Undergraduate Program News

We offer University of Chicago undergraduates broad and deep training in history. Our classes cover the full range of human history, from pre-historic times to the contemporary era, and all parts of the globe, from sub-Saharan Africa to East Asia to the Atlantic world. You can major or minor, and we welcome non-majors who take our classes as electives.

All of our undergraduate courses bear several trademarks: First, they train you to explore large-scale social, cultural, and political processes by defining concrete researchable questions. Second, they equip you to locate sources, weigh evidence, and to craft elegant arguments that will allow you to answer the questions that capture your imagination. Third, our award-winning faculty teach the majority of your courses in small seminars with lively discussions and debate.

Because the discipline of history is built upon the foundations of independent research, critical thinking, and clear writing, it is a versatile field that serves students well within and beyond the university. Many students of history find that their work is complemented by additional coursework in anthropology, classics, languages, law, philosophy, political science, or sociology. We also warmly welcome double majors. Our alumni succeed in many fields—from law, government and public policy to the arts and business.

History Education in the News