We welcome applications from the United States of America
We've put together information and resources to guide your application journey as a student from the United States of America.
Overview
Top reasons to study with us
16
16th for History
The Complete University Guide (2025)
Specialist placements in heritage organisations
Study abroad and placement opportunities
Why Lancaster?
Learn from specialists in the history of Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East, helping you gain a truly global perspective
You’ll be taught by experts from our Department of History and our Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion – and you’ll be among the first to hear their latest insights
Attend events and talks at our Centre for War and Diplomacy and the Richardson Institute for Peace Studies, the oldest peace and conflict research centre in the UK
Explore the vibrant history right on your doorstep, from museums and archives to Lancaster Castle and the Lake District
Sign up for the opportunity of a placement with a heritage organisation or an internship with an NGO or think tank to gain valuable work experience and skills.
Prepare for your future career at each stage of the programme, so you’ll be ready to launch your career in the heritage sector, local or national government, or a range of other fascinating careers.
The archives of military history. The intricate tapestry of diplomacy. The art of warfare. The complex web of state relations. Immerse yourself in a world where past events on a global stage illuminate the challenges for today’s world.
From conspiracy theories to global capitalism
Kick off the programme by addressing real-world, relevant challenges. Explore conspiracy theories in society. Unravel issues with global capitalism. And engage with topics such as terrorism and religious conflict.
Working with experts from both our Department of History and our Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion, you’ll develop an in-depth understanding of how the two subjects intertwine.
Inspiring opportunities
At Lancaster, it’s not just about attending lectures and seminars – we also care about creating a culture of learning beyond the classroom. Hear from significant guest speakers at our Richardson Institute for Peace Studies and take part in events at our Centre for War and Diplomacy. You might get to experience a live round table discussion with journalists, political scientists and historians, or take part in a field trip to Westminster.
Your future career is important to us. That’s why we focus on real-world issues and offering opportunities to add to your CV, both via the course and extra curricula opportunities. You could be developing professional skills during an internship with the Richardson Institute for Peace Studies or maybe you’ll get involved in field trips with the history society.
With modules covering a diverse range of historical periods and geographies, heritage placement opportunities, and a wealth of history on your doorstep, discover where studying History at Lancaster University could take you.
Politics and international Relations at Lancaster University
With a wealth of perspectives and specialisms at your disposal, learn how Politics and International Relations at Lancaster University could help you see beyond the headlines.
The Richardson Institute
Formed in 1959, and based in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion, the Richardson Institute is the oldest peace and conflict research centre in the UK. Since 2012 it has provided an internship programme that gives students the opportunity to work with different organisations on issues of peace and conflict.
With your ability to think critically and your skills in analysis, reasoning, project management and writing, you’ll be the type of graduate who is prepared for a very wide range of potential future careers.
As a graduate of our BA History and International Relations programme, you could apply your knowledge and experience in industries and areas such as:
Local government and parliament
The civil service and public sector
Research and teaching
The Armed Forces
Business and marketing
Publishing and journalism
Not sure what to do next? We’re here to help you determine your direction and support you in getting there. We do this by offering subject-specific support from academic tutors and career advisers.
Each year a number of our students continue to study at postgraduate level with us, by taking one of our specialised Master’s programmes.
Careers
Find out about some of the careers our alumni have entered into after graduation.
Entry requirements
These are the typical grades that you will need to study this course. This section will tell you whether you need qualifications in specific subjects, what our English language requirements are, and if there are any extra requirements such as attending an interview or submitting a portfolio.
Qualifications and typical requirements accordion
AAB
36 Level 3 credits at Distinction plus 9 Level 3 credits at Merit
We accept the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales in place of one A level, or equivalent qualification, as long as any subject requirements are met.
DDD
A level at grade B plus BTEC(s) at DD, or A levels at grade AB plus BTEC at D
35 points overall with 16 points from the best 3 HL subjects
We are happy to admit applicants on the basis of five Highers, but where we require a specific subject at A level, we will typically require an Advanced Higher in that subject. If you do not meet the grade requirement through Highers alone, we will consider a combination of Highers and Advanced Highers in separate subjects. Please contact the Admissions team for more information.
Distinction overall
Help from our Admissions team
If you are thinking of applying to Lancaster and you would like to ask us a question, complete our enquiry form and one of the team will get back to you.
Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored foundation pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University degrees. Visit the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.
Contextual admissions
Contextual admissions could help you gain a place at university if you have faced additional challenges during your education which might have impacted your results. Visit our contextual admissions page to find out about how this works and whether you could be eligible.
Course structure
Lancaster University offers a range of programmes, some of which follow a structured study programme, and some which offer the chance for you to devise a more flexible programme to complement your main specialism.
Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, and the University will make every reasonable effort to offer modules as advertised. In some cases changes may be necessary and may result in some combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.
This module is taught across the whole of the academic year and is designed to extend and deepen your understanding of the past, simultaneously equipping you with the cognitive, analytical, and digital skills needed to study history. The module will provide both a survey of the last two thousand years of history, and an introduction to the issues and challenges involved in attempting to know and understand the past.
The module is organised to provide a rounded and multi-dimensional introduction to the discipline of history. We will help you to understand humanity through its past, but also to understand which elements of human life resonate with you: people’s conflict or their co-operation; their sense of self or their altruism; their hierarchies or their destructiveness; their peculiarity or how recognisable the past can be.
This module includes three components:
The first introduces you to broad patterns of continuity and change within the standard chronological division of history: Ancient, Medieval, Early Modern and Modern.
The second, ‘Disputed Histories’, introduces new perspectives and methodologies to the study of themes encountered earlier in the course.
The final component explores the skills that you will derive from this module as well as the numerous careers that you can pursue with a history degree.
Each week’s lecture is usually taught by a different faculty member, and so you will be introduced to the historians in the department and the subjects they research.
What our students say:
‘The teaching was very good and the lecturers were consistently engaging.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘The seminars were very helpful on gaining new perspectives on different topics and the group discussions were engaging.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
We will introduce you to some of the central aspects of the discipline of International Relations, providing a firm grounding in the major concepts and debates necessary to understand the modern world of international politics. You will have the opportunity to learn about: the dominant features and power relations of the contemporary global system; the nature of sovereignty and security, their expression and limitations; the real-world problems confronting the international community today.
Areas of study typically include:
+ International Relations Theory: the study of how relations between states can and should be viewed and theorised, Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism and Feminism.
+ Regional Studies: the study of some of the key regions of the world, and the politics of their interactions.
