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 Loughborough 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 throughout your Loughborough journey.

• 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

Approximately 60% of graduate roles are open to all disciplines. The links below are specific to Politics and International Relations 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 Politics degree:

• Civil Service
• European Union
• International/Humanitarian Aid - see our International Aid leaflet for more information
• Local, national and international government
• Political Risk
• Public Affairs
• Think Tanks
• Trade unions

Careers directly related to your History degree:

• Archaeology
• Archiving
• Heritage work
• Museum, gallery, library and information work
• Teaching
• Tour Guide

 Careers where 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 at Loughborough University:

For History degrees, you can study for a research degree including a PhD (Post Honours Doctorate) 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. 

Graduates from this subject area have gone on to destinations where:

Employers included:

American Express, BBC, Civil Service, Deloitte, Deutsche Bank, FDM Group, Local Government, Microsoft, Royal Mail, Softcat, 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

What do Loughborough Politics and International Relations graduates do?

Graduates from this subject area have gone on to destinations where:

Employers included:

American Express, BBC, Civil Service, Deloitte, Deutsche Bank, FDM Group, Local Government, Microsoft, Royal Mail, Softcat, 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 Loughborough and track the career journeys and Loughborough experiences of some of our alumni.

• Websites:
• Archaeology.co.uk 
• Creative and Cultural Skills
• DLHE: destination of leavers of higher education data
• Graduate profiles: what did students who studied your subject do
• History.org.uk 
• Museums Association
• Prospects: options with a history degree
• Targetjobs: what can I do with a history degree
• Prospects: Options with a Politics Degree
• Prospects: Options with an International Relations Degree
• Prospects: Options with a History Degree
• Target jobs: What Can I Do With a Politics Degree 

Videos:

There are a number of videos available providing you with first-hand accounts of certain careers; including information on industries, sectors, job roles and tips on how to get into specific roles.

To find videos please see:

• Careers in the EU
• iCould

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:

Working in the Civil Service is also of interest to many Geography graduates, so visit the Prospects website to begin your research into this area.

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
• 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
• Relief Web
• Work in the EU
• Work 4 an MP

For generic placement and graduate websites, please see our Finding jobs/opportunities pages

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