The Undergraduate Program
The educational value of history has been summed up innumerable times in the true, if trite, observation that we can hardly understand the world we live in if we know nothing about how it got that way. As a student of history at Notre Dame, you will not only develop a firm knowledge of the past; you will also acquire an informed way of thinking about and looking at the world.
The Department of History exposes undergraduates to life in the past as it was experienced by the people of Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In addition to courses that contribute to an understanding of Western culture and its roots, the Department also offers courses on Middle Eastern, East Asian, Native American, and African-American history. A variety of other courses explore the historical dimensions of particular historical issues and themes, such as race, class and gender.
Of course, the study of history is not just for history majors. The University of Notre Dame requires undergraduates to take at least one history course in order to graduate, and the Department offers a number of general-interest courses to non-majors. History also strives to acquaint students with particular historical subjects and themes, offering a combination of lectures and seminars that require students to develop a critical appreciation of primary and secondary texts and to sharpen their skills in historical writing and research.
Graduate Study and Career Opportunities
Having gained a solid foundation for future study, many Notre Dame history majors continue on to graduate or professional school. Literature, philosophy, theology, economics, law, and so on, can all be better understood if related to their historical contexts.
History also prepares students for careers in the professions of teaching, government, archival and museum work, and journalism. In recent years, the corporate world has also recruited graduates with liberal arts degrees such as history, emphasizing the importance of critical thinking and writing skills for success in business. But no matter what vocational path you choose, you will find that history is useful, indeed necessary, to navigating the increasingly complicated world in which we live and work.
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