+ International Institutions and Law: the international organisations, customs, and rules that govern inter-state relationships.
+ Global Politics and Belief: the study of how religious and ideological belief can shape international politics and the relation of states.
+ International Crises: the study of pressing issues confronting the international community, such as environmental collapse, technological advance, the rise of non-state actors, and terrorism.
+ International Relations and the Domestic: the study of how the domestic agendas can shape and influence international politics.
Because of the increasing interdependence of the national and global, domestic politics and international relations can no longer be properly understood in isolation from one another. To ensure the best possible foundation for a degree in International Relations, in first year, we strongly recommend you also take Politics in the Modern World.
Optional
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Everybody knows that France and Russia had revolutions. But what about Britain? This module will challenge the popular view that Britain is a land of stability and continuity, focusing instead on the dramatic series of changes from 1500 to 1800.
Historians argue that Britain saw many revolutions in the early modern period. There was the revolution that saw Catholicism largely replaced by Protestantism and the political revolution that swept away the absolute monarchy of Charles I. There were also revolutions in thought and culture, from the scientific revolution that gave us the theory of gravity, to the consumer revolution that gave us shopping. And just as important were the agricultural, industrial and printing revolutions that quite literally made the modern world a possibility, along with the extraordinary developments that made Britain into an empire of commerce, conquest, and enslavement.
As well as introducing these crucial themes, this module will give you the skills to understand how and why historians like to talk about these revolutions - and to figure out the limitations of their arguments. Did the emergence of parliamentary rule during the 17th century make much of a difference to the lives of women? Or were their lives marked by continuity? Did the average person witness meaningful changes when a handful of elite scientists started thinking differently about the workings of the universe? And does our picture of these transformations change if we focus on voices that - until recently - historians neglected?
This module is an introduction to the systemic and episodic violence that characterised Imperial British authority during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The specific topics for lectures and seminars include slavery, genocide, anthropology, photography, imperial sexualities, rebellions, and counterinsurgency. The module will draw on examples and analysis from a range of geographic areas: the Transatlantic, South Asia, Australia, East Africa, North Africa and the Caribbean.
We will explore recent debates about British imperial history and British identity. Has Britain ignored its imperial past? Should Britain apologise for its Empire and, if so, to whom?
Subsequent seminars will look at the ways in which violence was normalised as inevitable and necessary during imperial endeavours, both in the UK and in colonies. The final week will return to Europe’s late-colonial 20th century and discuss Aimé Césaire’s argument that European fascism represented the return of imperial violence to Europe.
What our students say:
‘The lectures were highly informative, and we were given a lot of support for completing the assignments, particularly as we had to create our own question.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘[The most valuable part of the module was] being educated on previously untold histories and being able to reflect on and begin to dismantle my own understandings of imperialism.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘The lectures were incredibly informative and eye opening, and were taught very clearly, with well written slides that made it easy to understand and make notes.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
Ever since Edward Gibbon wrote his ground-breaking work The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in the late 18th century, historians have been preoccupied with the question of what caused the loss of the Empire’s western provinces and the transformation of its eastern half into Byzantium. They have identified much new data, but they continue to disagree as to what happened to the Empire between the 3rd and the 7th centuries CE and why.
For some historians the barbarian invasions of the late 4th and 5th centuries were crucial, but others have argued that they merely finished off a society that was already in deep moral, social and/or economic decline.
For other historians the Empire’s ‘decline and fall’ was a disaster; but others have maintained that the Empire never regressed. They believe that the foundations of medieval (and even modern) civilisation were forged in the cultural ferment of the later rather than the earlier Roman Empire, and that the barbarian takeovers in the West made little difference to the lives of those who lived there.
An introduction to this exciting period of history, this module invites you to discover what really happened and to assess the theories that currently command historians’ support.
What our students say:
‘The lectures covered the, at times very complex, content in a very easy to understand way’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘I enjoyed the breadth of the topic, I felt as if I knew a lot more in a short amount of time.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
This module examines the Second World War in Europe, approaching it from the Axis perspective – ‘the other side of the hill’, as Sir Basil Liddell Hart called it. The module engages not only with historically significant events, but it also deals with questions surrounding discrimination, complicity, and collaboration. We will discuss the different political movements, ideologies, and events that set Germany on its path to National-Socialism, and compare them to similar movements in Europe, opening up the opportunity to think about the different European racisms more broadly.
The choices available to the soldiers and civilians that were caught up in the war, the compromises they had to make, and the options available to them, run as a thread through this module. The module looks beyond Germany’s defeat and encourages students to consider the war’s long-term consequences.
What our students say:
‘Overall, I very much enjoyed this module. As someone who does not really enjoy learning about more modern history, I chose this module as it seemed like something that I had always wanted to know more about, as whenever I had been taught the Second World War it was always the same "good vs evil" narrative. This module gave me a newfound interest into the Second World War and fulfilled the desire to learn more about the topic rather than just going over the same things over and over.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘The amount of research and time that had been put into the lectures was clear and anytime I had any queries I would always get a helpful email back.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
Core
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This module is designed to support you in embarking on advanced historical research, and it aims to help you develop the skills needed to complete your undergraduate dissertation. Through this module, you will be guided through the cognitive and analytical steps you will need to take to define your future dissertation topic, construct a detailed research proposal, conduct a reflexive feasibility study for your project, present your preliminary findings, and respond to feedback from academics in the department.
The module aims to guide you to design your research proposal, locate it in its relevant historiographical field, test its viability and scope of available sources, as well as produce outlines, detailed structures and bibliographies for your project. The module makes use of both standard and innovative forms of delivery, with a combination of lectures, online talks, drop-in consultation sessions, and one-to-one consultation sessions with potential supervisors and course convenors.
What our students say:
‘The lectures greatly helped me in understanding how I will accomplish the dissertation.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘The guest speakers were particularly interesting and provided a lot of insight [...] which helped me understand how to use the archives themselves.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
This module aims to provide you with a solid introduction to the discipline of history at the beginning of your Part-II studies. The module, accordingly, explores the discipline at large, including: its characteristic practices, methods and traditions; its use of different source materials; and its relation not just to the past, but also to the present and the future.
The module includes three thematic blocks. The first section (Contexts of History) provides an overview of different types of historical scholarship, focusing on the methods, theories and intellectual tendencies that characterise them. The second section (Sources and Evidence) examines the use and application of different types of sources as evidence in historical research. The third section (History in Public) considers the public role and function of the discipline, as well as the challenges that historians have faced in the public spotlight, and, finally, the role that the study of history can play in your future.
