Information and Departmental Plan of Study
The plan of departmental study encourages the student to gain further knowledge of the major developments in (and problems of) history, spanning a broad range of time and place. Students also develop more focused expertise through independent historical research and writing. Through coursework and rigorous independent research, the history concentration emphasizes both depth and breadth. The department's website(link is external) describes the program and requirements in detail.
Prerequisites
Before they enter the department, students are required to take and pass one (1) 200-level course from the list designated as prerequisites(link is external).
Prospective concentrators who have not fulfilled the 200-level prerequisite should consult with the director of undergraduate studies(link is external).
Program of Study
Course Advising
Before preregistration each term, each history student must consult with one of the department's designated undergraduate advisers.
Departmental Distribution Requirements
University regulations stipulate that undergraduates may not take more than 12 departmental courses, plus up to two departmental prerequisites taken during the first or sophomore years. Departmental regulations stipulate that undergraduates must pass at least 10 courses, including HIS 400, in order to receive the A.B. degree. Students who exceed the 31 courses required for graduation will be permitted to take extra departmentals. History courses taken in the first year and sophomore years are numbered among the 10 to 12 required for graduation. Starting with the class of 2023, students must take at least one course in each of the following four thematic areas: Knowledge & Belief (KB), Power & Conflict (PC), Pre-Modern, pre-1700 (PM), Race & Difference (RD). See the Distribution Requirements(link is external) for a list of courses satisfying each of these areas. Many courses carry more than one designation. A single course may satisfy only one thematic requirement. In addition to the thematic areas, at least two (2) courses must also fulfill the Geographical Distribution Requirements(link is external) that are principally focused on Africa, Asia, Latin America, or the Middle East. These courses may double count with the thematic courses.
*Students who entered the concentration in the spring of 2020, took a gap year, and joined the class of 2023 should consult with the director of undergraduate(link is external) studies about the new requirements.
Cognates
The department allows students to take courses in other departments that will add depth and variety to their study of history. When taken during the junior and senior year, up to two (2) such courses may be counted as departmental courses, i.e., cognates, provided they contribute significantly to the student's field of concentration and/or independent work, and are substantially historical in their content. Cross-listed courses, such as CLA 217 and NES 201, are not cognates; they are automatically considered departmental courses. The designation of a course as a cognate must be approved by the director of undergraduate studies(link is external). The designation of a cognate course as a departmental should take place during the enrollment/advising period but no later than the University's "deadline for 'free course' change" (approximately two weeks after the beginning of the semester). Courses cannot be declared cognates retroactively, nor can they be changed later to non-departmentals. Cognate courses do not satisfy distribution requirements; however, they count in the determination of departmental standing and honors.
History of Science
Students should have an understanding of the history of science, technology, and medicine at various times and in various places and be able to address questions concerning the conceptual and institutional development of these activities in relation to the societies that pursued them.
History majors wishing to concentrate in the History of Science(link is external) are required to meet thematic requirements (four courses) and geographic requirements (two courses, which can overlap with the thematic) among their 10 to 12 courses. They must also take courses that satisfy the following requirements:
- Two courses in science, engineering, or mathematics in addition to those used to fill the university's science distribution requirement.
