All majors must complete 72 credits, fulfilling the following requirements:
- A primary history field (24 credits)
- Two historical subfields (12 credits each)
- HIST 298: Junior Colloquium (6 credits)
- HIST 398: Advanced Historical Writing (6 credits)
- HIST 400: Comprehensive exercise (6 credits)
- Two 300-level Research Seminars (12 credits total) (described below)
Eight Broad Historical Fields
Majors select three fields from the eight that best relate to their research interests as their primary field and subfields. It’s fine to take courses in all eight fields! The department also has robust offerings in public history although it is not currently one of the fields.
- Africa & Its Diaspora: People of African descent inside & outside the African continent.
- Ancient/Medieval: The worlds of Classical and Hellenistic Greece, Republican and Imperial Rome, the world of Late Antiquity (fourth–seventh centuries), medieval Europe (fourth–fifteenth centuries), and the medieval Mediterranean (including Byzantium, the Near East, and North Africa). History courses in Classics count towards this field.
- Asia (East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and Middle East): Covers East, South and Central Asia (Middle East).
- The Atlantic World: Relationship between Europe, Africa, & the Americas, ca. 1500–1820, through circulation of people, goods, and ideas.
- Early Modern/Modern Europe: Early Modern and Modern European history (including Russia) with additional courses in European Studies taught by historians.
- Environment and Health: Environmental history, the history of disease, and the history of medicine.
- Latin America: The pre-Hispanic, colonial and post-colonial eras of the region with an emphasis on Mesoamerica, the Andes, the Southern Cone, Brazil, and Cuba, with additional courses in Economics taught by historians.
- United States: U.S., AfAm, environment, immigration, labor, public and Women’s and Gender History, with additional courses in American Studies and Economics.
Thematic Primary Historical Field
In addition to these fields, a major may also design a thematic primary field (four courses) in consultation with the major adviser to devise a program of study that uses existing courses, relevant courses from other departments, independent studies, and off-campus studies program courses. Examples of thematic primary field topics of past majors: Middle East History, Gender and History, Colonialism, Immigration History, Comparative Revolutions, Economic History, and others. Please note that a thematic historical sub-field (two courses) is not offered.
Please ask the History department chair or your adviser about any courses in Africana Studies, American Studies, Asian Studies, Classics, Cross Cultural Studies, Digital Humanities, Economics, Education, European Studies, Environmental and Technology Studies, Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies, Latin American Studies, Religion, or other special courses offered by an historian in another department if you wish to apply them toward the history major.
Multiple Field Course Tags
Please note, some courses are tagged to count in more than one History field. It is possible to change your primary field or sub-fields should your interests change, and a multi-tagged course might be moved to one of your new fields. However, no course can ever count for more than one field at a time.
Off Campus Studies Courses
Approved History courses from Off-Campus Study Programs may also satisfy your History field requirements. For approval, please consult the Department Chair.
300-level Courses and Independent Studies
- If one of your two 300-level courses is counted toward your primary or subfields, you will not need another History course to reach your 72 credits. However, if both of your 300-level courses are counted toward your primary and/or sub-fields, one additional History course that has not been previously counted is required. This additional course can be a History department elective course in any field, or an AP, IB or College and department approved OCS program — any one of which can be used to help you to meet the 72-credit minimum.
- An Independent Study at any level may count toward your History field requirements with instructor approval. A 300-level Independent Study does not fulfill either of the two 300-level seminar requirements.
- History 398 does not fulfill either of the two 300-level seminar requirements.