The School has a strong international profile in both research and teaching. History and Anthropology are thriving subject areas at Queen's. The School has around forty teaching staff, more than 500 undergraduates and around seventy postgraduates. The department is diverse and stimulating, without being overly large - it has a reputation for being friendly and supportive.

The Institute of Irish Studies, based in this School, acts as a focus for the larger body of research being undertaken at Queen's but also plays a key role in contemporary Irish research, in areas such as parading, ritual and symbolism, and wider policy engagements on urban space and conflict. The Institute of Cognition and Culture is one of the world's first centres for research in the cognitive science of culture, and the Institute of Byzantine Studies specialises in the study of the people, society and culture of the Byzantine Empire.