in-depth explorations as the subject matter becomes increasingly complex. You can choose to specialise in History, Politics, or International Relations, all while being supported by a passionate teaching team in dynamic learning environments.

Key features

  • Combine the study of history with politics and international relations modules, enhancing your employability across three disciplines and preparing you for diverse career paths.
  • Explore distinctive areas such as photographic history, the history of sport and leisure, war and conflict, migration, ethnicity, and racism.
  • Choose to specialise in your area of interest: History, Politics or International Relations, tailoring your degree to your personal goals and passions.
  • Develop a wide range of transferable skills by learning how to research and communicate complex information effectively, preparing you for postgraduate study or employment across various sectors. Our graduates use these skills to forge successful careers across a range of professions including teaching, the law, marketing and the heritage and museum sector.
  • Benefit from expert teaching delivered by our team of renowned academics, as well as gain wider knowledge and insight through organised trips to archives and museums such as The National Archives in London.
  • DMU is the only university in the UK to hold both ‘Congress to Campus’ and ‘European Parliament to Campus’ events, featuring visits from prominent political figures to enhance your study experience.
  • Apply your skills in a real-world context through a placement. Previous students have gained professional experience at a large regional newspaper, Leicester’s award-winning King Richard III Visitor Centre, the House of Commons and local governments.
  • Benefit from block teaching, where most students study one subject at a time. A simple timetable will allow you to really engage with your learning, receive regular feedback and assessments, get to know your course mates and enjoy a better study-life balance.

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  • UK
  • EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: LVF2

Duration: Three years full-time, four years full-time with a placement. Six years part-time.

Fees and funding: 

2025/26 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

Find out more about tuition fees and available funding.

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

How to apply

Order a prospectus

Book an Open Day

Submit a study-related enquiry

Duration: Three years full-time, four years with placement.

Fees and funding: 

2024/25 tuition fees for international students: £15,750

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

How to apply

Order a prospectus

Submit a study-related enquiry

Entry criteria

Typical entry requirements

  • 112 points from at least 2 A levels or
  • BTEC Extended Diploma DMM or
  • International Baccalaureate: 26+ Points or
  • T Levels Merit

Plus five GCSEs grades 9-4 including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above.

  • Pass Access with 30 level 3 credits at Merit and GCSE English (Language or Literature) at grade 4 or above.

We will normally require students to have had a break from education from full-time education before undertaking the Access course.

  • We also accept the BTEC First Diploma plus two GCSEs including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above

Interview required: No

English language requirements

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential.

English language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

 

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessments

First year

Block 1: Ideas and Change

Block 2: Journeys and Places

Block 3: Global Challenges

Block 4: Ideology, War and Society in the 20th century 

Second year

Block 1: Global Cold War

Block 2: Exploring Work and Society

Block 3: Not in Westminster OR Global Political Economy

Block 4: Investigating the Past: Theory and Method OR Political Research in Action

Third year

Block 1: Special subject

Block 2: Empire and its Aftermath OR Decolonising Politics

Block 3: Tackling Global Crises

Block 4: History OR Politics Dissertation

See detailed module information


Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

 

Overview

Teaching is interactive and engaging, encouraging you to develop your own thoughts, ideas, and viewpoints. Throughout the course, key skills essential for historical study and the modern workplace are cultivated.

Modules are designed to enhance the abilities needed to become an effective historian, from analysis and research to reasoning and evaluation. These modules also help develop skills and characteristics that boost employability across a wide range of careers.

Taught by experts in the field, the history staff are nationally and internationally recognised for the quality of their teaching and research.

Assessment methods are varied and include pair and group work, primary source analysis, presentations, portfolios, podcasts or videos, essay writing, exams, and individual project work, culminating in a dissertation. Assessments build on each other as the course progresses, with regular opportunities for feedback. This diverse range of assessment types allows you to develop your individual strengths while building skills in creativity, project management, teamwork, verbal communication, writing for various audiences, and the use of different technologies.

Contact hours

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, workshops, group work, and self-directed study. You will normally attend around 9 hours of timetabled taught sessions each week, and we expect you to undertake at least 28 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.

 

Facilities and features

Placements

Library and learning zones

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available. You will also benefit from access DMU’s historical collections, such as the Stephen Lawrence Papers, the Ski Club of GB archive and the Kodak collection, held at the library.

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose. 

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including the Virtual Learning Environment, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub. 

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

Campus Centre

The home of  De Montfort Students' Union, (DSU) our Campus Centre offers a welcoming and lively hub for student life. Conveniently located at the heart of campus, it includes a convenience store, a Subway and a Starbucks. Here you can find the DSU-owned charitable accommodation service Sulets and DSU’s shop, SUpplies, selling art supplies, stationery and clothing, and printing and binding services. The building is also home to the DSU officer team. 

Opportunities and careers

Find the people who will open doors for you

DMU's award-winning careers service provides guaranteed work experience opportunities DMU Careers Team
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Placements

This course gives you the option to enhance and build your professional skills to progress within your chosen career, through a placement. Our dedicated team offers a range of careers resources and opportunities so you can start planning your future.

Students Kayleigh Cardy and Cory Hancock secured year-long placements as English language teaching assistants in Spain though DMU’s Erasmus+ programme. Kayleigh said: “It’s been so much more than a placement. I’ve travelled, I’ve learnt about a whole new culture and I’ve grown as a person. It’s highlighted what I can achieve when I set my mind to something and I feel better prepared for my final year of university as I’m more independent and confident.”

Students on the #DMUglobal trip to New York

DMU Global

This is our innovative international experience programme which aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons – helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world.

Through DMU Global you can take advantage of a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

History students have learnt about Jewish immigrant life in New York, discovered Danish heritage in Copenhagen and explored the legacies of authoritarian rule in Berlin.

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Graduate careers

Employability skills are embedded in the curriculum to prepare you for a range of careers both related to your subject and in wider industries. Our  graduates have gone on to forge successful careers in various professions, such as in teaching, law, public relations, marketing, journalism, civil service and the heritage and museum sectors, including roles such as: 

  • Deputy Manager at the National Waterways Museum
  • Communication and Marketing Executive at Cambridge University Press
  • Associate at multinational law firm Eversheds Sutherland
  • Head of History at a high school 

Graduates also have the opportunity to undertake further studies such as Sports History and Culture MA at DMU.

Recent History graduate, Jessica, is now undertaking a PhD at DMU. She said: “The staff were clearly enthusiastic about their subjects and it felt like a vibrant department to be part of. I felt supported by my personal tutor and subject tutors; they were always there to ask about further reading or something I wasn't clear on, as well as individual support.”

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