Undergraduate > The Bachelor of Arts in History

NOTE: The following degree requirements apply to students declaring the history major on or after September 1, 2008. Students who declared on or before August 31, 2008 should consult the 2007-2008 edition of the Course Bulletin for the History A.B. requirements.

For a complete list of courses that satisfy the various History A.B. requirements, please consult the Department of History's degree requirement section of the 2008-2009 Course Bulletin (which is also available on-line at bulletin.stanford.edu).

Five pathways lead to the A.B. in History at Stanford. The “General Major” and four “Majors with Interdisciplinary Emphasis” (a.k.a. “History Interdisciplinary Programs”).

The General Major emphasizes breadth of study among historical fields as well a depth of concentration in one selected area. To satisfy breadth, the department has designated four fields, three defined geographically and one chronologically, as follows: Field I (Africa, Asia, and Middle East); Field II (the Americas); and Field III (Europe, including Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Russia), and Field IV (before 1700). To satisfy depth, the department has designated the following geographical areas of concentration: Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Russia, Europe before 1700, Europe since 1700, Latin America, and the United States. Thematic concentrations are: Comparative Empires and Cultures, International History, Science & Technology, Environmental History, War & Revolution, Jewish History, Family History, Labor History, Gender, and Popular Culture/High Culture. Thematic concentrations require departmental approval.

The four Majors with Interdisciplinary Emphasis (.a.k.a. History Interdisciplinary Programs) combine the study of history with methods and approaches of other disciplines and require courses outside of History.

All five pathways may be completed in conjunction with the Honors Program in History.

All pathways to the History A.B. require that students complete a minimum of 13 courses in History with a minimum 63 unit total. All courses must be taken for 3 or more units and for a letter grade, and students must maintain a GPA of “C” or higher in History courses. The 13 courses must include the following:

  • at least 9 taught within the Stanford History Department (transfer students and those who do study abroad may be granted exemptions from this rule at the discretion of the Director of Undergraduate Studies)
  • 2 lecture courses of which one must be a Europe or US survey course and the other must be in African, Asian, Middle East or Latin American history. Students may count the courses they took as prerequisites to the major toward this requirement. (See list under “Prerequisites to the History major”.)
  • 2 undergraduate colloquia in History
    (History courses numbered 200-298 fulfill this requirement).
  • 1 Sources and Methods Seminar in History.
    (History courses numbered 1S through 99S fulfill this requirement.)
  • At least one other small quarter course to be chosen among the department's undergraduate colloquia, research seminars or Stanford Introductory Seminars.
  • 1 Research Seminar for Majors, to be taken in junior or senior year and after the Sources and Methods course is completed, in which students write their research essays or begin work on their honors theses. (Fulfills Writing-in-the-Major requirement.)

One Directed Writing and Research (299S) taken for 3-5 units and for a letter grade may be applied toward the 13 courses and be granted appropriate credit towards

field requirements. History 299S does not qualify as a “small group” course, however, nor will it fulfill WIM (Writing-in-the-Major).

The Junior Honors Colloquium (History 299H) may not be counted toward the 13-course requirement in History because it is a 1-unit, CR/NC course. The course is required of students planning to write an Honors thesis in the senior year. Senior Research units (299 A, B, and C), which students take in connection with the Honors project, apply only to the Honors program and do not count toward the 13-course requirement.

Certain Area One courses (“Ancient Empires,” “Worlds of Islam,” “World History of Science,” “Mass Violence from the Crusades to Genocide”, and Origins of the World: Europe and Latin America”) are applicable toward the General major. “Mass Violence” counts as one course toward the Field IV pre-1700 requirement, one course in Field III and the Europe before 1700 concentration; the second quarter is applicable to Field III and Europe since 1700. “Ancient Empires” counts as 2 courses in Field III and IV (pre-1700). “Worlds of Islam” counts as two courses in Field I, and one quarter of the two-quarter sequence can be counted for Field IV. “World History of Science” counts as one Field IV and one Field III. “Origins of the World” counts as one Field III and IV (first quarter) and one Field II (second quarter).

These Area One courses can be applied toward a History Interdisciplinary Program only insofar as their content is specifically appropriate to the student’s geographic cluster.
Since Stanford Introductory Dialogues and residence-based courses are 1- and 2-unit courses, they may not be used toward the major.

Advanced Placement units do not count toward any major requirements.

Transfer  Courses may apply to the History major upon petition. Once a history course completed elsewhere has been granted “units towards graduation” by the Transfer Credit Evaluation Office of the University Registrar, a History major may then petition to have it count towards his/her History degree. Outside Coursework Petitions (available in the History Office) are reviewed regularly by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Petitions to transfer coursework need to be accompanied by syllabi from the courses under review as well as copies of any papers written.

How to Complete History's Writing-in-the-Major Requirement

History's Writing in the Major requirement is satisfied by completing a Research Seminar for Majors.

This course may be taken in either the junior or senior year, but not before completing the sources and methods seminar requirement. Students will write a 20-25 page research essay. Original research and revision are important parts of the research essay. Students must conduct substantial research in the libraries and must submit at least two drafts (a rough draft as well as a final draft) of the essay. Any student wishing to write an honors thesis must take the Research Seminar for Majors in his or her junior year and use it to begin work on the thesis; this work can take the place of a research essay.

Note: HISTORY 209S fulfills the WIM requirement only. It does not fulfill geographical requirements or small group course requirements.

Students will select their research topics based on the general topic of each quarter's offering.

HISTORY 209S. Research Seminar for Majors
Autumn: United States History
Winter: European History
Spring: History of Science

Capstone:
The department organizes a series of lunchtime workshops in May at which students present their research essays and honors theses.