History Department

Mission

History programs may be used to fulfill the graduation requirements of the College, to obtain teacher certification, or to prepare for professional (e.g., law school) or graduate school study. In consultation with a History Department advisor, a student will select the most appropriate program and courses to meet the requirements for a major, minor or concentration in History.

The Department of History has identified three broad goals for the student majoring in History or Broad Field Social Studies that will be assessed on an on-going basis, but particularly in the senior research project. Each successful History and Broad Field Social Studies major will demonstrate:

• Competence in research, critical reading of sources, communicating, writing, reasoning and analyzing
• The basic skills of the historian, to include historical method and historiography.
• Competence in historical knowledge, historical periodization and historical geography.

The History Department administers the Sister Cajetan Spelman History Award which is given annually to upper-class history majors and history concentrations. See the History Department Chair for details.