Modern History and Politics

Modern History and Politics is a combination that approaches the present through the lens of the recent past, examining how the events, ideologies, and structural forces of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have shaped the political world we inhabit today. Modern history provides the evidential grounding, training you to work with sources, evaluate interpretations, and construct accounts of how things came to be. Politics adds the analytical frameworks to understand how power operates within and between states, how institutions develop and function, and how political change happens.

At the University of Keele, this three-year, full-time programme includes a sandwich year and a year abroad, as well as work placement opportunities. You will investigate events from our recent past alongside the political institutions and processes those events have shaped, examining the influences that operate at local, national, and global scales. The curriculum develops core skills in communication, analysis, and research, giving you the intellectual tools to question received wisdom, engage in evidence-based debate, and think independently about complex problems.

Keele's interdisciplinary culture ensures the history and politics dimensions of the degree engage productively, and the sandwich year, year abroad, and placements provide the professional and international experience that make graduates competitive.

Graduates of Modern History and Politics pursue careers in the civil service, government, policy analysis, journalism, think tanks, international organisations, business, and public affairs. The combination of historical perspective and political analysis is valued wherever understanding complex institutions and long-term processes matters. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in history, politics, international relations, or public policy, building specialist expertise for research or senior professional careers.