Military and International History

Military and international history opens up some of the most consequential questions of the modern world: why wars begin, how they are fought and ended, how states pursue their interests through force and diplomacy, and how military power intersects with politics, technology, economics and culture. It is a discipline that takes security and strategy seriously as intellectual objects, drawing on historical evidence to illuminate the dynamics of conflict and international relations that continue to shape our troubled world.

At Brunel you will study this three-year full-time programme, engaging with the history of warfare and international affairs from the early modern period to the present. You will examine how military technology, doctrine, and organisation have evolved, how intelligence and strategy have been understood and practised, and how historians interpret the causes and consequences of major conflicts. The degree does not treat military and international history as merely the study of battles and campaigns: it situates force within the broader contexts of ideology, economics, empire, decolonisation, and the architecture of international order.

You will develop strong research and writing skills, the ability to evaluate contested evidence, and a sophisticated understanding of how the past informs the present.

Graduates of military and international history find their skills valued across a range of careers. The analytical rigour and contextual understanding the degree develops are relevant to careers in the civil service, defence and security policy, journalism, think-tanks, international organisations, intelligence analysis, and the armed forces. The heritage sector, museums, and broadcasting also recruit historians.

Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in international history, war studies, security studies, intelligence, or international relations, where the intellectual foundations built during the undergraduate degree are a direct asset.