<p>Which SoCal university is most famous for history (ancient)? Also, which one sends the most students to top notch graduate schools? If I went to Cal Poly Pomona, for example, and did well, would it still be really hard to get into Stanford if I wanted to get a PhD for history?</p>
<p>At the undergraduate level, a history major is not going to be specializing in "ancient" history. If you want that, you probably want to look into a "classics" major. Undergrad history majors usually have to take a pretty broad spectrum of history classes and don't really specialize until grad school. </p>
<p>With that said, the best history departments in Southern California are probably (no particular order): UCLA, Claremont Mckenna and Pomona. Less selective but still excellent for history in SoCal: UC Riverside (yes, Riverside), San Diego State U, Cal State Fullerton. </p>
<p>As for graduate school, good recommendations and experience with research will go a long way - make sure to take advantage of independent study options and make connections with faculty where ever you go. By the way, if I was choosing a school for a PHD in history, I'd probably take UCB over Stanford. Much better program.</p>
<p>I've loved my history courses at San Diego State. I took a class in western culture, it honestly changed the way I think and look at the world, awesome class.</p>