What our students say:
‘I appreciated the perspective each lecturer brought on how history is written in their area of expertise. It was both fascinating and highly informative. The seminars were also very helpful and overall very good.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘I liked the seminars, and I liked the range of sources we learned about.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
Optional
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This module invites you to explore the history of an object that is of crucial importance to our ideas about both human health and human identity – the mind. A Global History of the Mind will give you the opportunity to explore how societies across a wide range of times and places have sought to understand, cure and control the mind. Drawing on materials and case studies from around the world, whether modern-day Polynesia or the medieval Middle East, this offers a truly global perspective on the history of the mind.
At the same time, the module encourages you to explore the connections between changing ideas about mental health and sickness to broader questions about human identity – most notably those concerning race, gender and the potential loss of human distinctiveness in a world where artificial intelligence is possible. Unlike traditional courses on mental health, which almost invariably focus on the emergence and spread of western psychiatry, this module offers a decentered perspective. We will examine the mind from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives, bringing together philosophy, medicine, religion, race, gender, and social control. In so doing, we will explore questions of urgent relevance to our own society – most notably the ways in which ideas about the mind have featured in the racialization and gendering of people through systems of patriarchy and colonialism. In addition, this module will use case studies from history to give you the resources to consider and question modern ideas about the mind and its role in society.
As well as completing a traditional essay assignment, this module includes a group podcasting assignment. Working together with your classmates, you will develop the skills to put together your own podcast on the history of the mind.
What our students say:
‘The seminars were wonderful. We looked at some quite complicated ideas, but the lecturer led them in a way that enabled us to think for ourselves and come to our own understandings on the topics, without making us feel stupid for not getting things straight away.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘I really enjoyed how the module looked at a lot of different periods/countries. It had a good range and was fascinating.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
20th-century British history is largely a story of change. The impact of democratisation, war, economic decline, the loss of empire, and internal fragmentation has resulted in a nation seemingly in constant flux, often unsure of its identity and its values.
In this module you will explore the patterns of social, economic, cultural and political change which have most affected the lives of the British since 1900. The overarching themes are the formation and reformation of identities based on class, gender, race, empire, nation, and the dual process by which the British were integrated into the state as citizens, and into the market as consumers. As well as being introduced to the key historiographical debates, in this module you will be encouraged to explore the subject through an eclectic mix of primary sources, including cartoons, posters, fiction, press reports, and advertisements.
What our students say:
‘The lectures were incredibly informative and helped me to understand core themes and historiography so I could go away to research it myself.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘Material was presented to both support and disprove ideas we were covering and well fleshed out. These were also the most detailed and interesting lectures I had this term, focusing on a specific decade on each but never forgetting to cover broader trends of history. It also allowed us to use alternative primary sources like posters, fiction and news coverage from the period in depth and showed them to be just as valuable as textual sources.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
This module focuses on the international relations of one of the most influential actors in world politics: China. The course explores the key question of when and how China’s actions conform with – and diverge from – various international relations (IR) theories. This offers students a twofold payoff. Students gain a broad understanding of how China’s foreign policies are made, its relations with its neighbours in East Asia, with international organizations, and with other global powers including Britain. At the same time, students gain a deeper, more concrete understanding of the uses and limitations of IR theory in explaining global politics.
The module describes and analyses the modern politics of the Gulf in a number of ways. It offers a country-by-country analysis of the countries overlooking the Persian Gulf: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. It also applies the main approaches in understanding each country such as institutionalism (formal, descriptive analysis of institutions such as parliament, executive and legislative), structuralism (relations between these units of the political system), functionalism (how these units functionalise or de-functionalise such as relations between the president and the supreme leader in Iran), political culture (public opinion, receptiveness of politics, socialisation through interest groups, and historical approach (patterns of history, development of Gulf states from the Ottoman Empire, British occupation all the way to independence and moving closer to the US).
What does it mean to die? Does it hurt? Is it frightening? Will I see those I love again? What does it mean to kill, whether an enemy, a friend, or myself? Death is a universal human experience, a cataclysm, triumph or adventure we all confront. But how we do that has varied vastly across history. In the European Middle Ages, the Church’s doctrines shaped ideas of death, from burial in the consecrated ground of churchyards to the theology of heaven, hell and purgatory. The living and the dead were a community: those on earth could speed the dead through their passage in the afterlife, and those in heaven could intercede for the living. Yet at the margins lay a shadowy world, in which the restless dead returned to haunt those left on earth, and the despairing took their lives in an act known as ‘self-murder’.
In this module, we explore varied experiences of death across the medieval centuries in the Christian West, from end-of-life care to execution, and from battlefields to the Black Death. We discover the different means of investigating death, from the chronicles that describe the walking dead, to the archaeology of burial practice, and from murder trials to palaeogenetics, unlocking the passage of disease. This is, by nature, a disturbing field of study. But what we learn cuts to the heart of what it means to be human – in the past and today.
This module focuses on the politics and international relations of the European Union. This includes a focus on the political systems of key EU member states (especially Germany, France and Poland) and the wider dynamics of European integration. The module will also offer an account of the activities of the various European institutions in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg (Council, Commission, Parliament, Court of Justice).
Religions as involving the control of symbolic and sometimes coercive power, thereby intersecting with politics, International relations and philosophy. Religions as involving values expressed in norms, laws, and institutions which exercise social and political power,
locally and globally. The crucial impact of religious identities, practices, values, arguments and multidimensional ways of life on politics, international relations and philosophical thought. Religions as diverse traditions in different regions of the world undergoing global changes in different ways. Globalisation of religion and its interweaving with social, political and philosophical developments
History students at Lancaster University are offered the chance to take part in work placements in the heritage sector, with our partners ranging from prominent multi-site organisations, such as the National Trust, to small independent museums. We also work with local authority archives and heritage charities. All second-year History Students are eligible to apply for an accredited placement that counts towards your degree. Reasonable travel expenses are covered, and in some circumstances we can pay for overnight accommodation near the placement location. It is worth noting that voluntary placements in a wide variety of settings are organised by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences: you can undertake one of these in addition to your degree studies but it won’t be assessed, unlike the placements available through HIST299.
This module gives you the opportunity to find out what it is really like to work in a museum, archive, stately home or other heritage setting whilst developing your skillset and enhancing your employability. You will work on a project that will have a real impact in some aspect of the work of the heritage organisation, and gain a range of insights into the challenges faced by the sector.
