Modern History, Politics and International Relations (BA)

Learn through a mix of lectures, seminars and workshops.

Lectures introduce key ideas, set the direction for each topic, and help you build your understanding using up-to-date research and examples.

Seminars give you the chance to ask questions, share ideas and learn together in smaller groups. You’ll connect what you’ve learned in lectures and your reading, explore topics in more depth, and develop your ability to think critically.  

Apply different concepts, theories and approaches - through both tutor and student led discussion - while hearing a range of perspectives on historical and political issues.

Workshops will often involve activities and collaboration with a wider group of students and staff.

Your in-person learning is supported by a range of digital tools. Each module uses our virtual learning environment - Learning Central, where discussion forums, recorded content, course materials and links to further resources are accessed. You’ll also have opportunities to reflect on your progress and the skills you’re developing through our online learning tools.

How will I be supported?

You’ll be supported by a range of staff throughout your studies. Some focus on your academic development within specific subjects, while others support your overall progress and wellbeing.

A personal tutor will be assigned to you, who will support and help you reflect on your progress, develop effective study strategies, choose modules, and think about your career plans.  

Your personal tutors are also your first point of contact if you need advice or run into any difficulties. Welsh-speaking students can request a Welsh-speaking personal tutor.

You’ll meet your personal tutors regularly, both in groups and one-to-one, giving you dedicated time to review your development and discuss your goals. All teaching staff also offer regular office hours, so you can ask questions and get advice on your studies whenever you need it.

Alongside this, you’ll be supported by your lecturers, seminar tutors and module convenors throughout your modules. If you complete an independent research project, you’ll work closely with an academic advisor who will guide you through the process. 

You’ll complete a range of assessments designed to support your progress as you go. These give you the chance to build your skills and receive feedback before completing larger pieces of work. You’ll receive written feedback on all coursework to help you improve.

You'll also have access to a range of student services and support, co-located in the Centre for Student Life. This includes services relating to Advice and Money, Student Futures, Counselling, Health and Wellbeing, the Student Disability Service, Academic Study Skills and Student Mentoring.

How will I be assessed?

You’ll be assessed in a variety of ways that reflect the skills you’ll develop during your degree. 

These include source analyses, research projects, reviews, presentations, policy briefings, creative-critical portfolios and blog posts, alongside more traditional assessments such as essays and exams. 

Some assessments involve working collaboratively on projects, while others give you the chance to write and create for different audiences. For example, you might design a museum exhibition, produce a policy briefing for a minister, or create podcasts and digital content for social media. Longer essays on topics across history, politics or international relations allow you to explore key debates or investigate important questions in more depth. 

All assessments are designed to help you develop your ideas, skills and confidence. They encourage you to connect your learning to local, national and global issues, think creatively, and approach problems in new ways. You’ll also build experience in collaboration, presenting your work, and developing clear, evidence-based arguments. 

You’ll receive regular feedback on your work, giving you opportunities to reflect on your progress and continue improving. 

What skills will I practise and develop?

The Learning Outcomes for this Programme describe what you will achieve by the end of your programme at Cardiff University and identify the knowledge and skills that you will develop. They will also help you to understand what is expected of you.

On successful completion of your Programme, you will be able to:

Knowledge & Understanding:

• Demonstrate a critical understanding of core concepts, theories and methods used in the study of history, politics and international relations, and consider the analysis of political ideas, institutions and practices, relative to the historical and contemporary context.
• Engage critically and conceptually with different political systems and historical contexts; the nature and distribution of power in them; the social, economic, and cultural contexts within which they operate; and - in some cases - the relationships between them 
• Engage critically and conceptually with the changing assumptions and methods that historians use to explain the past and demonstrate systematic knowledge and understanding of the complexity and diversity of situations, events, and mentalities in the past in a single country or in relation to a particular theme
• Demonstrate an understanding of political and policy-making processes and their impacts both within individual states and/or the international relations between states and non-state actors.

Intellectual Skills:

• Apply the appropriate methods of analysis to examine the political systems, ideologies, and institutions across different regions of the world; formulate and justify arguments about a range of historical issues, problems, and debates using historiographical ideas and methods.
• Interpret complex global, historical and political events and trends by synthesising diverse social, political, economic, and cultural perspectives.
• Assess the impact and legacy of historical events and processes on contemporary politics and international relations and utilise knowledge and appropriate skills and methods to identify and critically evaluate historical change
• Select historical, political and international relations-related information, data and primary sources in a critical and discerning manner, and use, manage, synthesise that information and data effectively and ethically. 

Professional Practical Skills:

• Ask cogent and focused questions and pursue answers to these questions through structured enquiry, selecting and interrogating an appropriate range of evidence
• Demonstrate critical thinking, reasoning, and the ability to assimilate and summarise complex information and ideas though the independent selection and critical analysis of an appropriate range of evidence and communicate findings to both specialist and non-specialist audiences
• Summarise and critically appraise the relative merits and demerits of alternative views and interpretations and evaluate their significance
• Demonstrate an awareness of the ethical considerations and challenges faced in historical, political and international relations research and practice, such as human rights and global justice.

Transferable/Key Skills:

• Present complex findings and arguments clearly, concisely, and persuasively in a variety of formats either individually or collaboratively as part of a team
• Develop intercultural awareness and communication skills by engaging with diverse political viewpoints and historical perspectives from around the world.
• Utilise appropriate digital and IT skills, including data visualisation and online collaborative tools, to support historical, political and international relations-related research projects.
• Demonstrate adaptability and resilience, using critical thinking, initiative, and creativity to propose imaginative solutions to problems.