MSc Empires, Colonialism and Globalisation

The MSc Empires, Colonialism and Globalisation, taught by the Department of International History, focuses on the history of the non-European world through the study of imperialism, colonialism and the forces that have brought about globalisation.

This master's programme focuses on the phenomenon of imperialism and related issues, including technologies and ideologies of empire, notions of race, ethnicity and gender, economic development and underdevelopment, and trans-regional flows and interactions. You'll be able to choose from a wide range of specialist options from the Departments of International History, Government, Economic History, International Development, Geography, and Gender.

You'll engage at an advanced level with the latest academic research in the field, and undertake your own research-based term papers and third term dissertation. The dissertation is one of the highlights of this degree, through which you pursue specialist research in a field of your choice.

Watch the Virtual Graduate Open talk given by Master's Admissions Advisor Dr Paul Stock in November 2025.

General reading

• Antony Best, Jussi Hanhimaki, Joe Maiolo, and Kirsten Schulze, International History of the Twentieth Century and Beyond (Routledge, 2014 3rd edition)

Subject specific recommendations

• Mark Mazower, Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth Century (1999)
• Jeremy Friedman, Shadow Cold War: The Sino-Soviet Competition for the Third World (2015)
• Elizabeth Economy, The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State (2019)
• Hazel V Carby, Imperial Intimacies: A Tale of Two Islands (Verso 2019)
• Kristina Spohr, Post Wall, Post Square, How Bush, Gorbachev, Kohl, and Deng Shaped the World after 1989 (YUP, 2020)
• O. A. Westad, The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times (2011)
• Desmond Dinan, ed, Origins and Evolution of the European Union (OUP, 2014)
• David van Reybrouck, Congo: The Epic History of a People (2014 edn)
• Nelson Mandela, Conversations with Myself (2010)

Empires

• C. A. Bayly, The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914: Global Connections and Comparisons (2004)
• Pankaj Mishra, From the Ruins of Empire: The Revolt Against the West and the Remaking of Asia (2012)
• A Osiander, Sovereignty, International Relations and the Westphalian Myth (2001)
• Buzan and Lawson, The Global Transformation: the Nineteenth Century and the Making of International Relations (2015)
• David Olusoga, Black and British: A forgotten History (latest edn)

You'll take a 10,000-word dissertation. You'll also choose courses from a range of specialist options from the Department of International History and departments across the School.

Watch our HY course videos

Dissertation

This component of the degree reflects our belief that you should be willing to engage in detailed historical research. In preparing this piece of work, you're provided with guidance about how to choose an appropriate topic, how to identify and locate the necessary sources, and how to write up your research findings. This is done through a combination of departmental workshops and discussions between you and your dissertation supervisor. But ultimately the dissertation is a test of the research abilities and writing skills of each individual student.

While in London, preparing your dissertation, you can take advantage of numerous world-class research libraries and archives. These include the National Archives (formerly the Public Record Office), the British Library, the libraries of specialised schools of the University of London such as the Institute for Historical Research, the School of Oriental and African Studies, and the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, and the LSE's own library, the British Library of Political and Economic Sciences. The LSE's archive also contains much valuable research material, as do the collections of the Imperial War Museum, the Warburg Institute and many others.

History is a wide ranging and challenging subject to study. It seeks to understand the past and to make sense of the present, adding an important dimension to the understanding of many aspects of human society. The department is world renowned in its field, offering a unique perspective on the history of relations between states, peoples and cultures. We pride ourselves on giving students the benefit of ground-breaking research throughout our teaching programmes.

Our degrees will give you a broad international perspective on the past. We give attention both to domestic and international issues and many of the courses we offer deal with major events in the history of international relations.

Since the behaviour of countries in the international arena cannot be understood without a knowledge of their distinct social, political, economic and cultural characteristics, we provide courses covering major aspects of the history of ideas and mentalities.

LSE was founded in 1895 originally as an institute of higher education for graduate students. The department reflects this tradition and takes its responsibility for undergraduate teaching and supervision very seriously. We admit nearly as many undergraduate students as master's students. We have one of the most cosmopolitan undergraduate communities in London and one of the most vibrant and dynamic.

