The degree involves studying courses to the value of 12 units over three years, plus LSE100.
Language specialism
Students who have taken and passed at least one language course in each year of their degree (i.e., 25 per cent of their overall programme of study) will be offered the opportunity to receive a language specialism attached to their degree certificate and transcript. Students must take all courses in the same language (French, Spanish, German, Mandarin or Russian) in order to qualify for the specialism. The three courses must also be consecutively harder in level, for example: beginner, intermediate and advanced. Students who choose to take language courses are not obligated to receive a specialism, but have the option if they wish. Degree certificates which include a language specialism will state the language in the title, for example: BA in History with French.
First year
In the first year you will take one core course, Historical Approaches to the Modern World. You will also choose two courses from four options, and either a further history course from the four options or an approved outside option. In addition, you will also take LSE100.
(* denotes a half unit course)
Historical Approaches to the Modern World
Provides a foundation to allow first-year historians to come to grips with the many different ways in which historians pursue their craft.
Two from:
From Empire to Independence: the Extra-European World in the Twentieth Century
Offers an introductory survey of events outside Europe in the twentieth century.
Faith, Power and Revolution: Europe and the Wider World c1500-1800
Introduces the international political, religious, military and economic history of the early modern period.
International Politics since 1914: Peace and War
Provides an overview of international politics since the early twentieth century, focusing on the origins, course, and impact of the two world wars and the Cold War.
The Internationalisation of Economic Growth, 1870 to the Present Day
Examines the inter-relationships between the development of the international economy and the growth of national economies since the late nineteenth century.
Either
One further course from those above, not already taken
Or
One approved outside option
LSE100*
A half unit, running across Michaelmas and Lent Term in the first year, LSE100 is compulsory for all LSE undergraduate students, and is designed to build your capacity to tackle multidimensional problems through research-rich education.
Second year
In the second year you will take a range of history courses from approved lists. You will also take an approved outside option.
One history option
Either
Latin America and the International Economy
Examines the development trajectory of Latin America and its relation with the international economy from the Early Modern period (c. 1700) to the present.
Or
The Making of an Economic Superpower: China since 1850
Provides a survey of long-term economic change in China from the mid-nineteenth century to the present.
Or
One history option from an approved list.
One approved outside option
One from:
The Origins of Growth
This course explores the origins of modern economic growth through major themes such as life, love, death, place and inheritance.
The Rights of Man: the History of Human Rights Discourse from the Antigone to Amnesty International
Seeks to explore an (inevitably selective) range of these historical contexts in order to demonstrate the continuity of perennial themes of conflict between the claims of individual actors and corporate institutions, whether states, churches, empires or other institutions, while also showing how and when key changes take place in the recognition of rights of political action, conscience, property ownership, gender identity and workers’ rights etc.
Islamic Empires, 1400-1800
Examines the Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires, and the larger world of which they were part, from their origins in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries to their ‘decline’ in the eighteenth century.
The History of Russia, 1682-1825
Provides an introduction to the history of Russia in all its major aspects from the reign of Peter I to the accession of Nicholas I.
Napoleon and Europe
Much of Europe was covered by the Napoleonic Empire and its impact was felt on all of Europe and parts of the non-European world. The course is taught thematically and also by country/geographical area.
From Tea to Opium: China and the Global Market in the Long Eighteenth Century
Using both primary and secondary sources, this course examines the history of production, circulation and consumption of a variety of commodities that were exported from and imported to China. If we agree that a commodity has its own social life and history, then we can also examine its story in order to complicate our understanding of China's role and significance in the global market throughout the long eighteenth century.
Travel, Pleasure and Politics: The European Grand Tour 1670-1825
Discusses the practical challenges of eighteenth-century travel, the political, religious, and cultural contexts of the Tour, as well as the key places to visit and the reasons for their popularity.
The European Enlightenment, c.1680-1799
Introduces the Enlightenment, the period in which the new intellectual disciplines emerged independent of state and church control and in which thinkers turned to debates about the place of reason in political and social reform, an end to censorship, torture, and hierarchical social models.
Enslavement, Commerce, and Political Formations in West Africa, c. 1550-1836
What role did West Africa and West Africans play in the Atlantic world? This module investigates how African political communities formed and changed from the rise of the transatlantic slave trade to the age of revolutions.
Third year
In your third year you will take three history options or two history options plus an approved outside option. You will also research and write a 10,000 word dissertation on a topic of your choice.
Either
Three history options
Or
Two history options
And
One approved outside option
Dissertation
For the most up-to-date list of optional courses please visit the relevant School Calendar page.
Where regulations permit, you may also be able to take a language, literature or linguistics option as part of your degree. Information can be found on the Language Centre webpages.
You must note however that while care has been taken to ensure that this information is up-to-date and correct, a change of circumstances since publication may cause the School to change, suspend or withdraw a course or programme of study, or change the fees that apply to it. The School will always notify the affected parties as early as practicably possible and propose any viable and relevant alternative options. Note that the School will neither be liable for information that after publication becomes inaccurate or irrelevant, nor for changing, suspending or withdrawing a course or programme of study due to events outside of its control, which includes but is not limited to a lack of demand for a course or programme of study, industrial action, fire, flood or other environmental or physical damage to premises.
You must also note that places are limited on some courses and/or subject to specific entry requirements. The School cannot therefore guarantee you a place. Please note that changes to programmes and courses can sometimes occur after you have accepted your offer of a place. These changes are normally made in light of developments in the discipline or path-breaking research, or on the basis of student feedback. Changes can take the form of altered course content, teaching formats or assessment modes. Any such changes are intended to enhance the student learning experience. You should visit the School’s Calendar, or contact the relevant academic department, for information on the availability and/or content of courses and programmes of study. Certain substantive changes will be listed on the updated undergraduate course and programme information page