Undergraduate Studies

Our undergraduate programs focus on developing students’ research skills, critical thinking, understanding of the past, and awareness of the world’s interdependence. Our students develop a sense of social responsibility, as well as strong, transferable intellectual and practical skills such as communication, analytical problem solving, and a demonstrated ability to apply knowledge in real-world settings. They emerge from our programs prepared to deal with complexity, challenges, and change.

The department’s faculty is committed to a variety of teaching formats, ranging from large to small lectures, seminar-style courses emphasizing discussion, and active learning via technological applications and field explorations. With our broad departmental specialties, students may major in history, or minor in history, geography, or philosophy.

As one of the first departments on campus to commit to the University’s Advance Student Research Experience (ASRE), we have created two Pathways (Distinction & Excellence) designed to “increase the quality of students' knowledge and marketable skills in research, creativity, and scholarship.” Learn more about those Pathways at the ASRE website. Through the generous funding of the Guilbeau Charitable Trust, our department also offers competitive Undergraduate Research Assistantships, which allow students to work closely with faculty on new and ongoing research projects.