Undergraduate Admissions

Advising for History Majors/Minors

Undergraduate students who are considering a History concentration are encouraged to speak to the Department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies Prof. Thomas Long during office hours to discuss your course of study. Also, click on the major or minor pages to read about requirements and instructions. 

Advising for Undergraduate Majors/Minors

Program Requirements

The following requirements must be fulfilled:

The general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Undergraduate Programs.

A minimum of thirteen (13) history (HIST) courses, including one to three introductory courses, one Majors’ Introductory Seminar, eight to ten upper-level courses, and a thesis or capstone project, as described below:

 

Introductory courses

At least one, but no more than three, History (HIST) courses at the 1000 level; these may include, but are not limited to, the following:  
HIST 1011 World History, 1500-Present  
HIST 1020 Approaches to Women's History  
HIST 1110 European Civilization in Its World Context  
HIST 1121 The War of Ideas in European and International History, 1750–Present  
HIST 1310 Introduction to American History  
HIST 1311 Introduction to American History  
The introductory course requirement may be fulfilled by scoring 4 or 5 on Advanced Placement (AP) examinations: U.S. history AP (6 credits for HIST 1310 and HIST 1311), European history AP (3 credits for HIST 1120), and world history AP (3 credits for HIST 1011); or scoring 7 or above in an appropriate international baccalaureate program. Alternatively, requirement can be fulfilled by scoring 650 or above on the SAT II world history (HIST 1011) or U.S. history (HIST 1310 and HIST 1311).  

Students should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies for more detailed information regarding this requirement.

  
   

Majors' Introductory Seminar

To complete requirements for the major, a student must take a Majors' Introductory Seminar, preferably early in their program of study.  
HIST 2005 Majors’ Introductory Seminar  
or HIST 2005W Majors’ Introductory Seminar
HIST 2105 Majors’ Introductory Seminar: Europe  
or HIST 2105W Majors’ Introductory Seminar: Europe
HIST 2305W Majors’ Introductory Seminar: United States  
or HIST 2305W Majors’ Introductory Seminar: United States
HIST 2505 Majors’ Introductory Seminar: Africa  
HIST 2605 Majors' Introductory Seminar: Asia  
or HIST 2605W Majors’ Introductory Seminar: Asia
HIST 2705 Majors² Introductory Seminar: Latin America  
or HIST 2705W Majors’ Introductory Seminar: Latin America
HIST 2805 Majors' Introductory Seminar: Middle East  
or HIST 2805W Majors’ Introductory Seminar: Middle East
Topics vary annually and are announced in the Schedule of Classes.  
Students should consult the Director of Undergraduate for more detailed information regarding this requirement.  
   

Upper-level courses

Eight to ten additional upper-level courses numbered from HIST 2000 to HIST 3999. The number of upper-level courses must be sufficient, when combined with the required introductory course(s), the Majors’ Introductory Seminar, and the thesis or capstone project, to produce a total of thirteen history (HIST) courses.  
At least one of the upper-level courses must be in three of the following seven categories:  
Europe: HIST 2100-2900 and HIST 3100-3199 groupings.
 
North America: HIST 2300-2399 and HIST 3300-3399 groupings.
 
Africa: HIST 2500-2599 and 3500-3599 groupings
 
Asia: HIST 2600-2699 and 3600-3699 groupings.
 
Latin America: HIST 2700-2799 and 3700-3799 groupings.
 
Middle East: HIST 2800-2899 and 3800-3899 groupings
 
Theory/Methods
  
At least one upper-level course must focus on the period before 1750.  
Dean’s Seminars, Honors (HONR) courses taught by members of the Department of History, Majors’ Introductory Seminars, and special topics courses taught under HIST 3001 may be used to fulfill this requirement on a case-by-case basis.  
Students should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies for more detailed information regarding this requirement.  
   

Thesis or capstone project

HIST 4098 Thesis Seminar  
or HIST 4098W Thesis Seminar
or  
HIST 4099 Senior Honors Thesis Tutorial  
or HIST 4099W Senior Honors Thesis Tutorial
Students fulfill this requirement in their junior or senior year. The requirement may be satisfied by a suitable alternative (e.g., a digital history project or a documentary film) with the permission of the thesis instructor.  
Students should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies for more detailed information regarding this requirement.  
   

Optional specialization

Students may choose to pursue an area of specialization by taking two courses beyond the thirteen required, with the expectation that a minimum of six courses will contribute to the student’s knowledge of a specific field; these may include a geographic region, chronological period, special topic (e.g., women’s history, legal history, or military history), or a combination thereof. The title of the specialization and proposed curriculum must be approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies or other departmental delegate. A maximum of two courses counting toward the specialization may be taken in other departments of the University.

 

Foreign language

While there is no foreign language requirement, students are strongly encouraged to take at least two semesters of a foreign language, particularly if they plan to pursue a graduate degree in history.

Alumnus creates new annual undergraduate scholarship for History Department

The History Department is pleased to announce the creation of the Dr. Charles Herber Annual Scholarship. This scholarship, supported by alumnus Ron Denham '67, will be awarded to an undergraduate majoring in History with a preference for a student who is the first in their family to attend college. Read more here.

 

Ron Denham (Class of '67) and his wife Gail