In this degree you obtain a thorough grounding in the fields of modern history and politics, and will consider how the two disciplines can be integrated. You take an Introduction to Politics module alongside your history modules in your first year, and continue to combine modern history and politics modules in your second and third years. There is a range of relevant options to choose from in both departments and you choose to write your final-year dissertation in either politics or history.

In your history modules you investigate the intersection of the ideas, cultures and economics of different people over the last 200 years of western history. You're introduced to the relationship between today's ‘modern' world, which assumes the significance of political liberty, global interdependence and sexuality, and events and ideas which originated in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Always seeking political cause and effect, our course casts light on aspects of life you might never ordinarily connect to politics and government. You investigate the scope of political science as a field of inquiry, and the methods used by political scientists, in order to explore questions concerning both what does occur in politics, and what should occur in politics.

You study topics including:

Democratic systems

Political power

Concepts in political science: state, laws, wars and political parties

The spread of communist-inspired revolutions in China, Russia, and Latin America

The origins and consequences of the Cold War

Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course.

Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised.

Placement year

When you arrive at Essex, you can decide whether you would like to combine your course with a placement year. You will be responsible for finding your placement, but with support and guidance provided by both your department and our Employability and Careers Centre.

If you complete a placement year you'll only pay 20% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year.