Instructions for History Majors and Minors
I. Faculty Advisor. Each history major must have a faculty advisor. This 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 at the time of declaring their history major, usually during the sophomore year. Students whose advisors are on leave or otherwise unavailable should go for advising to the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
II. Pre-Registration. Students are encouraged to meet with their faculty advisor on a regular basis to seek guidance in course selection. They must, however, meet with their advisor during the Pre-Registration periods in the fall and spring.
III. Requirements for the Major. The History Department believes that while history majors should have considerable choice in their selection of courses, they should also be sure to 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: World History, History of the Atlantic World, Pacific World, European Civilization, or other appropriate courses; see the Georgetown University Undergraduate Bulletin for details.
2. Nine additional elective courses numbered 101 or above so distributed:
a. Three courses in one region in Group A and three courses in one region in Group B
1:
Group A Group B
Africa Russia and Eastern Europe
Middle East Europe, including
Latin America Australia/NZ
Asia, including North America
Australia/NZ
b. One course numbered 300+, to be taken as a fourth course in one of the two regions of concentration.
c. Two electives taken in any region, according to student preference.
2
NOTE: At least four of the courses must be numbered 200 or above, at least two of which must be numbered 300 or above (including the one in point b. above). The two 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).
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, labor 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 and the Registrar’s.
1 See the list available in the Department for designations of courses according to region. Some inter-regional courses may be applied to different regions.
2 Students are reminded that they may take more than 11 total courses in History, but no more than a total of 14 History courses (for 42 credit hours).
IV. History Honors Program. The Department of History encourages potentially 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 will take a two-semester Senior Honors Seminar, for which they will produce a distinguished piece of research. This Seminar (HIST 408-409) fulfills the requirements for two courses numbered 300 or above.
V. History Minor. The History Minor consists of 18 credits. At least six credits (two courses) must be numbered 200 or above and no more than six credits (two courses) may be from the 001-099 level.
VI. Grievance Procedure. The Committee on Undergraduate Studies is the regular body authorized to consider a grievance related to a history course. Appeals must be made within the semester following the one in which the course has been taken, and copies of all pertinent written material should be carefully saved for the appeals. Students intending to submit a grievance should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies as early as possible for the proper procedure to follow in appeals cases.
VII. 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. Interested students must submit three copies of their essay (which may be of any length and on any topic of historical interest) to the Director of Undergraduate Studies. A faculty committee will recommend to the appropriate Dean the name of the student 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.
VIII. 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.
IX. Nevils Award. The W. Coleman Nevils Medal is awarded to the senior SFS student with the best record in the study of U.S. diplomatic history. At the end of each Spring semester, the Director of Undergraduate Studies solicits a nomination from the Professor or Professors who have taught courses on that topic that year and forwards it to the SFS Dean's Office.
X. Director of Undergraduate Studies. Professor Tommaso Astarita, 621 ICC 7-5860. Please contact the Department for office hours.
[revised 3/17/2008]
