History Major/Minor

The minimum major requires nine units of course work, including two 300-level units (2.0). Majors must include

at least one seminar in their program of two 300-level units. Seven of the nine units and all 300-level work must

be taken at Wellesley. For the purposes of major credit, courses taken at MIT are not Wellesley courses. AP

or IB credits may not be applied toward the major. Depending on the student's field of study, one course in a

related field outside history may be applied, with the approval of the adviser, to the major. One cross-listed

course may be counted toward the major, but a student may not count both a cross-listed and a related

course toward the major.

Majors in history are allowed great latitude in designing a program of study, but it is important for a program to

have breadth and depth. To ensure breadth, the program must include (1) at least one course (1.0 unit) in the

history of Africa, China, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East, or South Asia; (2) at least one course (1.0 unit)

in the history of Europe, the United States, or Russia; (3) at least one course (1.0 unit) in premodern history. 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

 

History Minor

Requirements for the History Minor