Students who have completed this module have gone on to be accepted onto highly competitive postgraduate training in Museums Studies, Archival Studies and also teacher training. One student, who was placed with the National Trust at Sizergh Castle, said: “I recommend both HIST299 and this placement, particularly to students who want to get practical experience of using historical skills.”
The module will introduce students to International Political Economy (IPE): the study of the interaction of economics and politics at the international level. It aims to discuss the political economy of the evolution of world capitalist by focusing on central questions, issues, and events that have shaped it. It examines the relevance and validity of different and competing approaches in the IPE, including, classical and neoclassical economics, historical materialism, critical approaches. We also examine key issues and concepts, such as globalisation, international trade, gender and race in global production, role of multinational corporations, and unevenness between and within countries.
The aim of this course is look at the main political and economic trends and security concerns of the Asia Pacific. The term, ‘Asia Pacific’ is a contested term but here it refers primarily to countries from both South Asia and East Asia. The course will introduce students to issues/debates in Asian politics and cover topics like Asian nationalism, Asian democracy, Asian regionalism, Asian bureaucracy and governance, gender and sexuality in Asia, Asian values and Asian security. The course takes a strong case studies approach and every lecture will be backed by a single case study from the region.
The module explores the main theoretical foundations to International Relations, including realism, liberalism, constructivism and critical IR (Marxism, Feminism, Postcolonialism). It explores the development of International Relations (IR) theory in the 20th and 21st centuries and examine it in the light of major historical developments and contemporary events. The module aims at providing the students with the necessary skills and background knowledge to engage critically with the world that we live in. To do so, the module pays special attention to the unequal power relations and Western dominance in the study of IR and politics, and to how they have become embedded into our institutions, theories and methods. The module will also introduce students to theories and debates in human and environmental sustainability.
HIST215: Introduction to Latin Translation for Undergraduates
This is a special intensive course for students who have little or no previous knowledge of Latin. The course concentrates on the basics of Latin Grammar and vocabulary as used in the Medieval period. However, it will also be very useful for students of the Roman and Renaissance periods. By the end of the course, students should be able to read sources such as title deeds, court rolls, government records, wills, and inscriptions.
The social and cultural consequences of the Norman Conquest of England were deep and enduring. A foreign, Francophone regime displaced the native élites: many of the former rulers, women as well as men, fled the kingdom. Enlisting in the Varangian Guard, some English warriors even went as far as Byzantium and the Crimea. The new regime was inclusive as much as it was eager to recruit foreigners of all kinds — Frenchmen, Bretons, Lotharingians, Italians, Spaniards, and even Jews — so long as they were serviceable and loyal; but racist as much as it strove to deny persons of English descent access to high office. The English were denigrated as barbarians and peasants, but because the Conquest was not followed by sustained settlement from the Continent, many natives clung on in sub-altern positions, just below the foreigners who held the highest offices and the best estates. The English were also far from being the only victims: the regime also continued the later Anglo-Saxon state’s efforts to subjugate Wales and northern Britain.
As a wide-ranging introduction to the history of Norman England and the debates that it has inspired, this module allows you to consider the history and effects of this transformative event.
What our students say:
‘Paul is an amazing tutor who always provides relevant information and details’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘I enjoyed learning about one of the most fateful events in British history since the Anglo-Saxon conquest and settlement of the Great British lowlands.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
This module seeks to identify and analyse violent and non-violent conflict behaviour as well as the structural mechanisms that are required to seek peace. It examines various theoretical positions in this regard and their application in managing, preventing, and transforming conflicts into situations and outcomes that are more peaceful. This module looks at both top down and bottom-up approaches to peace enforcement and peacebuilding in ongoing conflict locations as well as in many post-conflict settings. During the course of the module, we interrogate various intervention strategies such as: the place of non-violence in peace activism, the concept of just war in imposing a resolution, the role that women play in peacebuilding, global institutions that facilitate peacekeeping, inter-faith debate and dialogue that contribute to addressing religious extremism and radicalism. The overriding question that we examine in the course of this module, is transition from a belligerent world to a more peaceful and harmonious one through cosmopolitan responsibility. The module ends by exploring the ways that seek to reaffirm the ideal of peace in an increasingly volatile and fractured international society.
This module explores efforts to facilitate peace in the contemporary Middle East. Following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Middle East has endured a range of serious challenges to the ordering of political life across a number of different states, with serious repercussions for people and their daily lives. Focussing on a range of contemporary challenges including (but not limited to) the rise of sectarianism, geopolitical tensions, the struggle over political participation, and popular protest, the module asks how these issues can be addressed drawing on approaches found in Peace Studies and Political Theory.
In the few years that have passed, the Middle East has experienced momentous changes. Most notable of these changes are the so-called ‘‘Arab Spring’’ uprisings, which started in late 2010, and the following consequences of these uprisings on the international relations of the region. Topics include the early emergence of Arab states, origins and sustainability of authoritarian regimes, state types and personality cult, masculinity and constructions of identity and belonging, women’s movements, social mobilization and the Arab uprisings. The course offers students from a variety of backgrounds the opportunity to engage with the most important themes in the study of the politics of the Middle East and to locate and contextualise them within wider debates and scholarship of international politics.
The module equips students with the skills they need to carry out independent research in politics. In doing so, it prepares students for their final year dissertations and significantly improves their employability by developing skills that are highly valued by employers. Students will learn how to come up with an original research question and will learn to employ one of the research methods taught on the course to answer their question. The course is designed to provide an accessible introduction to both qualitative and quantitative research methods. In the first part of the course, students will have the opportunity to use a large dataset on politics and explore the relationship between variables such as political ideology, class, voting behaviour and many more. They will learn how to analyse data and test for statistically significant relationships between variables using various regression methods. In the second part of the course, students will learn about three major approaches to qualitative research. They will learn how to conduct standard and elite interviews, how to analyse the discourse of political actors, and how to conduct case studies. At the end of the module, students will be asked to design their own piece of research and use one of the methods taught on the course to answer their research question.
Few country’s histories have been more tumultuous over the past two centuries than that of Germany. Dictatorships, revolutions, the launching of and defeat in two world wars, responsibility for war crimes and genocide on an unparalleled scale, foreign occupation and re-education, and political division for four decades have made German history, and the ways in which Germans have remembered it, contentious and of broad public concern. In few countries have visions of the nation's history been so varied and contested, and few peoples have created and faced such challenges when confronting their 'shattered' past.
