How does BA World History differ from a traditional UK history degree?

Most UK history degrees focus heavily on British or European history. BA World History is comparative and transregional from the start, covering at least four world regions and the major debates in global, environmental and postcolonial history. It pairs naturally with a specialist regional or thematic MA.

Will I work in archives on BA World History?

Yes. Archive-based teaching begins in year one with sessions at the National Archives at Kew and the British Library. Primary source training (including basic palaeography for early modern texts) is core. Your final-year dissertation includes meaningful primary source work.

Can I focus my BA World History dissertation on a specific region?

Yes. Your dissertation question is your choice, agreed with your tutor. Recent dissertations have included topics in Atlantic history, post-1945 Asia, modern Africa, Latin America's Cold War and global environmental history. Comparative and transregional approaches are encouraged but not required.

Can I study BA World History online?

Yes. The online route mirrors the seminar pattern with live cohort calls and uses digitised primary source collections for archive work. Distance learners attend two intensive on-campus weeks per year for in-person archive sessions.

Is BA World History a route into history teaching?

Yes — with a postgraduate teaching qualification (PGCE for state secondary school). The degree's structured engagement with comparative history aligns well with the broader National Curriculum approach to history at Key Stages 3 and 4. Several graduates each year combine the BA with a PGCE.

BA World History in London | LSJHML | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The BA World History at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a three-year UK honours degree for students who want a comparative, transregional history degree rather than a single-country one. You will study early modern, modern and contemporary world history across at least four regions, read across the major historiographical debates, work directly with primary sources in London's archives and museums, and produce a fully sourced dissertation under tutor supervision.

This degree is taught in the conviction that the interesting questions in modern history are rarely answerable within the borders of a single country. From the Atlantic slave trade and the long emergence of the global economy to the post-1945 international order and the contemporary climate crisis, the BA World History asks students to think across regions and against the grain of national narratives.

Key Features

Comparative and transregional modules covering early modern global commerce, empire and decolonisation, post-1945 international order, and global environmental history.
London archive and museum-based teaching with sessions at the British Library, the National Archives at Kew and major London museums.
Primary source training from year one — palaeography for early modern texts, document criticism for modern history.
Historiography seminar across the year — the Annales school, world-systems theory, postcolonial history, environmental history, gender history.
Final-year dissertation (8,000–10,000 words) on a comparative or transregional question, supervised across the year.
Industry masterclasses with working historians, archivists, museum curators and history journalists.

What You Will Learn

The BA World History is structured around three years of reading widely, working with primary sources, and writing carefully. You graduate able to read a complex historical text on its own terms, situate a current debate in a longer historiographical tradition, and produce a fully sourced piece of original historical argument.

Early modern world history — global commerce, empire formation, the Atlantic and Indian Ocean systems.
Modern world history — industrialisation, the long nineteenth century, comparative imperial decline.
Twentieth-century history — the World Wars, decolonisation, Cold War, post-1989 settlement.
Contemporary global history — globalisation, the financial crisis, climate, populism.
Comparative historiography — Annales, world-systems, postcolonial, environmental, gender approaches.
Primary source methods — palaeography, document criticism, oral history, material culture.
Archive practice — finding aids, the National Archives, the British Library, regional archives.
Dissertation construction — research question, archival strategy, argument, citation conventions.
Public-facing history — exhibition text, history journalism, public engagement writing.

Who This Course Is For

School leavers fascinated by comparative and transregional history who want a UK honours degree taught with serious primary-source engagement.
International students seeking a UK history degree taught in a city dense with world-class archives and museums.
Career-changers from journalism, teaching, the civil service or the third sector ready for a three-year commitment to history.
Mature students with strong reading habits and a public-history interest ready to formalise their work into a degree-level qualification.

Career Pathways

History graduates feed into a wide UK labour market — archives, museums, heritage, teaching, publishing, journalism, the civil service and the wider analytical-graduate market. BA World History graduates typically progress into early-career research, public history, editorial or analytical roles. Typical first or next roles include:

Historian (research project, museum, longform writing)
Archivist (assistant level; senior post-PG)
Museum Curator (assistant level; senior post-PG)
History Teacher (secondary school — subject to PGCE)
Heritage Researcher (heritage charity, World Heritage Site team)
Editorial Researcher (history publishing, history-focused broadcasting)

Graduates progress to an MA in World History, Heritage Studies or a specialist regional or thematic MA, or into a graduate-track research, analytical or editorial role.

Entry Requirements

Three A-Levels at BBC or above (or international equivalent — IB 28 points, BTEC DMM, or accepted national qualification).
GCSE English Language at grade 5 or equivalent English proficiency test.
IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
A short personal statement; a short written sample may be requested.
Mature applicants (21+) without standard qualifications may apply with a portfolio and short interview.

Why Study at LSJHML

The London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages is a specialist higher-education provider based in central London. Our programmes are designed in dialogue with working professionals — journalists, translators, civil servants, academics, broadcasters, editors, publishers and policy researchers — so what you learn in seminar on Monday is what your future employer is using on Tuesday. We deliberately keep cohorts small, give every student named tutor support, and treat employability as a structural part of every programme rather than an optional add-on.

London is the work — politics, courts, capital markets, theatre, broadcasting, publishing, public service, the global press. Your studies are taught in the same square mile where the stories you read about happen. Whether you join us on-campus, online or by distance learning, the city is your classroom and our industry network is your launchpad.