LSE – Columbia University Double Degree in International and World History

About the MA programme

Our world is more interconnected than ever. We call it globalisation, but without good histories to explain how we got here, we cannot begin to know where we are heading.

This master's programme at Columbia and LSE will ask students to explore our world by studying the forces that have been remaking it: migration, trade, technological revolutions, epidemic disease, environmental change, wars and diplomacy.

Working with preeminent historians in the field, students will analyse large-scale historical processes, pursue empirical research, and produce their own comparative and cross-cultural histories.

While many dual degree students go on to undertake PhDs, some choose to apply the insights gained to a career outside of academia, including journalism, public policy, non-profit, or the private sector.

International and World History

The study of international and world history - as opposed to the study of the exclusive histories and historiographies of industrial countries - is an emerging field of research that is slowly changing our perspectives on the development of politics and societies. These developments are seen as inseparably linked to the movement of people and ideas back and forth across oceans and territories.

The internationalisation of the study of history has also led to a renewed interest in what larger regions of the world have in common – and in what separates them from each other – in terms of political concepts and cultural values. As a result, the study of encounters between states or societies has gone through several new phases, which together have revolutionised our understanding of cultural and economic dissemination as well as of war, diplomacy, empires and transnational institutions. Finally, efforts are being made to integrate the histories of ethnicity and gender into this internationalising framework and to study the influence of these aspects of human history upon both peaceful cooperation and exchange and upon forms of violent conflict.

The further development of the study of international history in this broad sense depends on the internationalisation of the training and skills of the next generation of experts. The LSE - Columbia University Double Degree in International and World History draws on the faculties of two of the world's leading centres of international affairs, which have the expertise and commitment to provide the training and skills needed. It offers close contact in seminars and colloquia with mentors in different intellectual and cultural settings in two global cities.

Studying at LSE and Columbia

In London, the LSE - Columbia Double Degree in International and World History is run by LSE's International History Department in association with IDEAS: the LSE Centre for Diplomacy and Strategy. In New York, the degree is run by the Columbia History Department. It provides the chance to study international and world history from the early modern era up to today in an environment that emphasises broad study, global perspectives, and intellectual debate.

The heart of the MA programme is a two-year sequence of courses taken at Columbia and LSE that will result in the production of a master's dissertation by the end of the second year.

The programme offers numerous benefits:

• A two-year MA in two of the top universities for history and the social sciences. At Columbia and LSE, students will have the opportunity to take courses in several subject areas as well as in other world-class departments, while at the same time engaging in rigorous language training.
• A research oriented programme which goes far beyond classroom study. Students will design original projects while working closely with staff who together offer expertise in an immense variety of geographical regions and research methodologies.
• Engagement with vibrant intellectual communities, including the opportunity to participate in seminars, debates, and public lectures offered by IDEAS at LSE and the Centre for International History at Columbia.
• Flexibility to tailor programmes to diverse interests and divergent career paths. Those with a history background can focus on cutting-edge fields of research and prepare themselves for PhD study. Others can develop historical expertise, writing skills, and language training as part of a career in international affairs. The programme is designed to attract a diverse student body with complementary interests, including teaching, journalism, public or private administration.
• The opportunity to develop life-long contacts on both sides of the Atlantic, using LSE and Columbia as launching pads for careers combining intellectual and professional development. 

Year one: Columbia 

In the first year of the programme students must complete 30 points, including the first two semesters of the two-year sequence of core courses. At least 22 of these points must be courses in the History Department taken for letter grade credit, including the two required courses. Most students must also take a course (or courses) to meet their language requirement (see below). Students can also take courses outside of the History Department, provided that both the MA academic director (Dr Line Lillevik) and the course director approve.

In February of their first year, students identify a topic for their thesis. When the students have finalised their thesis topics in Theory and Practice of International and World History, one Columbia adviser and one LSE adviser are designated to advise and guide them through completion of the thesis in year two at LSE. 

The two-year core sequence begins with Approaches to International and Global History, which introduces the conceptual possibilities and problems of international and world history. In the second semester students take Theory and Method of International and World History, a series of practical workshops including training in the use of archives and other primary sources, the organisation and documentation of research, and presentation and publication of findings. 

