Directions for Majors/Minors

Most 200-level courses in the department are open to first-year students. Seminars are ordinarily limited to 15 students, non-majors as well as majors, who meet the prerequisite.

Majors

1. at least one course (1.0 unit) in the history of Africa, China, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East, or South Asia; and
2. at least one course (1.0 unit) in the history of Europe, the United States, or Russia.

To encourage depth of historical understanding, we urge majors to focus eventually upon a special field of study, such as

1. a particular geographical area, country, or culture;
2. a specific time period;
3. a particular historical approach, e.g., intellectual and cultural history, social and economic history;
4. a specific historical theme, e.g., the history of women, revolutions, colonialism.

To ensure that students have a broad historical perspective, history majors must take at least one course (1.0 unit) in pre-modern history (e.g., ancient Greece and Rome, Japan before 1800, and so forth). We recommend that majors include at least one seminar in their program of two Grade III units (2.0) in the major required for the B.A. degree.

The minimum major requires nine units of coursework. Normally, 7 of the 9 units and all 300 level work must be taken at Wellesley. No Advanced Placement credits, and at most one related course (1.0 unit) in another department must be counted toward the major.

360/370 Honors Thesis. The only path to honors is the senior thesis. Students must have a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher in courses applied to the major and must complete 6 of the 9 major units of coursework before the end of their junior year. For additional information, please consult the departmental website or ask at the History office.

Minors

The History minor consists of a minimum of five courses (5.0 units) of coursework, of which at lease four courses (4.0 units) must be above the 100 level and at least one course (1.0 unit) at the 300 level (excluding 350). Of these five courses, at least three courses (3.0 units) shall represent a coherent and integrated field of interst, such as, for example, American history, Medieval and Renaissance history, or social history. Of the other courses, at least one course (1.0 unit) shall be in a different field. Normally at least four course (4.0 units) must be taken at Wellesley, and related courses in other departments will not count toward the minor.

History and International Relations: Students interested in a major combining both of these fields should consider International Relations-History, listed under International Relations.

Teacher Certification: Students interested in obtaining certification to teach history in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts should consult Mr. Auerbach in the history department and the chair of the education department.

History Department