Overview
If you want to use the latest, cutting-edge methods to understand how the world works, and want to inform these methods with deep historical knowledge, then a BSc (Hons) in International Relations and History is perfect for you. This degree programme gives you the opportunity and skills to delve into world history, but also trains you in the latest techniques to understand contemporary international affairs.
Do we have more war today than in the past? Do historical factors influence levels of democracy today? Which are the most important actors in the international system: states, or individuals? How has the nature of international affairs changed?
As well as gaining an understanding of the theory of International Relations, you will also learn empirical rigour which will give you new transferable skills. The combination of a deep understanding of history with the latest methodological developments in the quantitative study of global issues will help you to understand the relationship between numerous factors, such as war, conflict, democracy, autocracy, human rights, inequality and much more besides.
Course content
The course content is made up of a variety of subject area strands that can be studied across all three years of the programme. At every level, there are modules relating to each strand. After taking the compulsory modules in the first year, you can choose to study across a range of strands, or specialise in particular strands.
International Relations (compulsory elements): This strand equips you with tools to understand contemporary International Relations at every level. It will focus on war and peace and the ways in which we understand the international system. You will also you develop the tools for sustained research in International Relations. This will include research design on qualitative methods, such as interview techniques, as well as quantitative methods, which will give you valuable transferable skills.
International Relations (elective elements): This strand builds on the strand above. You will be able to develop expertise in war and peace, Africa, Europe, the US, terrorism and intelligence.
History (compulsory elements): This strand focuses world history. There will be a chance to explore the social, cultural and political dimensions to the formation and interaction of nations as well as important human phenomena such as exploration, migration and war. There will also be a chance to focus on what historians do and how they do it. You will look at debate, fake debate (e.g. Holocaust denial), controversy and primary sources and, in so doing, build up the skills for your dissertation.
History (elective elements): This strand builds on the strand above. You will be able to develop specialisms in the history of Africa and America or focus on diplomacy and war or study issues of race, gender and identity
Compulsory
- Africa and the World
Since 1918, Europe has experienced war, genocide, economic depression, ideological conflict and the loss of its colonial Empires, as well as wide-ranging and unprecedented social, economic, political and cultural change. This module examines this history, exploring the events that enveloped the continent, considering Europe’s interactions with the wider world, and examining the experiences of Europeans who lived through these changes.
- Conflict in the Modern World
The module aims to provide an overview of how conflicts are studied - practically show how conflicts are measured, illustrate how conflicts occur, who are involved and how they stop.
- Introduction to World Politics
This module explains why we have war, peace and events in between in the international system. It examines concepts such as power, the environment, race and gender through lenses provided by International Relations, Comparative Politics and Geopolitics. It presents the latest methods to understand world politics at the global and ultra-local levels, and begins to provide tools to understand and analyse politics on the inter and intranational levels.
- Migration and the Settler World, 1600-1914
The module explores the successive waves of overseas migration from Britain and Ireland to create settler societies around the globe between the early Stuart era and the First World War. The geographical coverage concentrates on the thirteen British colonies in North America before 1776, the Caribbean, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Together these parts of the world were the recipients of millions of British and Irish
- Modern South Asian History
This module introduces the colonial and post-colonial histories of one of the most populous regions in the world, South Asia. We focus on key political, social, religious, and cultural movements and events in the regions that became modern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and emphasise the plurality of South Asian historical experiences.
- Global London
Through focusing on the concept of ‘Global London’, this module shows you how the social sciences can enable you to better understand their lived social environment. It introduces you to the techniques used by a range of disciplines within social science for gaining and validating knowledge of the social world and equips you with an academic skill base appropriate for university study.
Compulsory
- Explaining Politics: Quantitative Political Science in Practice
This modules aims to provide students with the skills to analyse political data and introduce methods for gathering and understanding data. Students will be encouraged to critically engage with the use of existing statistical data in political discourse and demonstrate the importance of quantitative analysis in domestic and international politics.
- From Student to Scholar: Successful Research in the Modern World
Preparing students for their final year dissertation begins in the second year in From Student to Scholar: Successful Research in the Modern World. This module introduces students to a variety of analytical perspectives, research methods and techniques used in designing a research project in politics, international relations and international politics.
