Program Overview

Introduction to the LSE-NUS Double Degree MA Asian and International History

The LSE-NUS Double Degree MA Asian and International History is a two-year master's degree that explores a range of topics like imperialism and empire, the Cold War, military history, cultural history, and oral history from an Asian perspective.

Key Information

• Study mode: Full-time
• Programme availability: Home full-time students (22 months) Open, Overseas full-time students (22 months) Open
• Academic year: 2026/27
• Start date: July 2026 in Singapore
• Location: Houghton Street, London, Singapore
• Application deadline: 13 March 2026

Overview

This new and exciting two-year programme is taught by the National University of Singapore and the London School of Economics. It’s designed for students interested in studying Asia from an international perspective. The programme is also well-suited for those interested in decentering international history by studying it from an Asian perspective.

Programme Content

The NUS-LSE double degree MA Asian and International History is a two-year master’s degree. The first year is spent in Singapore at NUS where students will take a core course on historiography followed by nine electives or seven electives and a dissertation chosen from a broad range of courses covering Asian history, international history, and historical methods. The second year is spent in London at LSE where students will write a 10,000 word dissertation on a topic with an Asian focus as well as taking one international history course, one course on Asia, and a course of the students’ choice from any of the departments across LSE.

Year 1

• First year, at National University of Singapore
• Students must take the mandatory core course, "Historiography: Theory and Archive", and either nine elective courses or seven elective courses plus a 10,000-word thesis.

Year 2

• Second year, at LSE
• At LSE, you'll complete three full units in addition to the dissertation.
• At least two of these three units must be chosen from the wide range of "international history" and "Asian history, politics, and society" course offerings.
• You may complete a third unit in another department at LSE, provided that both the academic tutor at LSE and the teacher responsible for the course approve.

Entry Requirements

• At NUS, the entry requirements are as follows:
  • NUS honors degree (Merit/Second Class and above) or equivalent in relevant disciplines such as history and area studies, and disciplinary or interdisciplinary academic programmes in the humanities and social sciences that give the major a measure of competence in historical subject matters; or bachelor’s degree with a relevant Graduate Diploma with a minimum GPA of 3.00; or bachelor’s degree with a relevant Graduate Certificate with a minimum GPA of 3.00.
  • Bachelor’s degree in relevant disciplines such as history and area studies, and disciplinary or interdisciplinary academic programs in the humanities and social sciences that give the major a measure of competence in historical subject matters, with at least two years of relevant work experience.
  • Candidates with other qualifications and experience may be considered on a case-by-case basis, subject to approval by the BGS.
  • Applicants whose native tongue and medium of university instruction is not English must complete the TOEFL or IELTS and obtain the results set by the particular programme.
• At LSE, the entry requirements are as follows:
  • Upper second class honors degree (2:1) or equivalent in any discipline.

English Language Requirements

The English language requirement for this programme is Higher. Read more about our English language requirements.

Fees and Funding

• The table of fees shows the latest tuition fees for all programmes.
• You're charged a fee for your programme. At LSE, your tuition fee covers registration and examination fees payable to the School, lectures, classes and individual supervision, lectures given at other colleges under intercollegiate arrangements and, under current arrangements, membership of the Students' Union.
• It doesn't cover living costs or travel or fieldwork.
• Home students: SGD 40,550 (inclusive of GST) for Year 1 (at NUS, 2026/27), and £32,000 (provisional) for Year 2 (at LSE, 2027/28).
• Overseas students: SGD 40,550 (inclusive of GST) for Year 1 (at NUS, 2026/27), and £32,000 (provisional) for Year 2 (at LSE, 2027/28).

Learning and Assessment

• Teaching at NUS: The graduate curriculum is based on the modular system. Workloads are expressed in terms of units, and academic performance is measured by grade points on a 5-point scale.
• Teaching at LSE: You'll take a number of courses, often including half unit courses and full unit courses. In half unit courses, on average, you can expect 20-30 contact hours in total and for full unit courses, on average, you can expect 40-60 contact hours in total.
• Assessment at NUS: The majority of the taught courses at NUS adopt the continuous assessment method to assess the progress of the candidates.
• Assessment at LSE: 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.

Graduate Destinations

• Through an MA History degree, you'll develop highly transferable skills that are valued by employers and can be used and put in practice in numerous roles and sectors.
• LSE International History postgraduate destinations are broad and include the following sectors: academia and research, education and teaching, public sector in the UK or abroad, interest groups, international organisations and NGOs, charities, public affairs, as well as a wide range of other sectors, including journalism and media, museum, heritage and archive, consultancy, environment, creative arts, HR, retail, business, investment banking.