History Major

Requirements for the Major

There are a minimum of 11 requirements for a History major, which shall be satisfied by a minimum of nine courses plus the Proseminar in History and one course for a one-semester senior thesis or two courses for a two-semester senior thesis. Students are encouraged to count courses for multiple requirements within the major in order to have flexibility in their selection of courses.

Breadth of Study

Two introductory survey courses
At least one course in each of the following areas:

Pre-modern period (before 1800)
Modern period (after 1800)
The United States
Latin America and the Caribbean
Europe

Introductory courses can be used to meet this distribution requirement.

Concentration

At least three courses that comprise a thematic or topical concentration of the student’s choosing and in consultation with the student’s adviser. Examples of concentrations include: Comparative Revolutions; Gender and Sexualities; Knowledge and Power; Media and Popular Culture; Migrations and Diasporas; Race and Empire; Resistance and Rebellion; Scientific Practices; Social Movements.

Students are welcome to formulate their own concentrations in consultation with their adviser.

Core Courses

HIST180 SC What is History?
HIST191 SC Senior Thesis (fall enrollment for one-semester and two-semester theses)
HIST192 SC (spring enrollment for two-semester theses)

Off-Campus Courses

In consultation with your major advisor, students may take up to four History courses at the Claremont Colleges. An exception to this limitation may be made for students whose geographic or chronological focus in not served by Scripps faculty.

Study Abroad

Students may count up to two History courses taken abroad towards the major.

Electives

Additional electives, if necessary, for a total of nine courses plus the Proseminar in History and senior thesis.
Students may, with approval of their major adviser, have one or two courses from outside the discipline of History count toward electives within the major. Students should make it clear why the course(s) are essential to their major, for instance, to the area of concentration.

Research requirement

To help prepare for writing the senior thesis, majors are required to write at least one research paper in one of their upper-division, non-introductory history courses taken at Scripps. This paper may or may not relate to the senior thesis topic. Please discuss this requirement with your major advisor. The requirement must normally be completed by the end of the junior year, and students should plan accordingly if they intend to study abroad.

History 180

HIST180 should be taken during the spring of sophomore year or junior year.

Thesis Requirements

Students majoring in History are required, as are all Scripps students, to research and write a thesis during their senior year. That project is reflected in fall semester registration in HIST191 SC.

The History major provides one-semester and two-semester options for the thesis requirement. At least one thesis reader must be a Scripps historian with whom you have take one or more classes.

One-semester thesis:

Result in an article-length essay, due by the December deadline which falls on the Friday of the penultimate week of classes.
Register for HIST191 SC Senior Thesis in the fall semester.
Required to first submit a thesis proposal to their two thesis readers by the end of the spring semester of junior year, then complete specific thesis-related assignments over the summer.

Two-semester thesis:

Result in an article-length or a multi-chapter work, due by the April deadline which falls on the Friday of the thirteenth week of the semester.
Register for HIST191 SC in the fall semester, and enroll in HIST192 SC for the spring semester.

Dual and Double Majors

Dual and double majors combining History with another field of study are a useful option for students with substantial interdisciplinary interests that cannot be pursued within one discipline alone. Recent examples include combining History with Africana Studies, American Studies, Chicanx Latinx Studies, Classics, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Humanities Major: Interdisciplinary Studies in Culture, Politics, and Psychology. Such majors require advance planning and careful selection of courses. At least one thesis reader must be a Scripps historian. Majors should choose and consult their readers as early as possible in the thesis process.

Honors Requirements

Students may be eligible to graduate with honors in History if they fulfill the following criteria:

Minimum GPA of A or A- in the major;
Earn a grade of A or A- on the written thesis;
Successful completion of an oral examination of the thesis that includes the two thesis readers in addition to a third reader chosen by the student in consultation with their primary thesis reader.