History and International Relations

History and international relations are disciplines with a natural and productive relationship. History provides the long view, showing how the political world of today was shaped by decisions, conflicts, and ideas of the past, and developing the skills of source evaluation, evidential argument, and contextual understanding that are the historian's tools. International relations provides the analytical frameworks for understanding how states, organisations, and other actors interact in the present, and why the world is structured as it is.

Studied together, they allow you to move between the historical and the contemporary with genuine understanding of each.

At Queen's University Belfast this three-year full-time programme provides intellectual training in both disciplines, which are complementary in their subject matter and mutually enriching in their methods. You will learn to appreciate how historical events shape modern politics and how political analysis provides insights into historical themes that simple historical narrative alone might obscure. The programme pays particular attention to the histories and politics of Africa, Europe, and the Americas, reflecting an international rather than purely Eurocentric scope.

Situated in Belfast, a city with its own complex recent history and a society that has experienced political transition, the programme offers a distinctive context for exploring how history and politics intersect.

You will develop skills in research, critical reading of both primary and secondary sources, political analysis, and clear analytical writing, alongside substantive knowledge of history and international relations across different regions and periods.

Graduates move into careers in journalism, the civil service, diplomacy, international organisations, NGOs, politics, policy analysis, education, heritage, and research. Many also continue to postgraduate study in international relations, history, law, or public policy.