Major Requirements – 72 Total Credits

All majors must complete 72 credits, fulfilling the following requirements:

Primary Historical Field Courses – Required 24 credits

See the Additional Departmental Notes section for a list of the Historical fields.

Historical Subfields Courses – Required Two Fields (12 credits per field)

See the Additional Departmental Notes section for a list of the Historical fields.

300-Level Research Seminar – Required Two Courses (12 credits)

Junior Colloquium Course – Required 6 credits

Advanced History Writing Course – Required 6 credits

Senior Integrative Exercise – Required 6 credits

Additional Departmental Notes

Eight Broad Historical Fields

The Department offers eight regional, thematic, or chronological fields; students may also develop their own thematic primary field in consultation with the department (see below). For their major field, majors will select the field that best reflects their research interests. For their secondary fields, they will choose two additional fields of interest. Please know that these are minimums; majors may pursue courses in all eight fields!  The department also has regular offerings that involve experiences in public history, although it is not currently one of the fields.

The History Department counts a variety of courses from other departments toward the major. Please look for them under “Related courses” below the History courses in the catalog. If you believe that a course should count towards history, please encourage the instructor to contact the chair of History.

Africa & Its Diaspora

Focuses on people of African descent inside & outside the African continent.

Ancient/Medieval

Includes ancient Greece and 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)

Includes East, South and Central Asia (Middle East).

The Atlantic World

Focuses on the relationship between Europe, Africa, & the Americas, ca. 1500–1820, through circulation of people, goods, and ideas.

Early Modern/Modern Europe

Includes early modern and modern European history (including Russia).

Environment and Health

Includes environmental history, the history of disease, and the history of medicine.

Latin America

Focuses on the pre-Hispanic, colonial and post-colonial eras of the region with an emphasis on Mesoamerica, the Andes, the Southern Cone, Brazil, and Cuba.

United States

Includes the histories of the US, including African American and Indigenous history and histories of the environment, immigration, labor, women, and gender.

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. This field may use existing history courses, approved courses from other departments, independent studies, and approved courses from an off-campus studies program. Past examples include: Middle East History, Gender and History, Colonialism, Immigration History, Comparative Revolutions, and Economic History. 

Courses That Can Count Toward Multiple Fields

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 count for more than one field at a time.

Some courses can count toward different fields depending on the student’s research project. This will normally be noted in the course description, but you should consult with the professor to find out whether it is possible to fulfill a specific field in the course. For example, you cannot count The Global Cold War toward the Ancient/Medieval field.

Off Campus Studies Courses

History courses from Off-Campus Study Programs may also satisfy some your History field requirements. For approval, please consult the Department Chair.

300-level Courses and Independent Studies

  • 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.
  • The History department recognizes up to 12 credits of AP or IB in select historical fields or as general credits toward history.