Requirements

Major required courses Honors Program (Senior Thesis) Minors

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Major

You begin your studies in history with the History Workshop (HIST 27000), an introductory seminar in which new majors learn why and how historians study the past. Your training as a historian begins by analyzing primary sources, developing original historical narratives, and debating perspectives and conclusions through regular peer discussion. Throughout the semester, you’ll meet members of the history faculty and learn about the research, internship, and service opportunities available to you.

The History Workshop provides new students with the foundational skills and tools necessary to succeed in the major; it therefore should be taken as soon as a student has declared the major (and must be taken before senior year).

To gain breadth of historical knowledge, you will also take a variety of courses related to your declared concentration, emphasizing different geographical areas, chronological periods, and thematic approaches to studying the past.

We recommend that students declare the major by the end of their sophomore year to ensure course availability in department seminars.

History minors may be added through the senior year, provided the student has room in their curriculum and has first consulted their academic advisor.

Note that students must take one course classified as Global History, one course classified as pre-1500, and three courses from five regional categories.

Concentrations

The heart of the undergraduate history major is the concentration, as each major selects one in either a region or a theme. Both tracks require a combination of breadth, electives, and capstone seminars.

Regional concentration

Students on the regional track can select a concentration in one of our five regional breadth categories:

  • Africa and the Middle East
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • North America
A regional concentration focuses your expertise on a specific area of the world:
  • Breadth: 1 Global course + 3 different regional courses
  • Electives: 5 courses, with at least 3 focusing on your chosen geographic region
  • Capstone: 2 courses should be department seminars (HIST 33000 or above)

Thematic concentration

Students on the thematic track may choose a concentration that is not defined by a place, but rather by a particular topic of interest:

  • Business and Economics
  • Global Empires
  • Gender and Sexuality
  • Medieval World
  • History of Race
  • History of Religion
  • History of War & Society
A thematic concentration focuses on specialized pathways that span different regions and eras:
  • Breadth: 1 Global course + 3 different regional courses (Africa/Middle East, Asia, Europe, Latin America, or North America).
  • Electives: 5 courses, with at least 3 focusing on a theme such as Business and Economic History, the History of Religion, Global Empires, or the Medieval World.
  • Capstone: 2 courses should be department seminars (HIST 33000 or above).

Students should discuss their choice of a regional or thematic track with the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Lisa Lillie (llillie@nd.edu).

Department seminar

Generally taken in your junior and senior years, department seminars afford you the opportunity to explore a topic in depth through primary research or synthetic consideration of scholarly literature. In these writing-intensive courses, you can expect to produce at least 20 pages of work throughout the semester. That writing may be primarily contained in a single final research paper or longer review essay, or broken up into shorter papers over the semester.

Department seminars emphasize collegial, discussion-based learning in the classroom. Seminar students are expected to engage with the course material at a high level and to participate regularly during class meetings. Students should leave the class with an appreciation of how historians conceptualize, research, and communicate their work. They will gain this appreciation by practicing different aspects of the craft themselves and sharing what they learn with other students.

Required courses and attributes

There are 10 total classes (30 credits) required for the history major. These include:

  • HIST 27000 - History Workshop
    • All majors and minors must complete the History Workshop. This gateway course is designed to equip you with the essential research, writing, and analytical tools used by professional historians.
  • 1 global history course (attribute HGBL)
  • 1 course that is pre-1500 CE in content (attribute HPRE)
  • 3 Electives in different regional courses (Africa/Middle East, Asia, Europe, Latin America, or North America)
  • 5 additional electives, 3 of which must correlate to a regional or thematic concentration

Two of the upper-division electives must be Department Seminars (HIST 33000 and above).

History Honors Program (Senior Thesis)

The Honors Program is a distinct path for students with a strong academic record (minimum 3.7 GPA in the major) who wish to conduct original historical research and write a senior thesis. In the fall of sophomore year, students who wish to join the honors program should write to Professor Lisa Lillie, Director of the Undergraduate Program, and explain their research interests. The department will help students identify potential thesis advisors and devise an initial research agenda.

The program features two seminars taught by an experienced faculty member, both of which encourage students to further develop their abilities to think, write, and talk about the past and its significance. In the spring of their senior year, the honor cohort will meet sporadically to provide mutual support in the form of peer feedback on initial drafts of the thesis and roundtable discussions of the writing process.

Required courses and attributes

There are eleven total classes (33 credits) required for the history major in the Honors program. These include:

  • HIST 27000 — History Workshop
    • All majors and minors must complete the History Workshop. This gateway course is designed to equip you with the essential research, writing, and analytical tools used by professional historians.
  • 1 global history course (attribute HGBL)
  • 1 course that is pre-1500 CE in content (attribute HPRE)
  • 3 electives in different regional courses (Africa/Middle East, Asia, Europe, Latin America, or North America)
  • 5 additional electives, 3 of which must correlate to a regional or thematic concentration

Honors Course Cycle

  • Junior Spring: HIST 53001 (Honors Methodology)
  • Senior Fall: HIST 53002 (Honors Colloquium)
  • Senior Spring: HIST 58004 (Honors Thesis)

Minor

History Minor

  • 15 total credits (5 courses)
  • 1 required Course: HIST 27000 (The History Workshop)
  • 4 HIST electives

Economic and Business History Minor

  • 15 total credits (5 courses)
  • 1 required course: HIST 30049 (Economy and Business in History)
  • 4 HIST courses with the HTBE attribute