- Theories of International Relations
This module introduces students to major theoretical approaches in the study of International Relations. These theories are employed to examine and understand contemporary actors in world politics such as states, international organisations, non-governmental actors as well as major issues and problems such as war, terrorism, climate change or nuclear proliferation. The aim is to give students a critical understanding of IR theory
Optional
- Australia and The Modern World
The module focuses on Australia’s connections with the wider world from the European maritime voyages to the Pacific in the eighteenth century up to contemporary times. Major themes dealing with varied aspects of Australia’s role in the modern world have been selected for study.
- Climate Politics
This module aims to enable students to attain a comprehensive understanding of key concepts and theories in the politics and political economy of climate change. It will provide students with resources to assist them in making informed judgments on a range of questions and debates.
- Colonialism and Decolonization in Africa
Africa is one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented regions of the modern world. More often than not, its history is presented as a long series of human disasters, conflict, and disorder. However, Africa’s modern history is also one of resistance, and dynamic and creative responses to changing circumstances. This module examines Africa’s multifaceted history since about 1800.
- Colonialism, Migration and Global Racism
This module explores the concept, meaning and practices of ‘race’, ethnicity, racialization, and global racisms. It identifies how ‘race’ and racism have evolved over time, and in different contexts - both nationally in the contemporary UK as well as in other parts of the world.
- Comparative Electoral Systems
This module aims to provide students with an understanding of political institutions and their impact through institutional analysis and modern institutional theory and explores single case studies, cross-case and cross-temporal comparisons. The module is divided in three parts; part one covers the theoretical approaches in new institutionalism, part two covers specific institutions and part three covers the influence of institutions on policy.
- Critical Perspectives on International Development
You will gain a theoretical and historical overview of the changing relationship between anthropology and international development as you learn to understand the multiple ways in which anthropological research can enhance our understanding of contemporary policies and practices in international development.
- From Gibraltar to Suez: Britain and the Mediterranean, 1704-1956
This module assesses Britain’s strategic relationship with the broadly- defined Mediterranean region, including the Middle East, North Africa and Southern Europe, over a period of roughly 250 years. In particular, it examines British efforts to exert power and influence there from their first serious encroachment with the taking of Gibraltar in 1704, through to the Suez Crisis in 1956.
- History of the Women’s Movement in the West, c. 1790-1930
In this module students will explore the rise and progress of the ‘first wave’ women’s movement in Britain, America and Europe, from c.1790 – 1920 and develop an understanding of the ideological foundations of the women’s movement and campaign for suffrage. It will identify the relationship between the British, American and European campaigns for suffrage, and examine the campaigning strategies and networks developed by women activists.
- Insurgency and Counter-insurgency
This module examines the concept and development of insurgency and counter-insurgency from the classical period to the present, with an emphasis on the post-1789 period, especially the post-1945 wars of decolonisation. The module will conclude with the post-9/11 ‘war on terror’ and current examples of insurgency and counter-insurgency.
- Making the Social
An introduction to core concepts in social theory. The emphasis is on concepts through which students can relate to the worlds they inhabit and the lives they live, connecting these to a broad canvas: the diversity of social existence and the sweep of human history. The focus is on basic building blocks of social existence.
- National Security Intelligence
This module furnishes students with an overview to the field of national security intelligence. It also examines in greater detail intelligence collection, analysis, counterintelligence, covert action, and other selected topics.
- The State and Revolution
This module provides students with an understanding of the historical emergence of two of the central concepts of modern political thought: the state and revolution, or the constitution of political order and the process of fundamental political transformation. We study the development of these concepts in some of the major events of political modernity, from the 16th to the 19th centuries.
- Gender, Sexuality and Feminism
This module will introduce students to core ideas in feminism via the key concepts of gender and sexuality. It will develop students’ understandings of social structures, human cultures, and economic inequalities and political relationships. The course will offer theoretical tools and historical insights into gendered, feminised, and sexualised socio-cultural worlds.
Compulsory
- Dissertation in International Relations and HistoryThe final year research project provides undergraduates with the opportunity to undertake an in-depth and prolonged period of research on a topic of their choice within the field of International Relations and History. As an extended research project, this module seeks to further develop and challenge students to demonstrate a range of research, critical thinking, and communication skills.
