I was recently accepted to WM through ED and intend to major in history (maybe with a minor in Gov). I was wondering if anybody had any information regarding history professors, the overall culture associated with being a history major at WM, and of course, the difficulty of the major itself. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!
Congratulations! It’s a strong department in general. You can look up individual professors on rate my professor. If they have a fair number of ratings, I think it is generally on target. One approach you might consider: put an emphasis on the quality of the professor, above the subject matter of the course, in choosing which classes to take. It is true that students can learn a lot more from a strong professor with good teaching skills. So, for example, (and this has nothing to do with any W&M professors/courses, just making up a topic), you heard that the prof who taught History of the American West was AMAZING, but, say, you didn’t really have any interest in the topic, it might be a great idea to take it anyway. Great professors can make different topics really come alive. I recommended that approach to one of my students, and they thanked me profusely a year or so later, when they were working as a TA for an AMAZING prof they had taken just for that reason, for a class they really didn’t have much interest in. Good luck!