This module will examine the reasons for the failure of the Weimar Republic and the rise of National Socialism, the character of National Socialism, and the challenges its two successor states, the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany, faced in their attempts to come to terms with their difficult and contentious pasts. We will do this by looking at Germans’ lived experiences: how did Germans deal with the different cataclysmic events they faced, and how did this impact their behavioural patterns?
What our students say:
‘The lecturer provided us with a great range of sources. Not only was the quantity really useful in providing greater insight into the different topics/events but it enabled us to see many different types of primary sources - for example, cartoons, films, photographs and written sources etc. The lectures were also great and I found the slides really useful as plenty of information was provided which will also be very helpful for exam revision. This has been one of my favourite modules whilst at Lancaster University and I would definitely recommend it.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘Bastiaan himself is very interesting and pushes students to answer even when unsure, but with prompts. The most comfortable I have ever felt expressing my opinions and answering questions in a workshop. Very interesting course, lecturer and even coursework.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
This module examines the domestic and the external sphere of Russian politics. At the end of the module students will better understand some doctrines of Russian politics and its wide-ranging effects on Russia’s engagement with the EU, the US, NATO, countries in the former Soviet space and the Middle East. It assesses Russia’s response to the Arab Spring and its engagement in the conflict in Syria.
The course introduces students to Russia, an actor which gained presence and influence over several issue areas and regions. It prepares students for more extensive analyses of conceptualising Russia as an actor in their future studies.
In this module, you will explore the simultaneous rise of slavery and freedom in North America between 1620 and 1800. You will first examine the colonization of Massachusetts by Puritan migrants, and see how their liberty was constrained by gender relations, market dependency, and religious orthodoxy. Viewing the southern colonies in comparative perspective, you will explore the reasons why tobacco and rice planters transitioned from employing white indentured servants to enslaving Africans, and the racial codes that they developed to justify their decisions. You will understand how slave-holding American colonists could espouse discourses of liberty during the American Revolution, and the differing outcomes of the Revolution for Patriots, Loyalists, enslaved people, and Native Americans. You will conclude by studying the rapid expansion of slavery into the Deep South and the settlement of the trans-Appalachian frontier by free settlers after the Revolution. You will thus see how the United States—the “Empire of Liberty”—was forged in both slavery and freedom, creating a divided nation at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
For some the free-market economy has produced the greatest levels of freedom ever experienced by human society while other see it as the source of social ills, poverty and crisis. How can we reconcile the needs of the masses, or the demos, with those of a profit-driven economy? Can the state balance the two? Can the state intervene in the economy without undermining it? How should the state respond to demands for greater equality? Do we need more state or more market? The module examines the various answers that have been given to these questions by historical figures within the tradition of political economy. It introduces students to the main political economy approaches to the relationship between the state the market and raises some key issues regarding the state’s governance of the market economy. The module draws from liberal and critical state theories of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries and discerns their implications for understanding main challenges facing the modern state today. The main themes scrutinised by the module are: (a) the theoretical evolution of liberal and critical approaches to the state; (b) the relationship between the state and the economy, (c) the relationship between liberalism and democracy; (d) the state management of market and democratic imperatives.
The module will allow you to study the Cold War in Europe, from its emergence in the immediate post-war period to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. You will be encouraged to question the rapid breakdown of the alliance between the victorious powers of the Second World War and how this could lead to the division of Europe into two blocs; to understand and put the role of the superpowers into perspective by studying also the role of medium and small European powers, and thereby show the room for manoeuvre that existed within the blocs; to analyse how the nuclearisation of the Cold War eventually led to a ‘long peace’ in Europe; and to assess how the East-West struggle was eventually overcome.
During the lectures and seminars, you will have the opportunity to engage with the vast and diverse historiography of the Cold War in Europe; study the conflict at the political, diplomatic, military, economic, and cultural levels; and focus on themes ranging from the origins of the East-West struggle in Europe to the challenges to authority in the Eastern bloc and the end of the Cold War.
What our students say:
‘The lecturer was an engaging interesting lecturer who managed to condense the Cold War into ten weeks. He was also incredibly helpful when it came to the essay, suggesting books to read and even lending me one of his when I found that it was out of print. He would often also go on tangents which ended up being a good thing as they were always high informative and often helped add a bit of depth to the subject.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘Focusing on the European aspect of cold war history as too often there is a focus on solely the US, and adding different countries definitely diversified this topic and made it more enjoyable.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
This is a critical introduction to the underlying themes of development in the global South, such as debt, aid, inequality, migration; and how the state, the economy, national social movements and powerful external actors, including international NGOs, interact with each other. It begins by looking at how neoliberalism came to dominant development thinking and practice in institutions like the World Bank from the late 1970s onwards and its impact on development and then provides in-depth case-studies of recent alternative development models in Latin America and Syria. This course helps to broaden students’ understanding of Politics and International Relations away from a Western focus on the UK, Europe and the US in preparation for third-year modules such as PPR.336: The Global Politics of Africa.
The aim of this course is to provide students with a critical understanding of the history, politics, and geography of war from the 20th century to the present. Students will explore how advances in weaponry, aviation, and information technologies have changed the nature of warfare and the possibilities for waging it. Students will additionally take special focus on the emergence and evolution of ‘geopolitics’ as an intellectual counterpart to the study of war. Throughout students will confront political and philosophical questions posed by the study of war.
Optional
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The traditional historiography of the Cold War focused predominantly on the United States and the Soviet Union, and the European theatre of the conflict. This module, in contrast, offers you a different, less Western-centric view of the Cold War. You will study the impact of the East-West struggle in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, and how the course of the Cold War was affected by conflicts in the Global South. Thereby, you will learn that the Global Cold War was not only dominated by the two superpowers, but was also heavily influenced by Third World actors and lesser Cold War powers such as the People’s Republic of China.
The study of the Global Cold War is currently the most dynamic field in Cold War History and, probably, even in International History more generally. As a result, you will be able to engage with a vast body of international literature, and have the opportunity to carry out primary sources-based research. This is rendered possible by the availability of specific Cold War History document collections, national collections of diplomatic documents, as well as digital archives and document collections.
This module explores the origins of modern consumer society in Britain, introducing you to an exciting and innovative field of historical research. In the hundred years from the abolition of advertising tax in 1853 to the birth of commercial television in the 1950s, advertising became an omnipresent feature of modern capitalism. In this module, you will explore the causes and consequences of this process of commercialisation using a range of primary sources, from press reports and cartoons, to business archives, social surveys, and, of course, the advertisements themselves.
