Director of undergraduate studies: Daniel Magaziner, Humanities Quadrangle, 320 York Street, 2nd Floor, 432-2724; history.yale.edu

History undergraduate courses are numbered 0000–4999. The first digit indicates the course’s level; courses that begin with 0 (zero) are first-year seminars, with enrollment limited to eighteen. Courses that begin with the number 1 are lectures. Courses that begin with the number 2 are either (a) more advanced lectures, some of which might include WR credit (b) seminars cross-listed with other departments, or (c) reading or historiography focused seminars that do not require substantial work with primary sources. Courses that begin with the number 3 are departmental seminars; these courses combine reading, research, and writing and are intended to prepare students for their Senior Essay. All departmental seminars prioritize History major enrollment and are available for preregistration by History majors. Departmental seminars are capped at fifteen students; many carry WR credit. Courses that begin with the number 4 are senior requirement courses and independent studies.

Each course’s second digit indicates its region: x1xx courses explore the history of the United States or Canada; x2xx, Europe, Russia, and Britain; x3xx Africa (Sub-Saharan), x4xx Asia, x5xx Latin America, and x6xx Middle East/North Africa. x7xx courses address comparative, transnational, or global topics. Thus, 16xx indicates a lecture on the Middle East/North Africa, 31xx is a departmental seminar on the United States or Canada, and so on.

Prerequisite

The prerequisite for the major is two term courses in History. Courses completed in fulfillment of the prerequisite may be applied toward the requirements of the major. (Directed Studies history and philosophy courses count automatically as history prerequisites.)

Requirements of the Major

Students are held to the requirements in place when they declared their major. However, with approval from the DUS, the following requirements, updated for the academic year 2025-2026, may be fulfilled by students who declared the major in a prior term.

See Links to the attributes indicating courses approved for the History major requirements.

Twelve term courses in History are required, including prerequisites and the senior requirement. Upon declaration, all History majors select either the global or the specialist concentration. The global concentration is designed for students seeking a broad understanding of major trends in the history of human societies throughout the world. The specialist concentration is for students seeking to focus in a particular geographic region, such as the United States, or in a thematic pathway, such as empires and colonialism. Majors may change concentrations until the end of the course selection period in the second term of the junior year.

The global concentration requires one course in five of the six different geographic regions (see below). Students must also take two preindustrial courses, covering material before the mid-19th century (and no later than 1900), and two 3000-level departmental seminars.

The specialist concentration requires at least five (and up to eight) courses in a particular geographic region or in a thematic pathway (see list below). Courses appropriate for each region and pathway are listed on the department website. Students must also take at least two courses outside their area of specialization, and their overall coursework must include at least three geographic regions. Like students in the global concentration, students in the specialist concentration must take two preindustrial courses, and at least two 3000-level departmental seminars. Students in the specialist concentration may design an area of specialization with the approval of a faculty adviser and the DUS.

Regions: Africa (Sub-Saharan), Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East/North Africa, and United States / Canada.

Pathways: cultural history; empires and colonialism; environmental history; ideas and intellectuals; international and diplomatic history (formerly international history); politics, law, and government (formerly politics and law); race, gender, and sexuality; religion in context; science, technology, and medicine; social change and social movements; war and society; the world economy

Students in either concentration may count the same courses toward geographical, preindustrial, and seminar requirements. For instance, a departmental seminar on premodern Japan simultaneously fulfills the preindustrial, departmental seminar, and Asia geographical requirements.

Departmental seminars All students who declare the History major are entitled to preregister for 3000-level departmental seminars. Many seminars are popular and fill up quickly. Students may use their preregistration privileges at any time after declaring the major, in their sophomore, junior, or senior years. Sophomores contemplating study abroad are urged to consider taking at least one seminar in the sophomore year. Residential College Seminars, study abroad courses, 2000-level seminars and courses in other departments that count toward the History major do not fulfill the departmental seminar requirement, although they can satisfy other requirements (preindustrial, region, pathway, etc.) Students cannot preregister for 2000-level seminars during departmental preregistration.

Distinction in the major Students who receive an A or A– on the two-term senior essay and who receive the requisite grades in their remaining coursework are awarded Distinction in the Major. (See The Undergraduate Curriculum, Honors.) Students who do not complete the two-term senior essay are not eligible for Distinction.

Credit/D/Fail History majors may count up to two lecture courses or non-3000 seminars taken Cr/D/F toward the requirements of the major. Departmental seminars may not be taken Cr/D/F. (Writers of one-term senior essays may opt to take their 11th term course Cr/D/F. Please see one-term senior essay below.)

Outside credit Courses taken at another institution or during an approved summer or term-time study abroad program may count toward the major requirements with DUS approval. 

Senior Requirement

Students in the History major are not passive consumers of historical knowledge: they create original works of history themselves. As seniors, History majors complete a work of original research in close consultation with a faculty adviser. The range of acceptable topics and methodological approaches is wide. The aim is to take on study of a significant historical subject through research in accessible primary source materials.

Advising All students who declare the History major are assigned an adviser from among the departmental faculty. The adviser is available throughout the year for consultation about courses and the major. Students in the global concentration are assigned an adviser from the general History faculty. Students may request a specific adviser in consultation with the DUS, though the department cannot always accommodate such requests. In addition, a small group of advanced undergraduate students serve as peer advisors and are available to assist students in navigating the major.

Course substitution History majors are permitted to include up to two courses taught outside the department toward fulfillment of the major, with the approval of the DUS. Non-departmental courses may fulfill geographic, region/pathway, and preindustrial distribution requirements. They may not fulfill Departmental Seminar or senior requirements.

