<p>I will be a junior next year in high school, and I'm beginning the whole process of college admissions. I'm very interested in majoring in history, and I'm currently considering all different types of colleges and their history departments.</p>
<p>So, I was just wondering, can anyone tell me any more information regarding the history department at Yale? I'm sure it's wonderful, but is there anything distinctive or particularly superb about it that makes it stand out from other universities? I'm especially interested in becoming a historical analyst and using sources and documents (diaries, manuscripts, articles, letters, etc) to analyze and study historical developments. I also plan on taking Brown's Historians as Detectives course as part of their summer program next summer. I know this is kind of a random thing to want to do (trust me, I've gotten some weird responses from peers when they ask me what I want to be when I grow up), but is Yale a good fit for someone like me who wants to be involved in this field of study? Thanks!!</p>
<p>Haha a fellow history lover like me! I just posted a similar thread…
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1153895-how-prepare-history-major.html?highlight=history+major[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1153895-how-prepare-history-major.html?highlight=history+major</a></p>
<p>In regards to the OP, Yale has some of the biggest names in the field of history- Donald Kagan, John Lewis Gaddis, John Merriman, etc. The department has over 95 lecturers and professors, and they have courses on practically every imaginable field. As for the particular field you’re looking at, Yale would probably still be the best, but Princeton, Stanford and UC Berkeley aren’t far behind. The Brown’s program sounds interesting. If you have time in the summer after junior year, apply for the Congressional Academy for History and Civics. Keep your grades up junior year, get good test scores, and you’ll be off to a great start!</p>
<p>I’m a history major at Yale.</p>
<p>Err… what can I say? Yale is the best in the field when it comes to History, and there’s a good chance that some of the professors under wrote your high school AP textbooks. </p>
<p>For me, I personally hate the large lecture classes, but love the small Junior seminars. Technically, you have to be a Junior to take the classes, but several are completely under-subscribed and I took two as a sophomore. It’s a wonderful chance to know your professors in a small class setting; once I took a wonderful class on the Spanish Golden Age with only two other students. </p>
<p>For research, you’ll especially love the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library. The library holds everything from the 1st edition of Hobbes Leviathan to thousands of pre-1500 printed works (along with the Gutenburg bible). I work at the Beinecke as a part time job, and the library attracts students and scholars from all over the world. Many ambitious history majors regularly visit the Beinecke to conduct original research; however, you do need the permission of your professor as it is a closed stack library (with no checkouts)</p>
<p>Yale has the best history department in the country. There really is no better place to go if you want to study history (except if you want to study Asian history or Latin American history, then you should probably go to grad school somewhere else, but we are getting better). I’m a history major (rising senior, getting ready to start research for my senior essay) and have been since I got to Yale. I must say I have never taken a bad history class.</p>
<p>Yale has the best history department along with one of the best drama and music departments in the world.</p>
<p>That is wonderful to hear!! I would be beyond ECSTATIC to go to Yale. I plan on visiting the campus this summer. I feel like Yale would be a good fit for me</p>