History, International Relations and Politics courses

Ranked first for teaching quality in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025 for History, you can expect to learn from the very best.

Our courses are designed to be relevant to today’s industry, giving you a fantastic platform to launch a dynamic career.

Why choose Derby?

Discover your own specialism: As well as covering broad historical themes, you can specialise and become an expert in your field, from modern international relations to the global dimensions of heritage, environmental history and politics.

Share your passion: We encourage to think about how your skills as a historian can be applied in the modern world, and have embedded opportunities throughout the degree for you to share your passion for the past with the wider community.

Learn from subject experts: you’ll be supported by a teaching team who are published professionals and are passionate about delivering excellent teaching based around you and your future goals.

What our students say

“My time at Derby has been wonderful. I started with the clear goal to become a teacher, not really knowing that I would gain so much from the experience. I cannot fault the history lecturers for their guidance, patience and kindness. I was so pleased to win the award just before my graduation. It was such an honour to see all my research, hard work and passion for history recognised. From the archive research to the writing, this piece of work was immensely enjoyable and exciting to create.”

Rebecca graduated with a First Class Honours in History and English and was awarded the Royal Historical Society/History Today Undergraduate Dissertation Prize for her dissertation: Cutting Through the ‘Gordian Knot’: The British Military Service Tribunals During the Great War.

Rebecca Pyne-Edwards Banks, History and English

Industry connections

Derby is the perfect place to explore connections between old and new, and local and global industries. Throughout your degree, you may receive visits from guest speakers who can help contextualise your learning as well as having opportunities to attend field trips to support on real-world projects.

Your questions answered

Lecturer, Oliver Godsmark, answers some of the most frequently asked questions about History at the University of Derby. 

Career opportunities

Previous students have gone onto enjoy careers in a variety of sectors including:

• education
• the Civil Service
• international organisations
• charities
• business management
• museums and libraries.

Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study where you can choose to specialise in subjects such as History, Museum Studies, Archive Management and International Relations.