Our courses
We are a multi-disciplinary study area in which you will be challenged to review and question not just your knowledge, but how you acquire knowledge.
Undergraduate
Foundation
Why choose Loughborough?
There are so many great reasons to choose us, but here are just a few reasons why Loughborough is an excellent place to study International Relations, Politics or History.
Teaching and learning excellence
We are currently ranked 5th in the UK for International Relations, 10th in the UK for Politics* and in the Top 15 for History** so Loughborough is an excellent choice to study these exciting subjects.*
Academics in the Department play an active role in helping shape the academic and practical world with their research and expertise. This includes engagement in policy on militarisation, immigration, populism to work with the Department for Education and the Institute for Education.
In addition to the more traditional forms of assessment, you can expect to be set a wide variety of assessment types that could include designing and delivering a poster presentation, the use of film, writing a political blog or speech to role play simulation exercises.
* Guardian University Guide 2024 ** Complete University Guide 2025
Employability
We were recently ranked in the UK Top 10 for Graduate Prospects in both History and Politics, so studying these subjects at Loughborough will set you up for a great future career.*
We design our courses to ensure that they provide all students with the knowledge they need to develop an expertise in their chosen field, but also the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Our focus on academic rigour and transferable skills has made our graduates attractive to employers from a range of industries and professions, such as marketing, management, financial services, advertising, the armed forces, journalism, publishing and politics.
* Complete University Guide 2025
Placements and study exchange
All our students have the chance to undertake a professional work placement during their degree, in organisations from across the public and private sectors.
Recent placement destinations include: BP, Volkswagen, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Samsung Electronics, Confederation of British Industry, PwC, Department of Work and Pensions, Food Standards Agency and Sky. Students also have an opportunity to spend a year (or semester) abroad by securing paid work teaching English to school children or studying at a partner university.
Language opportunities
The Language Centre which is based in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, provides a range of language modules in French, German, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese from beginners’ level upwards.
You may take these modules as part of your degree, enter the programme at your level of competence and work upwards one semester at a time.
