Instructions for History Majors
Department of History
INSTRUCTIONS FOR HISTORY MAJORS
031813
I. Faculty Advisor. Each history major must have a faculty advisor. The advisor ideally should be a full-time member of the Department with whom the student has taken or intends to take a course. Students should request a faculty member to serve as their advisor when they declare their history major. Students whose advisors are on leave or otherwise unavailable should go for advising to the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
II. Requirements for the Major. While history majors should have considerable choice in their selection of courses, they should also achieve some breadth and depth in their historical studies. Both are essential to a liberal education and to a solid grounding in history. Consequently, the minimum requirements for history majors are the following:
1. Two semesters of the approved general education courses: see the GU
Undergraduate Bulletin for details.
2. Nine additional elective courses numbered 100+ so distributed:
a. three courses in one region in Group A and three courses in one region
in Group B (see list available in the department and on website for regional designation of courses; some courses may be applied to different regions):
Group A
Africa
Latin America
Middle East
Asia, incl Austr/NZealand
Group B
Russia and Eastern Europe
Europe,incl Australia/NZealand
US/North America
b. One course numbered 300+, to be taken as a fourth course in one of the
two regions regions of concentration.
c. Two electives taken in any region. Students are reminded that they may
take more than 11 total courses in History, but no more tna a total of 14
History courses for 42 credit hours.
NOTE: At least three of the courses must be numbered 300 or above (including the one in point b. above). The courses numbered 300+ must be taken at Georgetown and in the History Department (i.e., they cannot be transferred or cross-listed; the only exception is courses taught at Georgetown by History Faculty, but under other programs, such as INAF or AMST). All our 300+ courses count for the University’s “Integrated Writing” general education requirement for students who are History majors.
Students may propose to replace one of their two geographic regions of concentration with a thematic area. Interested students should discuss with their advisors the rationale of the thematic area, and possible planned courses. Examples of thematic areas may be environmental history, women’s history, or economic history. The thematic area may consist of three or four courses. The thematic area must reach geographically well beyond the other region of concentration in the major. Advisors, if they approve the proposal, will take care of all necessary communication with the Dean’s office.
III. History Honors Program. The Department of History encourages excellent students to participate in its Honors Program. Admission to the History Honors Program is by invitation of the Department and is decided in February/March of each year. Interested junior History majors may also contact the Department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies. Ordinarily, the minimum requirement for admission to the Program is a ranking in the top one-third of each class and a GPA of 3.67 in the major. Students will need to maintain the GPA of 3.67 in the major to receive History Honors at graduation. Students who are accepted into this Program take a two-semester Senior Honors Seminar, in which they produce a distinguished piece of research. This Seminar (HIST 408-409) fulfills the requirements for two courses numbered 300 or above.
IV. History Minor. The History Minor consists of 18 credits. At least three credits (one course) must be numbered 300 or above and no more than six credits (two courses) may be from the 001-099 level.
V. Grading and Grievance Policies. See our policy on grading and grade grievances here.
VI. Morris and Davids Medal. The Morris and Davids Medals for History are awarded for the best undergraduate essay in history written by a graduating senior. The Morris Medal is open to College students, the Davids Medal to SFS students. A faculty committee will select the recipient of each award. The Department reserves the right not to award the Medals if none of the essays submitted are of sufficient quality. The deadline for submitting essays will generally be in early May.
VII. Foley Award. Each year, in April, the Director of Undergraduate Studies solicits résumés from the senior History Majors in the College with the highest overall GPA. The winner of the Foley Award is that student with the best combination of academic excellence and community service, as chosen by a departmental committee. The Foley Award consists of a medal and a cash award.
VIII. Nevils Medal. The Nevils Medal is awarded to the senior SFS student with the best record in the study of U.S. diplomatic history, as selected by the Professor or Professors who teach courses on that topic.
IX. Director of Undergraduate Studies. Professor Tommaso Astarita, 621 ICC 7-5860, astaritt@georgetown.edu. [revised 4/7/2013]