You will explore the changing relationship between people and their possessions, the impact of new shopping environments like the department store and the supermarket, and the rise of ethical consumerism. Advertising is political, and you will also examine how it helped Britain win two world wars and market the Empire to its own people. You will learn how advertisements work by designing your own advertising campaign in a particular historical context. By the end of the module, you will understand how advertising sells us much more than simply clothes or food, how it shapes the way we view gender and race, and how it creates support for a market economy based on the principles of freedom and choice.
What our students say:
‘I thoroughly enjoyed the module! My favourite aspects were to do with the psychology of advertising and how this impacted gender roles.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘I really enjoyed the variety that this module offers. Every week was a new topic and a new way to analyse different perspectives from the module period.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘I think the range of coursework styles for this module were really fun to complete.’ (Anonymous student evaluation)
This course provides a historical and thematic introduction to the issues facing Africa in the international system today. The course is divided into two sections. The first section explores the historical incorporation of the continent into the emerging international system centred on Europe from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. It focuses on the impact of colonialism and independence in terms of the economy, the state and the politics of race and the implications these have for the region’s prospects for democracy and development today. The second section looks at key contemporary issues and agents shaping the continent. The latter includes ‘top-down’ actors such as the Chinese state, as well as grassroots actors such as unionised South African workers.
This course presents a detailed analysis of the major developments in British foreign policy since 1945. It explains these developments within a global context, offering rival interpretations of Britain’s changing role and status – issues whose importance has been underlined by the debates surrounding the 2016 ‘Brexit’ referendum. The major themes include: the consequences of Britain’s participation in the Second World War; the retreat from Empire after 1945; the ‘special relationship’ with the United States; and the prolonged attempt to redefine Britain’s global role in the context of perceived economic and geopolitical decline.
China’s rise has reshaped world politics and the global economy. In this seminar-based course, students will become familiar with different approaches to understanding China and its place in the world, critically evaluating the opportunities and challenges for both. We will consider China's relation to the world from eight distinct but overlapping perspectives: politics, place, people, economy, culture, media, foreign policy and intellectual thought. The weekly student-led tutorials will explore key issues including the party-state and its techniques of governance; China’s urban and rural geography and contested territory; Chinese nationalism and ethnicities; the PRC economy and its prospects; traditional and contemporary Chinese culture(s); the implications of the Internet for China’s society, economy and politics; the CCP’s foreign policy and its influence on the outside world; and the emerging 'Chinese school' of International Relations theory.
This course provides an introduction to US Foreign Policy. The United States plays an important role in the international system. As one of the largest, wealthiest, and most militarily capable states, its foreign policy has a profound influence on the international system. Therefore, to fully comprehend international relations and world events, one needs to understand US foreign policy. The course examines how US foreign policy is made and conducted by studying the historical development of US foreign policy, the institutions and processes involved in the foreign policymaking process, how the US projects power in the international system, and contemporary challenges and issues in US foreign policy.
This module uses case studies from across the world to provide an insight into the role and relevance of decolonisation in the contemporary world, by examining the legacies of slavery, racism, colonialism and empire. The emphasis is on foregrounding the voices and experiences of citizens and communities from the Global South and unpacking the role that western European nations have played and continue to play in politics, economics and state-society relations in large parts of the post-colonial world. By using critical pedagogy and an interdisciplinary lens, the module highlights how various identities of race, class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality and religion intersect in different historical contexts to produce diverse outcomes. These outcomes are examined in relation to various current and emerging themes ranging from climate change and sustainable development to migration, borders and human rights to artificial intelligence, security, geopolitics and social justice.
The invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the crude realities of war and the crucial importance of military strategy. This module introduces students to this core aspect of International Relations. The module will examine the changing character of war as well as the strategic permanencies via a careful examination of strategic principles applied to various domains (land, air, sea, outer space, cyber space). We will elucidate and operationalize key concepts such as airpower, seapower, nuclear deterrence, escalation, manoeuvre, ruse, hybrid warfare, etc. You will gain the necessary skills to critically assess the choices and decisions made by states and their military commanders during war, and to devise rational solutions to address the risks inherent to the current turbulent geopolitical context.
PPR.399 provides an opportunity for students to choose a topic related to some aspect of Politics and International Relations, Philosophy and Religious Studies which particularly interests them, and to pursue it in depth. The topic may be related to work that is being done on a formally taught course, or it may be less directly linked to course work. The intention is that students will develop their research skills, and their ability to work at length under their own direction.
Students write a dissertation of 9,000-10,000 words. They are expected to start thinking seriously about the dissertation towards the end of the Lent term of their second year, and to submit a provisional topic by the end of that term. Work should be well advanced by Christmas in the third year. The completed dissertation must be submitted at the start of Summer Term in the third year. To help students prepare for work on the dissertation, there will be an introductory talk on topics relating to doing one's own research and planning and writing a dissertation. A course handout will be available setting out in more detail the requirements for the dissertation and giving full details of lectures, supervision arrangements and assessment.
The aim of this module is to allow students to pursue independent in-depth studies of a topic of their choice, within the scope of their scheme of study. The topic will be formulated in dialogue with one or more external collaborator(s) and may be related to work that is being done on a formally taught course, or it may be less directly linked to course work. Students will develop their employability and research skills, and their ability to work independently at length under their own direction with input from external collaborators and an academic supervisor. The external collaboration will enhance students’ ability to reflect on the impact of academic work. One option is to incorporate work done through the Richardson Institute Internship Programme, but students may also discuss other forms of collaboration with their supervisor.
Students are expected to start thinking seriously about the dissertation towards the end of the Lent term of the second year, and to submit a provisional topic by the end of that term. Work should begin during the Summer term of the second year and a draft plan must be approved by the end of the Summer term. Work should be well advanced by Christmas in the third year. The completed dissertation must be submitted at the start of Summer Term in the third year. To help students prepare for work on the dissertation, there will be an introductory talk on topics relating to doing one’s own research and planning and writing a dissertation. A course handout will be available setting out in more detail the requirements for the dissertation and giving full details of lectures, supervision arrangements and assessment.
The aim of this module is to allow you to pursue independent in-depth studies of a topic of your choice, within the scope of your scheme of study. The topic may be related to work that is being done on a formally taught course, or it may be less directly linked to course work. You will have the opportunity to develop your employability and research skills, and your ability to work independently at length under your own direction with input from an academic supervisor. The fieldwork element will give you the chance to enhance your ability to reflect on the impact of academic work. One option is to incorporate a study trip typically organised by the University, via the Global Experience office, but you may also discuss other forms of field studies with your supervisor. The completed dissertation is usually submitted at the start of Summer Term in the third year. To help you prepare for work on the dissertation, typically there is an introductory talk in second year on topics relating to doing one’s own research and planning and writing a dissertation.
