72 Credits complete the History Major  (total of 4 required & 8 elective courses)

History now has EIGHT interest fields to choose from (or you can create your own primary field)
You select three:  ONE primary field & TWO secondary fields

PRIMARY Interest field:  _______________________
(24 credits - 4 courses) required: _______, __________, _________, __________

SECONDARY Interest subfield #1: _____________
(12 cr - 2 courses) required: ________, __________

SECONDARY Interest subfield #2: _______________________
(12 cr - 2 courses) required: _________, ___________

Required of all majors (24 credits):
6 cr HIST 298: Junior Colloquium _____
6 cr HIST 395: Senior Research Seminar ______
6 cr HIST 398: Advanced History Writing Seminar ______
6 cr HIST 400: Comps _____
________
72 credits total

Create your own individual path of study. The department requires no single course of study for history majors. However, we strongly recommend that all prospective majors, including those who had A.P. Europe or U.S. history or I.B. coursework in high school (see A.P. and I.B. credits count for the History major fields/subfields), take one of our A&I seminars for first-year students. Thereafter we ask each student majoring in History to structure his or her major within the above set of general requirements (4 courses in primary field, 2 each in 2 secondary subfields). Through the primary field, each student will gain considerable depth and sophistication in the history of a civilization or region such as East Asia, Europe, Latin America, or the United States. Through the secondary fields, the student will also become familiar with the history of at least two other areas.  Most courses in the History Department focus on particular nations (China, India, Russia, Germany, the U.S.) or social groups (women, African-Americans); but the department also encourages comparative and global approaches to the study of the human past (Controversial Histories, The Global Cold War, Mapping the World before Mercatur). (see History Fields). See our newest thematic field:  Environment and Health, and our new Public History Thread.

Goals of the History Major: The goals are both to gain self knowledge and to broaden cultural horizons. The department faculty would like history students to gain a sense of their own cultural roots and to discover a comparative perspective with some significant knowledge of the rich cultural diversity of the past. The department offers a broad range of courses not only in European and American, but also in East Asian, South Asian, Latin American, Middle Eastern/Central Asian, and African history. Students are invited to get at least a taste of one of the non-western cultural traditions. Whenever possible, faculty encourage the use of foreign language in student research.

Interdisciplinary Opportunities with the History Major: History is by its very nature an interdisciplinary subject. The department mentors many History students who combine the following concentrations with their History major: African American studies, archaeology, cross cultural studies, East Asian studies, educational studies, environmental studies, European studies, French and Francophone studies, Latin American studies, literary and cultural studies, Medieval and Renaissance studies, South Asian studies, and Women and Gender studies. History can also be paired with the political economy or cross cultural studies concentrations to provide a breadth of understanding about global dynamics. It also is a key component in the study of law. You can pair history with a second language to round out your understanding of another culture. However you choose to apply it, history provides a wealth of broadly applicable knowledge. It is not unusual for a student to choose a double major with History, because History comps are offered during winter term, while many other departments offer spring comps (many combinations have worked especially well for double majors: History & Economics, History & Political Economy, History & ENTS, History & CAMS, History & IR, History & Math).

What are the benefits of doing history?
The variety of skills gleaned studying history are useful in many different ways throughout all careers, something well-understood by employers. Our strong network of History alumni are very accessible and willing to share their career path insights with you, and also to offer you advice about grad schools.
1) good stories about real people
2) understand human beings and their institutions
3) think outside of your own cultural, chronological, and geographical experience
4) analytical skills: careful reading, creative research, problem solving, and organizing information
5) communication skills: writing, speaking, multi-media presentations 

What can I do with a Carleton History major?  Studying history is not rote memorization of dates and facts. Studying history involves asking how to make sense of complex situations in which the relation between origins and results, intentions and consequences, is not immediately clear, and requires a careful search for answers. A medieval history alum, Jennifer Norris, ’92, Director of Major Gifts, Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, Mass., credited the department: “Studying history taught me how to really think, a benefit which has set me apart from others both in grad school and in my career." 
See also, Boston U.'s Why Study History?
1) Think!
2) Read! Historians are taught how to read critically in order to follow arguments, and how to measure the distance between the purposes and the meanings of an author's texts.
3) Use your analytical skills in law school and the practice of the law
4) Teach social studies K-12 or go on to grad school
5) Work in Public History: Media, Print, & e-Journalism; Museum Studies; Library Science
6) Work for a non-profit: Peace Corps, Americorps, Teach for America, Green Peace, NGOs
7) Work for a government agency using your research and thinking skills: State Department, Embassies, other diplomatic and political agencies, intelligence agencies, think tanks, military, Smithsonian, Jeffersonian and other national and state museums and agencies, National Park Service historic museums and other venues.
8) Work at a business that values clear thinking and intelligent expression: Fortune 500, Wall Street firms, banking, entertainment, philantrophic, entrepreneurial and environmental concerns.

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