Values and Society
History Major and Minor
Rather than asking what happened, we ask how we know. Hone in on research and writing skills to better understand the complex relationship between the past and present to prepare for your future.
Your Four-Year Journey
Students often combine History with a major or minor in Biology, Business, Education Studies, Environmental Science & Sustainability, Global Health Studies, Political Science, or Religious Studies.
Begin with survey courses in European, American, and non-Western history to gain exposure to a wide range of geographic, regional, and national histories. Courses offered include History of the United States to 1865, Colonial Latin America, A History of the Modern Middle East, 1839-present, The Greek World, 1184-323 BCE, and The Soviet Century, 1917-present. 200-level topical courses are also an option for entering students.
Dive into historical interpretation and debate in 200-level and 300-level courses. 200-level topical courses include A Survey of American Women’s History, Socialism and Post-Socialism in People's Republic of China, African-American History since 1865, Law and Democracy in Ancient Greece, and Piracy in the Americas. In the second year, you’ll also learn the tools of the historian in the sophomore seminar.
Explore historical interpretation and argument in 200-level and 300-level courses. 300-level topical courses include The Third Reich and the Holocaust, Disease and Medicine in Modern History, American Environmental History, Modern Chinese Warfare, and Dictators & Development in Latin America. In the third year, you’ll also take an intensive Junior Seminar to strengthen your research and writing skills, and you’ll begin to identify a region and period to explore in your senior comp.
The senior comp is a centerpiece of the fourth year. Working closely with your comp advisor, you’ll conduct extensive research using primary and secondary documentation and develop an original thesis and argument. You’re immersed in a research project of your own design!
Career Outcomes
100
Of Allegheny College History graduates are employed full-time, in graduate school, or completing post-graduate service within eight months of graduation.
80+
Acceptance rate to graduate and professional school for Allegheny students
Alumni Careers — A Sampling
Maya Metzger, Alumna
Class of 2016, History Major, Art History Minor
“ Allegheny College has been a great place for me to cultivate important skills that will be useful throughout the rest of my life such as critical thinking, interpersonal communication, and evaluating sources. ”
