Requirements for the Major

Majors graduating in (and following) the class of 2010 will do so under the following new requirements.

Please note: The new requirements listed here do not apply to majors in the class of 2009, who will complete the major under the old requirements.

  • Starting next year, we’ll be offering 4-5 100 level courses in specific topics that focus on primary resources and research skills. You have to take at least one. (You’ll want to take more, but only 2 count towards the major.)
  • You will take History 395, a one-semester class on how historians think and the debates in the field. This will be offered every Spring, and is designed for sophomore and junior majors.
  • You will do a one semester required senior thesis during Fall of your senior year. It will be due at the end of Fall term, and will be 25-30 pages in length.
  • You still need 11 history courses, with at least two at the 300 level. One of those should be here with us. (But we still encourage you to seek out classes everywhere in the Tri-Co and at UPenn.)

Currently declared junior majors (i.e., rising seniors in the class of 2009) will complete the major by fullfilling the requirements under which they signed up.


Requirements for Class of 2009

Eleven courses are required for the history major, including three required Bryn Mawr courses.

These are:

  • The Historical Imagination (History 101), which prospective majors are encouraged to take before their junior year; (see Alumnae Bulletin article about 101.)
  • Exploring History (History 395), fall of senior year;
  • Senior Thesis (History 398), spring of senior year. 101 and 395 present, examine and interrogate disciplinary practice at different levels of intensity, while 398 gives majors the opportunity to develop and pursue, in close consultation with department faculty, their own article-length historical research and writing projects (7,000-8,000 words in length).

The remaining eight history courses may range across fields or concentrate within them, depending on how a major's interests develop. Of these, at least two must be seminars at the 300 level offered by the History Departments at Bryn Mawr, Haverford, or Swarthmore Colleges, or the University of Pennsylvania. Courses taken elsewhere will not fulfill this requirement. Only two 100-level courses may be counted toward the major, and the credit toward the major is not given for either the Advanced Placement exam or the International Baccalaureate. Majors with cumulative GPAs of at least 2.7 (general) and 3.5 (history) at the end of their senior year, and who achieve a grade of at least 3.7 on their senior thesis, qualify for departmental honors.