Combined B.A./M.A. degree program Exceptionally able and well-prepared students may complete a course of study leading to the simultaneous award of the B.A. and M.A. degrees after eight terms of enrollment. See Academic Regulations, section L, Special Academic Arrangements, “Simultaneous Award of the Bachelor's and Master's Degrees.” Interested students should consult the DUS prior to the sixth term of enrollment for specific requirements in History.

SUMMARY OF MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

Prerequisites 2 term courses in History

Number of courses 12 term courses (incl prereqs and senior req)

Distribution of courses Both concentrations—2 courses in preindustrial hist as specified; 2 departmental seminars; Global concentration—1 course in 5 of 6 geographical regions (Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, U.S.); Specialist concentration—at least 5 courses in specific region or pathway; overall coursework must include 3 regions

Substitution permitted 1 or 2 non-departmental courses approved by DUS

Senior requirement 1-term senior essay (HIST 4997) or 2-term senior essay (HIST 4995 and 4996), or alternative 2-term senior project (HIST 4995 and 4996), if approved

Prerequisites 

• 2 history courses

Requirements

12 courses (12 credits), including prerequisites and senior requirement  

• Majors select one of two concentrations: Global or Specialist
• Both concentrations require 2 departmental seminars and 2 preindustrial history courses as part of the 10-course requirement

Global concentration

• 1 course in 5 of 6 geographical regions (see Overview) 
• 2 senior essay or senior project courses (HIST 4995 and HIST 4996) or 1 senior essay course (HIST 4997)

Specialist concentration

  (overall coursework must include 3 regions)

• 5 courses in a geographic region or thematic pathway
• 2 courses outside of the chosen geographic region or thematic pathway
• 2 senior essay or senior project courses (HIST 4995 and HIST 4996) or 1 senior essay course (HIST 4997)

History explains why the world is the way it is. Yale’s history department offers a range of courses that help students to explore the past, make sense of the present, and shape the future. Students of history investigate why societies have changed and developed over time and how human beings both make the world and are made by it. The study of history develops not only an understanding of the significant ideas and experiences of the past, but also such skills as organizing research projects, writing expository prose, and presenting effective oral arguments.

History courses cover a wide range of topics; there is no single introductory course. The department offers several first-year seminars each year, and most History lecture courses are open to all students, including first-year students. History departmental seminars require the instructor’s permission for enrollment and are open chiefly to history majors.

The History major is one of the largest, most diverse, and most popular majors at Yale. Before they enter the major, students must take two term courses in history, preferably in the first two years. Most students begin with a First-Year Seminar, Directed Studies, or introductory lecture courses in areas that interest them. These courses count toward the major requirements. Upon declaring their major, students select either the global concentration, which emphasizes a broad understanding of world history, or the specialist concentration in which students specialize in a region (such as U.S. History) or a thematic pathway (such as politics, law, and government) within their History coursework. A list of pathways and regions, along with the courses relevant to them is available on the department website.

After graduation, History majors enter many fields, including law, medicine, public policy, business, journalism, and the arts. Some go on to graduate study in history.

Questions about history courses may be addressed to the director of undergraduate studies (DUS). Students who want to accelerate, combine history with another major, or study abroad should consult the DUS in the fall.

FACULTY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

Professors Abbas Amanat, Sunil Amrith, Lauren Benton, Ned Blackhawk, David Blight, Edyta Bojanowska, Daniel Botsman, Paul Bushkovitch, Deborah Coen, Carolyn Dean, Fabian Drixler, Marcela Echeverri, Carlos Eire, David Engerman, Paul Freedman, Joanne Freeman, John Gaddis, Beverly Gage, Bruce Gordon, Greg Grandin, Valerie Hansen, Robert Harms, Matthew Jacobson, Gilbert Joseph, Paul Kennedy, Benedict Kiernan, Jennifer Klein, Regina Kunzel, Naomi Lamoreaux, Bentley Layton, Noel Lenski, Kathryn Lofton, Mary Lui, Daniel Magaziner, Joseph Manning, Ivan Marcus, John Merriman, Joanne Meyerowitz, Alan Mikhail, Samuel Moyn, Nicholas Parrillo, Peter Perdue, Mark Peterson, Stephen Pitti, Naomi Rogers, Paul Sabin, Stuart Schwartz, Timothy Snyder, David Sorkin, Harry Stout, John Warner, Arne Westad, John Witt, Keith Wrightson, Taisu Zhang

Associate Professors Paola Bertucci, Rohit De, Marcela Echeverri, Anne Eller, Crystal Feimster, Elizabeth Hinton, Andrew Johnston, Isaac Nakhimovsky, Joanna Radin, William Rankin, Edward Rugemer, Marci Shore, Eliyahu Stern, Jonathan Wyrtzen

Assistant Professors Jennifer Allen, Sergei Antonov, Denise Ho, Jessica Lamont, Ben Machava, Nana Quarshie, Carolyn Roberts

Senior Lecturers Jay Gitlin, William Klein, Stuart Semmel, Rebecca Tannenbaum

Lecturers Sakena Abedin, Ria Chae, Ivano Dal Prete, Suzanne Gay, Maria Jordan, Tyler Kynn, George Levesque, Chitra Ramalingam, Terence Renaud, Miriam Rich

See the Roadmap Library for a visual representation of the major.

First-Year Seminars Lecture Courses Departmental Seminars Writing Tutorial Courses Senior Essay Courses