Learn more about our programmes, research, public events and people.

Department of International History

Who's who

Dr Paul Stock

Programme Director

Department of International History

• Cultural history
• Intellectual history
• Modern history
• Europe
• UK

We welcome applications from all suitably qualified prospective students. At LSE, we want to recruit students with the best academic merit, potential and motivation, irrespective of background.

We carefully consider each application and take into account all the information included on your application form, such as your:

• academic achievement (including predicted and achieved grades)
• statement of academic purpose
• two academic references
• CV.

See further information on supporting documents.

You may need to provide evidence of your English language proficiency. See our English language requirements.

Programme and admissions enquiries

For questions related to your application or the admissions process, please check our admissions frequently asked questions page.

If you have any queries which aren't answered on the website, please contact the department's Graduate Admissions Advisor.

This degree is designed for students who have a passion for global history explored from the perspective of the people of the non-western world. Students are taught by leading experts in the field in courses that cover six hundred years of history. The choice of courses on offer means this degree provides you with an advanced understanding of the role of several different forms of imperialism in shaping our world. Students study both western overseas empires as well as non-western empires to understand the deep history of global inequalities and power differentials, as well as to gain a long-term view on globalisation.

Applications for this programme are considered on a rolling basis. This means that applications will close once the programme is full.

There is no fixed deadline. However, if you’d like to be considered for any funding opportunities, you must submit your application (and all supporting documents) by the funding deadline. See the fees and funding section below for more details.

For this programme, the tuition fee is different for home and overseas students depending on their fee status.

For this programme, the tuition fee is different for home and overseas students depending on their fee status.

All taught courses are required to include formative coursework which is unassessed. It's designed to help prepare you for summative assessment which counts towards the course mark and to the degree award. LSE uses a range of formative assessment, such as essays, problem sets, case studies, reports, quizzes, mock exams and many others. Summative assessment may be conducted during the course or by final examination at the end of the course. You will undertake your own research-based term papers and third term dissertation.

An indication of the formative coursework and summative assessment for each course can be found in the relevant course guide.

Students develop highly transferable skills valued by employers and go on to work in the foreign service, the EU, political think tanks, risk assessment, journalism and the NGO sector, or stay on to take a research degree.

LSE History graduates find employment in almost any job sector due to the wide range of transferable skills developed during their studies.

Very few people with a degree in History go on to work as historians, but students with a degree in International History have many skills that are in high demand today.

History students learn to read and process large amounts of information, to sift out unreliable data, to analyse and organise the material available, and to form a coherent argument orally or in writing. Students at the LSE learn to set and achieve personal goals, manage their time to meet deadlines, and have confidence speaking in public. In our knowledge-based economy, employers value these skills. Learning history is learning skills.

LSE history students continue to have one of the best rate of employability and earnings after graduation in the UK. The Complete University Guide 2020 places History at LSE 6th overall for job prospects. Guardian's University 2021 League Tables placed History at LSE in 2nd place for percentage of graduates who find graduate-level jobs, or are in further study at professional or HE level, within fifteen months of graduation. The 2019 report on Graduate Outcomes Subject by Provider from the Department for Education places History at LSE top of the table with earnings superior to any other university in the UK with 2010-11 LSE graduates' median salary at £43,200 5 years after graduating.

A report on relative labour market returns, also from the Department for Education, which calculated the difference in earnings by subject and university choice throughout Britain five years after graduation, ranked History at LSE number 1 in June 2018. The report illustrates the average impact the different universities and subjects would have on the future income of an individual. History at LSE averaged a lifetime earnings boost of £14,000 for men and £15,000 for women when compared with studying history at any other university in the UK, including Oxford, St Andrews, Cambridge, KCL and UCL.

Further information on graduate destinations for this programme

Find out what MSc Empires, Colonialism and Globalisation students have been doing since graduating

From CV workshops through to careers fairs, LSE offers lots of information and support to help you make that all-important step from education into work.

Many of the UK’s top employers give careers presentations at the School during the year and there are numerous workshops covering topics such as job hunting, managing interviews, writing a cover letter and using LinkedIn.

See LSE Careers for further details.