- Advanced Research Skills for Politics and International Politics
- Advanced Research Skills for History
Optional
- Advanced Applied Quantitative Methods
This module will introduce methods suited to analysing complex political data as well as encouraging students to engage with and communicate the use of existing statistical data in the study of political science and in practical application in the political world.
- Apocalypse! Crisis and Society
Explore the social & political significance of representations of national and global crises, and public perceptions of controversies. Students analyse dystopian popular and scientific discourses that dwell on disorder and catastrophe. Indicative content includes risk, uncertainty, globalisation, the environment, disease, capitalism. Public understanding, perception and engagement with popular and scientific controversies and notions of crisis.
- Borders, Nations and Belonging in Modern Europe
From Brexit to the wall between the USA and Mexico, borders are an important part of contemporary political debate. But where do our ideas about borders come from? Why do borders represent such powerful symbols? And who makes decisions about who can and cannot cross? This module explores these questions (and others) through the history of borders in modern Europe.
- Crisis and Critique
The main aim of the module is to provide students with an understanding of some of the major socio-political crises in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and the ways in which they have been understood by political theorists.
- Critical Perspectives on International Development
You will gain a theoretical and historical overview of the changing relationship between anthropology and international development as you learn to understand the multiple ways in which anthropological research can enhance our understanding of contemporary policies and practices in international development.
- European Union Politics: Problems and Prospects
In this module students will discuss the development and functioning of the EU from its inception to the present day and be introduced to and learn to evaluate a range of theoretical perspectives on the EU’s creation, development and functioning. Students will examine a range of political problems in the European integration process, such as legitimacy, domestic and social impact, institutional and policy reform, enlargement, and future directions.
- Fascist Italy, 1919-1945: Revolution, Conflict and Collapse
This module explores the rise and fall of Fascist Italy through political, socio-cultural, economic and military perspectives, among others.
- Lawyers, Guns and Money: Making the modern world-system
This module will explore issues raised by historical and political sociology regarding the development of the modern world-system. In particular the course will focus upon the rise to dominance of Europe in the building of the modern world-system and the explanations offered for this.
- Long Walk to Freedom: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid in South Africa
Encouraging students to consider the extent to which the current situation in South Africa is a product of the colonial era, postcolonial circumstance, or Africa’s deeper past. It will familiarise students with the main developments in Africanist and South Africanist historiography and encourage students to study South African history from both an Afro-centric and European perspective.
- Making the Social
An introduction to core concepts in social theory. The emphasis is on concepts through which students can relate to the worlds they inhabit and the lives they live, connecting these to a broad canvas: the diversity of social existence and the sweep of human history. The focus is on basic building blocks of social existence.
- Psychogeography
In this module you will study the relationship between the individual and their environment, both in situ and in movement, to reconsider habitual understandings of how we live in and move through our environment.
- Religion and Power in South Asian History
What is the relationship between religious identity and social, political, military, or economic power? In this module, we examine the role that religious practice and belief has played in South Asian societies from the early modern through the contemporary era. We introduce the intersecting histories of major South Asian religions, including Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, and Buddhism, among others.
- South Asia – Societies and Development
In this module we explore the theoretical and empirical debates surrounding the politics, society and economics of South Asia as a region and its place in the larger world. We focus in particular on countries of the Indian subcontinent that were former colonies of the British Raj – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
- Terrorism and Counterterrorism
This module aims to address a series of empirical questions regarding the causes, conduct, and consequences of campaigns of terrorism in the modern world. It provides students with an understanding of a series of key debates in the social science literature.
- The Arab-Israeli Conflict
We survey the Arab-Israeli conflict, covering three overarching themes: 1) Origins of the Conflict; 2) Evolution of the Conflict; and 3) Peace and its Limits. The module covers the origins of both national movements, the development of the conflict under British rule, the major Arab-Israeli wars, peace agreements, and it ends with recent events.
- The British Maritime World, 1660-1815
The module focuses on the British Maritime World in a period that witnessed significant advances in oceanic exploration, trade and shipping and increased naval protection and supremacy. Students will cover both a broad overview of selected important topics and closer focus on varied types of primary source material.
