Major Requirements


2023-2024
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
FOR NEW AND CURRENT MAJORS


General Statement of Goals

The major consists of at least nine semester courses as follows:

Required Courses in the Major:

One Major Seminar (History 301, “Approaching the Past”)
At least one Advanced Seminar (History 402-479)
or Advanced Tutorial (History 480-492)

Elective Courses:

Seven (or more) additional semester courses in History, at least one to be chosen from among three of the following groups (A-G):

Group A The History of Africa
Group B The History of Asia
Group C The History of Europe & Russia
Group D The History of Latin America and the Caribbean
Group E
The History of the Middle East
Group F The History of the United States & Canada
Group G Global History

In addition, students must take at least one course dealing with the Premodern Period (desgnated Group P in the catalog); this may be one of the courses used to fulfill the group requirement (Groups A-G).  A single course can meet the requirement for no more than one of the the Groups A-G.

Concentration Within the Major:

Students are encouraged, in  consultation with their advisors, to design a concentration within the History major. A concentration should consist of at least three courses that are linked by common themes, geography, or time period. Only one of those courses can be a 100-level seminar while at least one must be a 300- or 400-level course. Courses in the concentration may be used to fulfill the group requirements. Courses taken abroad may be included in the concentration with the approval of the department chair.

Study Abroad:

The History Department considers immersion in and familiarity with a foreign culture not only to be valuable in themselves, but also to provide an important way of understanding the past. Students who major in History therefore are encouraged to study a foreign language and to consider studying abroad during their junior year. History courses taken as part of a study abroad program that is recognized by the college normally can be used to satisfy departmental distribution and general requirements, up to a maximum of three courses (this limit does not apply to tutorials taken as part of the Williams-Exeter Program). Courses taken abroad, even at Oxford, cannot be used to satisfy the major seminar and advanced seminar/tutorial requirements, with only one exception: the tutorial on “Historiography: Tacitus to Weber” that is offered through the Williams-Exeter Program can count for major seminar credit. Students who plan to study abroad during their junior year may take their major seminar in the spring semester of their sophomore year, and those planning to be away the whole of their junior year are strongly encouraged to do so.  Students interested in studying abroad during their junior year should discuss their plans with a member of the department as well as with the department’s administrative assistant. Approval of departmental credit for courses taken abroad normally must be obtained from the chair or from the administrative assistant prior to the commencement of the study abroad program.