History Majors

College Majors
1

<p>So I'm planning on applying to most of these colleges...</p>

<p>Boston College
Bard
NYU
Oberlin
Bates
BC
Vassar
Colgate
GWU
University of Michigan
University of Southern California</p>

<p>If anybody on here would be nice enough to tell me about the aforementioned schools' history programs, I would be eternally thankful.
I realize that its a popular major, and most schools will therefore have exceptional programs but...</p>

<p>Anyway, I am thinking of concentrating in either American history or European.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>I am a history major at Oberlin, so I can speak to that a bit. It's one of our stronger and larger departments, with 14 full time professors and several visiting. For the major, you're required to take 30 hours (most history courses are 3, a handful are 4), within which there are the certain requirements:</p>

<p>-at least one course from each of the following three regions: 1) North America 2) Europe, Russia 3) Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean
-at least one 300-level or above course taught by faculty in the Oberlin History Department.
-at least eighteen hours of course work taught by members of the Oberlin History Department. </p>

<p>Coursework is generally divided geographically. 100 level classes are year long surveys (though you can only one of them) offered each year on the following areas: Europe, America, China, Japan, Russia, Latin America, Jewish history, India, and Eastern Europe. 200 level classes are more topical, usually with smaller class sizes and more discussion based. Some examples of courses at this level:</p>

<p>HIST 226 - World War II and the Making of the 20th Century
HIST 234 - Good and Evil: Ethics and Decision Making in the Holocaust
HIST 251 - U.S. Foreign Policy
HIST 258 - Industrial Revolution in America
HIST 272 - Becoming "American": Natives, Slaves, and Colonists in British North America
HIST 283 - Environmental Histories of South Asia</p>

<p>From there, 300 level classes are advanced seminars on specific topics. They meet once a week for two hours, involve large amounts of work, and are usually 12 people. Some examples of these are:</p>

<p>HIST 312 - Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge
HIST 319 - Migration in 20th Century Europe
HIST 334 - Comparative Cultural Encounters in North America<br>
HIST 357 - Non-Violent Opposition to British Imperialism: M. Gandhi
HIST 367 - Narrating the Nation: Historical and Literary Approaches to Nationalism</p>

<p>Some courses have prerequisites, but you can really just take classes depending on your interest. I'm a first year, and I took two classes in the department first semester- one a first year seminar on Approaches to the History of the World, and the other a 300 level seminar on Commodities, Nature, and Society. I thoroughly enjoy the history department here, and the faculty are all outstanding.</p>

<p>If you have any further questions, I'd be happy to answer them.</p>

3

<p>History at GW seems to be pretty weak thus far. As a freshman, I was one of quite a few in an upper-level history course, but it wasn't challenging in the slightest, and the courses offered aren't very exciting. I'm considering looking at slightly more rigorous schools because I don't need to pay $56,000 a year for classes that aren't any more difficult than APUSH or Euro.</p>