This module will explore how objects defined as ancient, beautiful or ugly, antique, artistic or collectable reflect the history of British Imperialism in South Asia. From the end of the eighteenth century, European scholars and bibliophiles were fascinated by Indian landscapes and objects. Sculptures and architecture could be described as beastly and regarded as dangerously erotic or they could be lauded as worthy of emulation. The pursuits of art history and archaeology were used to justify the necessity of foreign power in India. Antiquities were classified according to religious and chronological divisions, separating 'Buddhist', 'Hindu' and 'Muslim' materials. Museums and Art Schools were established to teach western aesthetic mores and technologies. By the end of the nineteenth century, Indian artists and art historians rejected these understandings of Indian art and art was used to challenge the colonial state.
The course will familiarise you with a range of sculptural, painted and architectural forms from India and the changing interpretation of those objects. The objects we will explore date from the third millennium B.C. to the 1940s.
The labelling of the Second World War as the People’s War in Britain draws attention to the importance of the men and women who waged it. With the blurring of the Home and Battle Fronts, the conventional gender contract in which men fight to protect the vulnerable at home and women keep the home fires burning was challenged, not least by the revolutionary act of conscripting women to the war effort.
In this module you will examine how the Second World War was experienced by a wide spectrum of British men and women, some of whom identified with the war effort, some of whom were deliberately excluded, or chose to challenge gender conventions in their choice of role. You’ll consider different categorisations of experience (military/civilian; home front/battle front; male/female) and explore whether there was a hierarchy of service and subsequently of remembrance.
Were gender roles in Britain really transformed by the exigencies of war? Through a wide range of written and visual sources, including autobiographical materials, poems, photographs, films, parliamentary minutes, newspapers, posters and cartoons, we will seek to understand individual and collective experiences of the war, and their gendered dimensions.
What our students say:
‘The lecturer for the module has been incredible. He has made each seminar interesting and engaging, and a genuinely enjoyable experience each week. Also, the lecturer’s feedback in class and on assignments has been both constructive and encouraging, and it is thanks to him that I have seen a huge improvement in my work throughout the year’. (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘This is by far my favourite module I have done during my time at Lancaster, the content was engaging and the module was very well structured. The lecturer’s enthusiasm for his subject made each lesson exciting and especially informative. We were given excellent guidance for each assessment and consistently encouraged to think independently and imaginatively about each topic’. (Anonymous student evaluation)
Today the claim that God designed everything in the universe has given way to the theory of evolution. The usual story of this change is one of conflict between science and religion. This module, however, will challenge the popular narrative.
Focusing on the period 1450 –1800, we will reconsider the rise and fall of the idea that nature was the work of a divine intelligent designer. As well as trying to understand why the design argument became so important in the early modern period, we will seek to understand why it fell out of favour during the 18th century – long before the theory of evolution.
But we will not simply be studying the history of ideas. To understand the role of design in early modern science, we will study a wide range of disciplines and practices – from intellectual disciplines like philosophy, rhetoric and theology, to material practices including chemistry, architectural design, archaeology and art.
What our students say:
‘The course structure, teaching and seminars were the most engaging and useful I’ve had over my three years at university’. (Anonymous student evaluation)
‘The engaging and interactive seminars allowed for a comfortable environment which made the subject more interesting and enjoyable’. (Anonymous student evaluation)
This course will examine some of the core philosophical questions raised by warfare and conflict. We will look at the ethics of war and killing, but also at more neglected philosophical issues in this area, and non-Western approaches as well as classic texts in the Western tradition.
We will do so by examining some of the central dilemmas faced by soldiers, policy makers and non-combatants, in the form of a weekly question for discussion. These questions include: Can war be beautiful? When, if ever, should we go to war? What counts as legitimate action in war? What, if anything, do we owe to our enemies? Is soldiering a good life? What does technological development mean for warfare? What should a responsible citizen do when their country is, or looks about to be, at war? Who has the epistemic authority to speak about war? Is war always tragic?
The emergence and consolidation of world capitalism has been marked by its uneven character in terms of development. This uneven development has created a polarisation between the Global North mainly consisting of advanced Western capitalist countries, and the Global South mainly consisting of underdeveloped/developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This module focuses on the historical roots, present pillars, and empirical issues of the global interaction and integration regarding the making of the Global South. It traces the colonial and post-colonial history, politics, and power relations through which societies of the Global South have been integrated with the profoundly unequal, gendered, and racialised process of development of capitalist relations on a world scale.
This course examines the changing character of war and security in a time of rapid and disruptive technological and geopolitical change. The course combines analysis of contemporary policy documents with the interdisciplinary insights of intellectuals that have examined how war has changed in the modern age. Students are introduced to a range of concepts that are currently significant in the policy debates about the future of war – concepts such as ambiguous war, the gray zone, the third offset strategy and the three block war. While the course is grounded in broader debates from social and political thought about war and modernity, it explores a range of evolving and inter-related case studies that are central to understanding how war is changing: cybersecurity/artificial intelligence; cities and urban war; drones and the future of robotics; climate change and ecological insecurity. Each year we try to bring a guest lecturer from the Ministry of Defence or the FCO to discuss questions relevant to the course – and to discuss how the course can be relevant to a broad range of careers.
This course offers employability-focused teaching and combines academic and practical skills. During the module students will have the opportunity to develop a critical understanding of key theoretical frameworks and concepts in policy analysis and development, and to gain in-depth knowledge of the policymaking process within different political contexts. The placements during Lent Term encourage students to apply this knowledge to real-world scenarios, while developing their employability skills and gaining a comprehensive understanding of how the knowledge they acquire during their degree can be translated to different policymaking contexts. By the end of the module, students will be able to conduct thorough policy research using various methodologies and tools, evaluate the ethical implications of policy decisions, and advocate for ethics and value-based approaches to policymaking.
There are those who claim that religion is little more than a perverse and irrational scar on the modern world, one that invariably causes violence, while others (at times driven by political motivations) claim that religion is ‘good’ and that violence only occurs when ‘religion has been hijacked by other forces’. Others still claim that ‘religious violence’ is a myth constructed for political purposes, and that one should not therefore speak of religion in such terms.
