Department of International History, 1972
LSE's Department of International History teaches and conducts research on the international history of Britain, Europe and the world from the early modern era up to the present day. The department has a staff of 26, around 150 post-graduate students and 200 undergraduates. Its academic excellence and the cosmopolitan nature of the teaching staff and the student body contribute to making the LSE one of the world's leading centres for the study of international history.
In the last round of the UK's national Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) in 2008, the results place LSE's history departments as joint fourth-best in the country based on the proportion of top-rated research. 35 per cent of research activity was deemed world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour. A further 30 per cent of research was deemed internationally excellent.
The Department of International History is an ideal location for those wishing to explore world history. The courses offered, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels cover a wide range of cultures and periods, and allow students to build upon and move beyond the nationally based histories normally taught at school and in many other universities. The opportunities to study single countries in greater depth are thus flanked by the option of examining wider regions (the Middle East for example) or movements and trends which affect numerous countries (nationalism, the Cold War, European integration). Particular areas of expertise include Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, India, Japan and the United States.
The Department's teaching builds upon a long-standing tradition and it retains the reputation as one of the leading world centres for the study of international history. The current staff have all built up a considerable expertise in one or more regions of the world, are actively involved in international research, and bring their knowledge and experience to bear in their teaching and their supervision.
The cosmopolitan nature of the student body itself only reinforces the LSE's claim to be an ideal centre for international history. Amongst the nationalities represented in the current student body are members of different European nations, the Americas, Sri Lankans, Russians, Chinese, Armenians, Chileans, Israelis, Icelanders and South Africans. As a result, any class discussion of past and present international controversies is enriched by a wide range of national viewpoints and perspectives. Being situated in central London itself further strengthens this international approach, since the surrounding city is cosmopolitan in both outlook and population. It not only hosts a rich mixture of cultural events, but is also well equipped with the libraries and archives that are crucial to the study of history.
LSE thus represents a logical choice as a location for the study of international history, at undergraduate, Masters, or research student level.
To see if you are suited to the study of International History at LSE, please see Why Study History?|