- Four of the following courses (with the permission of the director of undergraduate studies, one of these courses may be replaced by a cognate course from another department, for example, in philosophy or sociology of science). These specific courses can and almost certainly will also serve to at least partially meet the geographic and thematic requirements:
277 Technology and Society (see EGR 277)
290 The Scientific Worldview of Antiquity and the Middle Ages
291 The Scientific Revolution and European Order, 1500–1750
292 Science in the Modern World
293 Science in a Global Context: 15th to 20th Century
294 Science and Medicine in the Early Modern World
295 Making America: A Technological History of the United States
297 Transformative Questions in Biology (see STC 297)
312 History of Anti-Black Racism in Medicine (see AAS 306)
355 The Art & Archaeology of Plague (see ART 361)
382 Beyond Tuskegee: Race and Human Subjects Research in U.S. History (see AAS 331)
391 History of Contemporary Science
392 History of Evolution
393 Race, Drugs, and Drug Policy in America
394 History of Ecology and Environmentalism
395 History of Medicine and the Body
396 History of Biology
397 Medicine and the Mind: A History of Psychiatry from the Asylum to Zoloft
398 The Einstein Era
399 In the Groove: Technology and Music in American History, from Edison to the iPod (see AMS 399)
452 Magic, Matter, Medicine: Science in the Medieval World
458 History and the Body (see GSS 426)
472 Medicine and Society in China: Past and Present
481 Science and Film
488 The Soviet Atomic, Space, and Information Ages
489 The Scientific Self
491 Fertile Bodies: A Cultural History of Reproduction from Antiquity to the Enlightenment
492 The Therapeutic Persuasion: Psychotherapy and American Life
493 '1, 2, 3, Testing,'. . . in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
495 Alchemy: Art and Science
494 Broken Brains, Shattered Minds
496 History of Neuroscience
497 Eating, Growing, Catching, Knowing: Historical Perspectives on Food, Science, and the Environment
498 History of Pseudoscience
499 Things
The independent work and comprehensive examination requirements are the same as for all other departmental majors.
Independent Work
Junior Year
Juniors write two junior papers of roughly 25–30 pages in length, one in each semester.
In the fall term of junior year, students are required to enroll in the HIS 400 Junior Seminars. Work in the junior seminar involves exercises in defining a topic for historical research and in identifying and evaluating a body of historical literature. Each student may expect to gain experience in the use of the library and bibliographical sources, to learn the correct technical form for presenting evidence clearly, and to develop a historical presentation convincingly. Students in HIS 400 will have the opportunity to choose from a number of seminars devoted to historical events or themes of wide importance, such as Irregular Warfare, Space History, Early Native American History, The United States and Latin America, or The Political Uses of American Streets.
In the spring term of junior year, in consultation with their adviser, the student selects a topic and writes a research paper on an independent basis. Written work equivalent to that submitted in the first term is required. The two semesters of junior independent work must be focused in two different geographical fields and in two different time periods. Students should consult their advisers about this requirement.
Senior Year
The independent work consists of writing a thesis on an approved subject of the student's choice. The thesis usually relies on research in original source materials, but it may also involve reinterpretation of familiar materials.
Senior Departmental Examination
The senior departmental examination(link is external) in the department consists of an oral examination based on the senior thesis and related topics.
Study Abroad
NOTE: All semester abroad opportunities will be contingent upon a number of factors, including health and safety conditions abroad, domestic and international travel restrictions, program-specific protocols related to COVID-19, and the guidelines for sponsored travel as outlined by the University (for further information, consult the Office of International Programs(link is external)). The department has the following policies:
- Sophomores intending to major in history may not count a history course taken abroad toward the requirement to enter the department. The course cannot be used to substitute for the 200-level prerequisite (see above).
- The department's spring HIS 400 junior seminar will be open to sophomores intending to go abroad in the fall of their junior year, thus enabling them to write their first junior paper in the spring of their sophomore year and preparing them to write the second while abroad or in the resident semester of their junior year (if they elect to spend only one semester abroad). Students who meet the requirements of junior independent work while at Princeton will still be expected to undertake a full course load while abroad. Moreover, to take full advantage of the international experience, study abroad should include some research work, and we urge students to take seminars that include a research component.
Interdepartmental Programs
Interdepartmental programs of particular interest to history department students are the Programs in African Studies, African American Studies, American Studies, Asian American Studies, Classics, East Asian Studies, European Cultural Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Hellenic Studies, History and the Practice of Diplomacy, Judaic Studies, Latin American Studies, Medieval Studies, and Near Eastern Studies. Students should consult the director of undergraduate studies and the director of the relevant program.