In disentangling such claims, in this module we examine the relationship between religion and violence, asking whether one can draw such associations between the two and whether one can develop any broader theoretical understandings about their relationship that enhances our understanding of religion in the modern world. It thus challenges you to think through and develop an understanding of these issues. While examining a variety of theories and perspectives on the topic, including close examination of the arguments outlined above, we will continually refer to empirical data and case studies in which religious movements and religious individuals have been involved in violent activities, as well as examining cases where acts of immense violence (including genocide) have occurred in what appear to be political contexts, but where religious rhetoric may have been used by the perpetrators of violence.
Global capitalism is at crossroads. It faces a deepening crisis in the world of work, its engine of growth is sputtering out while the climate emergency is aggravating. For some the 2008 recession, COVID-19 and the 2022 cost-of living of crisis offered tragic glimpses of the world that is to come if radical change is not pursued. How can we govern a world characterised by perpetual emergencies and chronic economic crises? Can capitalism be reformed? What does it take to address inequality, precarity or biodiversity collapse? What are the challenges and constraints faced by governments today? The module offers an opportunity to discuss these questions by examining a range of political economy approaches to the study of global capitalism. In doing so the module analyses the most important transformations of the past 50 years that radically transformed the global economy and the issues they raise for economic policy. It examines the constraints, limits and opportunities facing the governance of the global economic order and explores the governing dilemmas that arise in the era of so-called late capitalism.
The module aims to provide students with an in-depth knowledge of the different facets of contemporary Asian conflicts and how international organisations such as the UN, and how Western and Asian governments have attempted to deal with these challenges in recent times. Conceptually, the course will examine the principles of state failure; terrorism, ‘New Wars’, the New Security Agenda, Islamism, nationalism and sub nationalism, international conflict prevention; peace keeping and global governance. Empirically, the course will focus on conflict zones in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indian Kashmir, the Indian northeast, Chinese Xinjiang and Tibet. Thus, the aim of this module is to provide students with an overview of the security of a region which is now of tremendous global importance.
This course aims to provide students with specialist and critical understanding of the relationship between war and communication. Students will learn how advances in communication technology have not only changed how wars are fought on the battlefield, but how war itself is communicated to various publics across the globe. Students will consider the origin and development of ‘psychological warfare’, its challenge to traditional civil-military relations, and the emergence of the ‘war of ideas’ in the international arena. Students will consider how the rise of digital social media has again changed the nature of contemporary war.
Fees and funding
Our annual tuition fee is set for a 12-month session, starting in the October of your year of study.
There may be extra costs related to your course for items such as books, stationery, printing, photocopying, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits. Following graduation, you may need to pay a subscription to a professional body for some chosen careers.
Specific additional costs for studying at Lancaster are listed below.
College fees
Lancaster is proud to be one of only a handful of UK universities to have a collegiate system. Every student belongs to a college, and all students pay a small college membership fee which supports the running of college events and activities. Students on some distance-learning courses are not liable to pay a college fee.
For students starting in 2025, the fee is £40 for undergraduates and research students and £15 for students on one-year courses.
Computer equipment and internet access
To support your studies, you will also require access to a computer, along with reliable internet access. You will be able to access a range of software and services from a Windows, Mac, Chromebook or Linux device. For certain degree programmes, you may need a specific device, or we may provide you with a laptop and appropriate software - details of which will be available on relevant programme pages. A dedicated IT support helpdesk is available in the event of any problems.
The University provides limited financial support to assist students who do not have the required IT equipment or broadband support in place.
Study abroad courses
In addition to travel and accommodation costs, while you are studying abroad, you will need to have a passport and, depending on the country, there may be other costs such as travel documents (e.g. VISA or work permit) and any tests and vaccines that are required at the time of travel. Some countries may require proof of funds.
Placement and industry year courses
In addition to possible commuting costs during your placement, you may need to buy clothing that is suitable for your workplace and you may have accommodation costs. Depending on the employer and your job, you may have other costs such as copies of personal documents required by your employer for example.
The fee that you pay will depend on whether you are considered to be a home or international student. Read more about how we assign your fee status.
Home fees are subject to annual review, and may be liable to rise each year in line with UK government policy. International fees (including EU) are reviewed annually and are not fixed for the duration of your studies. Read more about fees in subsequent years.
We will charge tuition fees to Home undergraduate students on full-year study abroad/work placements in line with the maximum amounts permitted by the Department for Education. The current maximum levels are:
Students studying abroad for a year: 15% of the standard tuition fee
Students taking a work placement for a year: 20% of the standard tuition fee
International students on full-year study abroad/work placements will be charged the same percentages as the standard International fee.
Please note that the maximum levels chargeable in future years may be subject to changes in Government policy.
Scholarships and bursaries
You will be automatically considered for our main scholarships and bursaries when you apply, so there's nothing extra that you need to do.
You may be eligible for the following funding opportunities, depending on your fee status:
Unfortunately no scholarships and bursaries match your selection, but there are more listed on scholarships and bursaries page.
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We also have other, more specialised scholarships and bursaries - such as those for students from specific countries.
During your first year, you'll have the chance to explore subjects ranging from ancient to modern history, while choosing from a set of optional modules.
Our second- and final-year historians choose from within an extensive range of modules, personalising their degree to suit their own interests and passions.
Here you'll find recommendations from our lecturers to help you get ready to become an undergraduate historian.
Digital Scholarship Lab
The Digital Scholarship Lab in the Library provides a dedicated space for History students and students of other disciplines to work together, plan research, interact and share ideas. This flexible space is equipped with specialist Digital Humanities software, and it is designed to enable students and researchers to come together, connect and develop their ideas further, all within the iconic new extension to the library building. With help at hand from expert library staff, you can use the equipment to support work on original materials including very early manuscripts and books, as well as more modern materials such as slides, postcards and pamphlets.
Download our brochure to find out more about studying International Relations at Lancaster.
The information on this site relates primarily to 2026/2027 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.
The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.
More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.
Our Students’ Charter
We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. View our Charter and other policies.
Undergraduate open days 2025
Our summer and autumn open days will give you Lancaster University in a day. Visit campus and put yourself in the picture.
Take five minutes and we'll show you what our Top 10 UK university has to offer, from beautiful green campus to colleges, teaching and sports facilities.
Most first-year undergraduate students choose to live on campus, where you’ll find award-winning accommodation to suit different preferences and budgets.
Our historic city is student-friendly and home to a diverse and welcoming community. Beyond the city you'll find a stunning coastline and the world-famous English Lake District.