History Major

Requirements for the Major in History

The major in history requires a minimum of eleven history courses, distributed as follows:

1. Field specialization: at least five courses in a field, including two core courses for that field. Fields: Ancient and Medieval Mediterranean; Europe Since the Renaissance; United States; Africa, African Diaspora, and Middle East; Asia; Latin America and Caribbean; and Comparative/transregional/thematic (CTT).
2. Breadth: At least three courses outside the primary field drawn from at least two other areas representing both western and non-western fields. At least one course, in any field, must concentrate on any period before 1800.
3. Two of the courses must be seminars, at least one of which must be a 110 research seminar, and at least one of which must be in the primary field.
4. A ninth course either in the field specialization or another area.
5. A two semester senior exercise culminating in either a senior essay or a senior thesis in the field of specialization, in addition to the minimum five courses in that field.

Additional information, rules, and requirements:

• History courses not taken at Pomona College may count toward the History Major, unless they are cognates of courses available at Pomona.
• All courses must be taken for a letter grade to count toward the History Major. All history majors must have a history faculty advisor.
• No more than two courses for the major in history may satisfy requirements for another major.
• Students who waive a core course in a field, through placement examination or some other method approved by the department, must substitute another course from that field.
• Students opting to make CTT the primary field must develop a proposal by the end of the first semester of the junior year in consultation with their adviser and subject to approval by the department.
• History Department grade definitions and expectations are available here.

Senior Exercise:
By the end of the spring semester of the junior year, students submit a 1-paragraph senior exercise proposal specifying a possible topic, potential sources, and their preparation for the exercise. All majors must enroll in History HIST 190 PO, the Senior Seminar, in the fall of senior year. In the spring of the senior year they enroll in either History 191 Senior Thesis or History 192 Senior Essay. A senior thesis should make extensive use of primary sources and original research. It should normally be 50-100 pages long. A senior essay should be approximately 25-35 pages long. It may be primarily a research paper or an historiographical essay. It may use a combination of primary and other sources.

Note: The Senior Thesis and Senior Essay conclude undergraduate study in history and may only be taken during the senior year.