MSc Theory and History of International Relations

at London School of Economics

Programme structure
The structure of the degree is intended to ensure a good balance between International History and International Relations. You choose one broad course in each Department, before using your third option to select one of the many highly specialised courses offered by the two Departments. You then complete your degree by doing a history dissertation, which will give you a chance to conduct your own empirical research on a detailed historical case-study.

Courses

Courses to the value of three units from a range of options

Dissertation
An independent research project of 10,000 words on an approved topic of your choice

Dissertation
This component of the degree reflects our belief that Masters level history students should be willing to engage in detailed historical research. In preparing this piece of work, students are provided with guidance about how to choose an appropriate topic, how to identify and locate the necessary sources, and how to write up their research findings. This is done through a combination of departmental workshops and discussions between individual students and their dissertation supervisor. But ultimately the dissertation is a test of the research abilities and writing skills of each individual student.

While in London, students preparing dissertations can take advantage of numerous world-class research libraries and archives. These include the National Archives (formerly the Public Record Office), the British Library, the libraries of specialised schools of the University of London such as the Institute for Historical Research, the School of Oriental and African Studies, and the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, and the LSE's own library, the British Library of Political and Economic Sciences. The LSE's archive also contains much valuable research material, as do the collections of the Imperial War Museum, the Warburg Institute and many others.

Minimum requirements to be considered for a place on the course are as follows:

• A good first degree of a least at 2.1 or a GPA of 3.5 or above from an accredited university
• At least 4 years of professional experience but preferably 10
• If English is not your first language, you should possess an English language qualification such as IELTS or TOEFL. English tests must be less than two years old by 1 October in the year you intend to start your programme.Minimum scores required are: IELTS - overall score of 7.0 (6.0 in speaking and writing and 6.5 in listening and reading), or TOEFL - overall score of 107 (23 in reading and listening, 22 in writing and 20 in speaking. Note: if English is the language of instruction of your previous degree, you might be exempt from this requirement.

Every graduate student is charged a fee for their programme.

The fee covers registration and examination fees payable to the School, lectures, classes and individual supervision, lectures given at other colleges under intercollegiate arrangements and, under current arrangements, membership of the Students' Union. It does not cover living costs or travel or fieldwork.

Tuition fees 2022/23 for MSc Theory and History of International Relations
Home students: £15,816
Overseas students: £24,456

Graduate destinations
This well-known and respected programme provides an excellent preparation for careers in business, consulting, government, international agencies, the media, politics and law, or for advanced academic research.

LSE History graduates find employment in almost any job sector due to the wide range of transferable skills developed during their studies.

Very few people with a degree in History go on to work as historians, but students with a degree in International History have many skills that are in high demand today.

History students learn to read and process large amounts of information, to sift out unreliable data, to analyse and organise the material available, and to form a coherent argument orally or in writing. Students at the LSE learn to set and achieve personal goals, manage their time to meet deadlines, and have confidence speaking in public. In our knowledge-based economy, employers value these skills. Learning history is learning skills.

LSE history students continue to have one of the best rate of employability and earnings after graduation in the UK. The Complete University Guide 2020 places History at LSE 6th overall for job prospects. Guardian's University 2021 League Tables placed History at LSE in 2nd place for percentage of graduates who find graduate-level jobs, or are in further study at professional or HE level, within fifteen months of graduation. The 2019 report on Graduate Outcomes Subject by Provider from the Department for Education places History at LSE top of the table with earnings superior to any other university in the UK with 2010-11 LSE graduates' median salary at £43,200 5 years after graduating.

A report on relative labour market returns, also from the Department for Education, which calculated the difference in earnings by subject and university choice throughout Britain five years after graduation, ranked History at LSE number 1 in June 2018. The report illustrates the average impact the different universities and subjects would have on the future income of an individual. History at LSE averaged a lifetime earnings boost of £14,000 for men and £15,000 for women when compared with studying history at any other university in the UK, including Oxford, St Andrews, Cambridge, KCL and UCL.