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Program Description

Our world is more interconnected than ever. We call it globalization, but without good histories to explain how it got that way, we cannot begin to know where we are heading.

Most graduate studies in history are still confined by national and regional boundaries. This program provides an important alternative. Rather than focusing on area studies, it trains students to transcend them. We will explore our world by studying the forces that have been remaking it: migration, trade, technological revolutions, epidemic disease, environmental change, wars and diplomacy.

The new Master’s program at Columbia and the LSE asks students to analyze large-scale historical processes, pursue empirical research, and produce their own comparative and cross-cultural histories.In a two-year program based in New York and London, students explore two universities, two countries, and two continents, culminating in dual Master’s degrees in international and world history.

Students apply through the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University. The Joint Steering Committee, including members from both Columbia and LSE, evaluates the applications and makes the final decisions jointly.

Curriculum

The innovative curriculum is taught by leading historians who are experts in their fields, through small seminars, colloquia, and one-on-one advising. The program is organized around a two-year sequence of core courses, which culminates in a Master’s thesis written under the joint supervision of Columbia and LSE faculty. In addition, students choose from a rich offering of electives according to their individual research interests. Language training is a critical component of the program, preparing students for multi-archival research.

Dual Degree

A dual degree provides students with the opportunity to work in distinct but complementary intellectual environments. Such an expansion of perspective is invaluable, even indispensable, for students of international and world history. The relatively close cultural relationship between Britain and the U.S. - and their common language - allows students to make the necessary adjustments quickly and maximize the advantages of a two-year program.

The first year of the program takes place at Columbia University, the second year at London School of Economics.Students earn graduate degrees from both institutions.

Resources and Archives

In addition to a wide range of courses in the History departments at Columbia and the LSE, students have access to electives in several other distinguished departments - anthropology, economics, international affairs, political science and sociology, among others. Also, students may attend lectures and participate in events at multiple research programs and institutes. Students have access to an extensive network of libraries.

New York and London have tremendous advantages for archival research in international and world history. The British Library and National Archives in Kew are unmatched for colonial and diplomatic history, and rapid rail links mean that the national archives of France and the European Union in Paris and Brussels are just two to three hours away. New York, for its part, offers the archives of the United Nations as well as the largest international foundations - Ford and Rockefeller. The U.S. National Archives are also a half-day’s journey away.

Careers

Immersed in the vibrant intellectual communities of two of the world’s great cities, the program provides graduates with the opportunity to develop life-long contacts on both sides of the Atlantic, using Columbia and LSE as launching pads for careers in government, journalism, NGO’s, international organizations and further academic pursuits.

In addition to the requirements listed below, all students must submit 1 official transcript showing courses and grades per school attended, a Statement of Academic Purpose and 2 letters of evaluation from academic sources. All international students whose native language is not English or whose undergraduate degree is from an institution in a country whose official language is not English, must submit scores of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or IELTS. For more information, refer to our Admissions Information and Frequently Asked Questions pages.