Overview

The History Department is among the most rigorous on campus. We have a reputation for challenging our students-and for getting results. As one graduate commented: "Keep up the intensity. It works!" Another noted: "It never fails to amaze me how often I've benefited from the skills I learned studying history." Yet another "wouldn't trade my time as a history major for anything" - it "helped to build and shape my character, greatly improved my written and verbal communication skills, and laid a strong foundation for success in my professional life."

Students from this department are currently enrolled in, or have recently completed, doctoral programs in history at Chicago, UCLA, Texas, Minnesota, Rutgers, Illinois, Maryland, Penn State, Princeton, Temple, and North Carolina. Others have finished, or are finishing, law degrees at Rutgers-Camden, Rutgers-Newark, Seton Hall, Widener, Villanova, Michigan, Georgetown, and Richmond.

Students with degrees in History from The College of New Jersey pursue a wide variety of careers, including law, business, web design, and the US Foreign Service. Several do applied history. Many earn credentials to teach at the secondary or elementary level. We train teachers who know their fields and who know how to communicate well with young people.

The History major begins with a two-semester course on World History and a new course entitled "The US in World History." Assigned readings in these three courses include comparative studies by Jared Diamond, John Wills, Robert Marks, and Jerry Bentley, works on environmental history by Alfred Crosby and William Cronon, books on material culture by Fernand Braudel and Jack Larkin, and first-hand descriptions of life in Russia and China by Olga Semyonova, Hong Ying, and Jan Wong. These courses build college-level skills and provide the foundation for the department's many more specialized offerings.

In order to develop a familiarity with different parts of the world and different moments in the past, students majoring in history must complete at least one course in European history, at least one course on Eurasia or the Middle East, at least one course on Africa or Latin America, and at least one course on North America or the United States. One of these courses must focus on the pre-modern era.

History majors also take two Readings Seminars and one Research Seminar, intensive courses limited to enrollments of fifteen and taught by faculty members on topics relating to their current research. The History faculty work with students in seminar courses to create individually tailored assignments. Readings Seminars involve directed readings, short papers, and oral presentations. Research seminars enable students to study in depth topics of their choosing and to write major research papers based on both primary and secondary sources.

Students majoring in History who show special promise are invited to undertake an Honors thesis during their senior year. Students writing an Honors thesis enroll in a special Research Seminar that emphasizes historiography and historical methods.