- The Creation of the Western Alliance, 1945-1955
Students will examine from an international history perspective the process by which the NATO alliance was formed in the years following the Second World War. They will analyse and evaluate the historical evidence underpinning competing theories concerning the growth of confrontation between Britain, Western Europe, and the United States on the one hand and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the other.
- The Second World War
This module explores the military, political and socio-economic events and developments of the Second World War. Students will focus on the historiography and cultural significance of the war up to the present day and will adopt an “international history” approach by building its analysis around the interaction of states and peoples in this global conflict.
- Violence and Conflict in Eastern Africa
In this module students will explore the role of violence and conflict in the course of eastern Africa’s modern history. Students will gain an in depth understanding of the ways in which violence and conflict have influenced economy, society and polity in the modern era, through a consideration of broad themes, such as age, ethnicity, and resources, as well as specific case studies taken from across the region.
- Psychogeography
In this module you will study the relationship between the individual and their environment, both in situ and in movement, to reconsider habitual understandings of how we live in and move through our environment.
This course can be studied undefined undefined, starting in undefined.
This course has a placement option. Find out more about work placements available.
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
Read more about the structure of undergraduate degrees at Brunel.
Careers and your future
Our students pursue a wide variety of jobs after graduating. Some go into Politics and the civil service and have worked for Members of the Parliament such as John McDonnell MP, or former Labour party general secretary Baroness McDonagh. Other graduates have joined Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Home Office, GCHQ and military intelligence.
Others work in the public and private sectors, law and NGOs whilst some graduates become researchers, teachers and librarians.
UK entry requirements
2024/25 entry
- GCE A-level ABB-BBC.
- BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma DMM.
- BTEC Level 3 Diploma DM with an A-level at grade C.
- BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma M in any subject with A-levels grade BB.
- International Baccalaureate Diploma 29 points. GCSE English equivalent SL 5 or HL 4 and Mathematics SL 4 or HL 4.
- Obtain a minimum of 112 UCAS tariff points in the Access to HE Diploma with 45 credits at Level 3.
- T levels : Merit overall
A minimum of five GCSEs are required, including GCSE Mathematics grade C or grade 4 and GCSE English Language grade C or grade 4 or GCSE English Literature grade B or grade 5.
Brunel University London is committed to raising the aspirations of our applicants and students. We will fully review your UCAS application and, where we’re able to offer a place, this will be personalised to you based on your application and education journey.
Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants as well as our full GCSE requirements and accepted equivalencies in place of GCSEs.
EU and International entry requirements
English language requirements
- IELTS: 6.5 (min 5.5 in all areas)
- Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
- BrunELT: 63% (min 55% in all areas)
- TOEFL: 90 (min R18, L17, S20, W17)
You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.
Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.
Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.
Fees and funding
2024/25 entry
UK
£9,250 full-time
£1,385 placement year
International
£19,430 full-time
£1,385 placement year
Fees quoted are per year and may be subject to an annual increase. Home undergraduate student fees are regulated and are currently capped at £9,250 per year; any changes will be subject to changes in government policy. International fees will increase annually, by no more than 5% or RPI (Retail Price Index), whichever is the greater.
More information on any additional course-related costs.
See our fees and funding page for full details of undergraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.
Please refer to the scholarships pages to view discounts available to eligible EU undergraduate applicants.
Teaching and learning
You’ll be taught in lectures and seminars by academic staff who are internationally known for publishing and presenting papers worldwide. Their research is often reported in the press and media, which will help to keep your learning contemporary and cutting edge.
You’ll also benefit from the expertise of staff who are consultants to government departments including the Cabinet Office, Home Office and Ministry of Defence in the UK; the council of Europe; the Georgian Ministry of Defence and the Canadian Department of Citizenship Abroad.
Also, the proximity to the Brunel campus to central London’s world-class research facilities, the British Library, Westminster and Whitehall, means you will be best placed to immerse yourself in an established politics arena.
Should you need any non-academic support during your time at Brunel, the Student Support and Welfare Team are here to help.
Assessment and feedback
You’ll be assessed by a combination of coursework and time-limited assessments, but most of your time will be spent in private study and reading. In your final year you will produce a final dissertation on a subject of your choice under the guidance of a dissertation supervisor.
Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.