Core courses

• Approaches to International and Global History
• Theory and Method of International and World History

Options

History Department options at Columbia vary significantly from semester to semester. Up-to-date course offerings can be found on Columbia University's Directory of Classes|.

The directory lists courses taught by Columbia History faculty and Barnard History faculty separately, even though both Columbia and Barnard courses are open to students from all divisions of the University. Please check both listings in order to get a complete picture of the offerings for the current semester. More detailed descriptions can be found at www.columbia.edu/cu/history|

Please note that the course offerings for the Fall semester will be available in mid-March. Each course mentioned runs for a semester only, and some require the permission of the instructor. 

Year two: LSE 

The requirement for the second year in London is completion of four units including the last part of the two-year sequence of core courses (one unit). Students will take courses to the value of three full units.

Core course

Having continued their research over the summer, upon arrival at LSE all students enroll in a year-long Dissertation Workshop, which completes the sequence of core courses. The dissertation – a master's thesis in the American system – must be no more than 15,000 words in length; it is supervised and assessed at LSE in accordance with its MSc regulations.

During their first year at Columbia, students will submit a historiographical essay, and an annotated bibliography, related to the topic of dissertation/thesis chosen for the second year. In February of their year at Columbia, students identify a topic of their dissertation/thesis. Columbia faculty contact and consult LSE colleagues who will supervise the dissertation/thesis in the second year. The length of the historiographical essay and annotated bibliography will be determined by Columbia University.

Options

(* half unit)

Choose a total of three full units from the following list:

• Crisis Decision-Making in War and Peace, 1914-1991 
• European Integration in the 20th Century 
• Presidents, Public Opinion, and Foreign Policy: From Roosevelt to Reagan, 1933-1989
• Empire, Colonialism and Globalisation
• The Napoleonic Empire: The Making of Modern Europe?
• Anglo-American Relations from World War to Cold War, 1939-91
• From Cold Warriors to Peacemakers: The End of the Cold War Era, 1979-1999
• Cultural Encounters From the Renaissance to the Modern World
• The Rise and Fall of Communism in Europe, 1917-1990
• Political Islam: From Ibn Taymiyya to Osama Bin Laden
• Race, Violence and Colonial Rule in Africa
• Persecution in Europe: From Witch-hunts to Ethnic Cleansing  
• East Asia in the Age of Imperialism, 1839-1945  
• The Origins of the Cold War, 1917-1962
• Crises and Détente in the Cold War, 1962-1979
• The International History of the Balkans since 1939: State Projects, Wars, and Social Conflict 
• India and the World Economy+
• International Migration, 1500-2000: From Slavery to Asylum+ 
• African Economic Development in Historical Perspective+
• History of Economics: from Moral Philosophy to Social Science+
• Scientific, Technical and Useful Knowledge from Song China to the Industrial Revolution+
• Shipping and Sea Power in Asian Waters, c1600-1860+ 
• Labour and Work in Preindustrial Europe*+
• Epidemics: Epidemic Disease in History, 1348-2000*+
• War Cultures, 1890-1945
• Western Intellectuals and the Challenge of Totalitarianism
• The Emergence of Modern Iran: State Society and Diplomacy 
• Media and Politics, 1890-c.1970/80 (UK, Germany and the US)

+ Regarding Economic History (EH) courses only: it may be possible to take further options among EH courses with the agreement of the course teacher responsible and the programme director of the Double Degree. Students should note that some core courses in EH degree programmes are closed to students on other programmes.

One of the above may be replaced by a further course from other LSE departments (subject to agreement with the programme director and teacher responsible for the course).

Compulsory language requirement

Those who are unable to pass a translation exam in a language other than English upon arrival at Columbia will need to commit to taking two years of language training at Columbia and at the LSE Language Centre.

Those able to pass one translation exam in a language other than English upon arrival at Columbia can complete the requirement in either of two ways:

1. By taking one year of language training at Columbia or at the LSE Language Centre. These can either be more advanced courses in the same language or a second language appropriate to their research interests.
2. Passing a second translation exam during the first year at Columbia.

Note: students may also substitute external summer language classes for courses offered at LSE and Columbia summer language training can replace up to one year of language credits.

Students who are able to pass two translation exams in languages other than English by the end of their first year at Columbia will be exempt from having to take language courses at either Columbia or LSE.