Explore career options
School of Social Sciences and Humanities
International Relations, Politics and History
Your careers team
Careers Network is here to support you by providing information, advice, guidance, events and opportunities to enable you to secure placements, work experience, self-employment and graduate careers.
Working closely with your academic school, our team of experts ensures that every student has access to careers advice. As well as large careers fairs, we hold sector-specific events, involving employers and º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ alumni, to help you make valuable connections and secure high-quality placements and graduate roles.
To find out more about what we do and how we can support you, visit Meet the teams.
Details of the Placements Officers for your school can be found here.
We look forward to supporting you throughout your º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ journey.
Key skills developed during your degree
- Ability to construct an argument and communicate findings in a clear and persuasive manner, both orally and in writing
- Ability to discuss ideas in groups, and to negotiate, question and summarise
- Ability to work without direct supervision and manage time and priorities effectively
- Appreciation of the different factors that influence the activities of groups and individuals in society
- Capacity to think objectively and approach problems and new situations with an open mind
- Critical reasoning and analytical skills, including the capacity for solving problems and thinking creatively
- Intellectual rigour and independence, including the ability to conduct detailed research
- Excellent written and oratory skills
- Intellectual independence and autonomy
- Team working skills
Career options
Approximately 60% of graduate roles are open to all disciplines. The links below are specific to International Relations, Politics and History. If you would like information on other career areas, please visit the career areas section of our website.
Careers directly related to your International Relations and Politics degree:
- Civil Service
- European Union - please note all candidates for EPSO selection procedures must be citizens of at least one EU Member State. If you are a UK citizen and you have a second citizenship of an EU Member State you may still apply.
- International/Humanitarian Aid. This is a broad area which can include human rights, disaster preparedness, education, migration and environment.
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- International Aid / Development Worker
- Careers in International Development
- Reliefweb is good for jobs and also updates on humanitarian news
- International development jobs
- British Overseas NGOs for Development (BOND)
Careers directly related to your History degree:
- Archaeology
- Archiving
- Heritage work
- Museum, gallery, library and information work
- Teaching
- Tour Guide
Careers where your degree would be useful:
- Charities
- Consultancy
- Civil service
- Insurance and risk
- Intelligence work
- Analysis
- Law
- Library and information
- Politics
- Publishing
You can also look at other course pages depending on other modules you have taken and/or are interested in.
Further study
Further study at º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ:
For History degrees, you can study for a research degree including a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) or MPhil (Master of Philosophy). Further information can be found on the Department webpages.
Please visit the Politics, History and International Relations department webpage for details on postgraduate further study.
Further study elsewhere:
To explore further study please go to www.findamasters.com. In addition, job profiles on www.prospects.ac.uk will also provide information on postgraduate qualifications needed for specific occupations.
Where do graduates go?
What do º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ History graduates do?
Graduates from this subject area have gone on to destinations where:
Employers included:
American Express, BBC, Black Country Living Museum, Civil Service, Deloitte, Deutsche Bank, FDM Group, Lloyds, Local Government, Microsoft, Royal Mail, Penguin Random House, Santander, Softcat, Zenith.
Roles included:
Account Executive, Archives Assistant, Area Manager, Business Development Executive, Client Executive, Consultant, Customer Supply Chain Manager, Digital Marketing Intern, Financial Consultant, Graduate Analyst, Internal Communications Executive, Ministerial Correspondence Officer, Operations Analyst, Recruitment Consultant, Research Associate, Senior EU Policy Officer, Trainee Auditor.
Further Study included:
MSc International Financial and Political Relations, MA Global Political Communication, MSc Marketing, PGCE Primary Teaching, MA Middle Eastern Studies, MA History, MA Politics Governance and Public Policy, MSc Security Studies, MPhil Management.
What do º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Politics and International Relations graduates do?
Graduates from this subject area have gone on to destinations where:
Employers included:
Amazon, American Express, Atos, BBC, The Cabinet Office, Charityworks, Civil Service, Copper Consultancy, Deloitte, Department for Work and Pensions, Deutsche Bank, EY, FDM Group, Frontline, Grant Thornton, HM Treasury, HSBC, Local Government, McLaren Automotive, Microsoft, Ministry of Defence, Ofcom, Ofgem, Prison and Probation Services, Royal Mail, Softcat, Unicef, Zenith.
Roles included:
Account Executive, Area Manager, Business Development Executive, Client Executive, Consultant, Digital Marketing Intern, Graduate Analyst, Ministerial Correspondence Officer, Recruitment Consultant, Research Associate, Trainee Auditor.
Further Study included:
MSc International Financial and Political Relations, MA Global Political Communication, MSc Marketing, PGCE Primary Teaching, MA Middle Eastern Studies, MA History, MA Politics Governance and Public Policy, MSc Security Studies, MPhil Management.
Further information
For more information on companies graduates work for, industry links and career opportunities, visit the subject area page of the University website. You can also find out what our students say in our student stories of personal journeys through and beyond º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ and track the career journeys and º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ experiences of some of our alumni.
Resources to research career areas
- Archaeology.co.uk
- History.org.uk
- Museums Association
- Prospects: Options with a Politics Degree
- Prospects: Options with an International Relations Degree
- Prospects: Options with a History Degree
- Targetjobs: What Can I Do With a History Degree
- Target jobs: What Can I Do With a Politics Degree
Have you considered a career in Law? You don’t need a law degree to become a lawyer – in fact, the modern legal profession is full of non-law graduates. Jobs in law utilise many of the skills social sciences and humanities students have. For further information please see the Prospects website and LawCareers.net hub for non-Law students.
Working in the Civil Service is also of interest to many International Relations, Politics and History graduates, so visit the Prospects website to begin your research into this area.
Resources to find work experience, placements and graduate jobs
Organisations that have graduate schemes directly related to History:
- British Council
- City and County Council Graduate Programmes (check local council websites)
- HMRC: Intelligence Analyst roles advertised on the civil service website
- MI5
- National Graduate Development Programme
History specific websites:
- Archives.org.uk
- British Archaeological Jobs and Resources
- English Heritage.org.uk
- Global Museum
- Guardian Jobs
- Museum Jobs
- National Archives
- National Trust Jobs
- Science Museum Group
Organisations that have graduate schemes directly related to Politics and International Relations:
- British Council - number of internships, volunteering and work experience opportunities around the world including teaching english abroad, erasmus+ and traineeships
- City and County Council Graduate Programmes - check local websites
- Civil Service Fast Stream - they also have an undergraduate internship programme the Summer Internship Programme
- EU Graduate Administration Scheme
- HMRC: intelligence analyst roles advertised on civil service website
- MI5
- National Graduate Development Programme
Politics and International Relations specific websites:
- Civil Service Fast Stream
- Civil Service jobs
- Euro Brussels
- Institute of Development Studies
- London School of Economics
- Parliament Jobs website
- Public Affairs website
- Smart Thinking Jobs - Policy and Think Tank Jobs
- Relief Web
- Work in the EU
- Work 4 an MP
Professional bodies, sector and labour market information (LMI)
History:
- British Association for Local History
- Council for British Archaeology
- Institute of Historical Research
- Museums Association
- Society of Geneaologists
- The Historical Association
- The National Archives
Politics:
Professional bodies:
- Chartered Institute of Public Relations
- European Public Affairs Consultancies’ Association
- National Council for Voluntary Organisations
- The ‘home of professional UK fundraising’
Sector and labour market information (LMI):
- Charity Choice
- Charity Commission
- Charity Times
- Independent Consultancies such as Thomson Reuters
- Newspapers
- Politics.co.uk
- Third Sector
- UK Political Info
- Apolitical