History (BA)

College of Arts and Sciences

Program Website

Program Description

The popularity of history among Cornell students is due to its usefulness as preparation for graduate, professional, or law school and for any career that requires critical thinking and good writing; the reputation of the faculty for scholarship, teaching, and advising; and most of all, the intrinsic interest of the discipline. A wide variety of introductory and advanced courses is offered, covering many different periods, regions, and historical themes.

Academic Standards

Major Declaration Information

Entry requirement: completion of any two history courses excluding first-year writing seminars. Choose a faculty advisor from history’s list of faculty, and set up a meeting to discuss course plan and gain signatures on application forms.

Honors Program

The honors criteria described here will start for all graduates in the 2026-2027 academic year. 

The history department offers an honors program for students who wish to research and write a thesis during their senior year. In addition to writing the thesis, honors students must maintain a 3.5 average in their history courses, take HIST 4000 Introduction to Historical Research during their junior (or sophomore) year, and complete 10 courses in history (for 3 or 4 credits each). During the second semester of the sophomore year or early in the junior year, interested students should speak to a faculty member or faculty advisor about the honors program.

Before the beginning of the senior year, the candidate presents, in conversation or in writing, a thesis proposal to an appropriate member of the faculty. The faculty member who approves the proposal ordinarily becomes the thesis supervisor. If for any reason it is necessary to change supervisors, this arrangement should be confirmed no later than the fourth week after the beginning of the candidate’s senior year.

Honors candidates should apply to the honors program after completing HIST 4000 or by May 15 of their junior year if taking HIST 4000 that spring. Enrollment in HIST 4001 occurs prior to the start of the fall semester. HIST 4001 is a 4-credit course that permits honors candidates to conduct research and to begin writing the honors essay in a seminar environment. At the end of the first semester of the senior year, as part of the requirements for HIST 4001, the student submits a preliminary draft of some part of the thesis (10 to 15 pages), along with an outline of the whole to the instructor of HIST 4001 and to the student’s supervisor. HIST 4002 is a 4-credit seminar course that permits honors candidates to complete the honors essay and to demonstrate their understanding of the ways in which the themes explored in the thesis fit into a larger historical context.

The completed thesis is evaluated by three readers, including the supervisor and a first reader selected by the student, in consultation with his or her supervisor.

The text of the honors essay may not exceed 60 pages except by permission of the chair of the Honors Committee and the student’s supervisor. A PDF is due during the second week of April. Each honors candidate is given an oral exam administered by the supervisor; the exam focuses on the essay as well as the specific subfield of history in which the student has conducted research (e.g., Periclean Athens, 17th-century science, 19th-century American politics).

To qualify for a bachelor of arts degree with honors in history, a student must (1) sustain at least a 3.5 cumulative average in all history courses and (2) earn at least a mark of honors on the honors essay and oral exam.

Note: History majors who wish both to study abroad (or in Cornell in Washington, Semester Program) and to enter the honors program should consult their advisors or the DUS as soon as possible after declaring a major. The department requires honors students to enroll in HIST 4000 before writing a thesis in their senior year. So, planning ahead is essential, especially if you intend to spend a full year abroad.

Special Academic Options 

Brooks School Cornell in Washington DC Connect Program

History majors may apply to the Cornell in Washington program which offers students in all colleges an opportunity to earn full academic credit for a semester in Washington, D.C. Cornell in Washington DC Connect is a spring semester or summer program in the heart of Washington, D.C., our nation’s capital. This unique experience offers students in all colleges an opportunity to earn full academic credit for the spring semester or summer. Students take part in small courses led by Cornell faculty, and gain work experience through an internship of their choosing, while living in the Brooks School's residence hall near Dupont Circle. Learn more about the Cornell in Washington DC Connect.

First-Year Writing Seminars

Consult the John S. Knight Institute website for times, instructors, and descriptions.