Secondary Field Requirements

Secondary Field

The History Department is pleased to offer a robust secondary field in History. The secondary field in History encourages students in other concentrations to learn about the practice of history and engage in it themselves through tutorials and other departmental courses. The historical perspective and tools acquired through the secondary field will give students a richer appreciation for everything they experience in the College and beyond. History informs our understanding of literature, art, politics, and the world around us. While exposing us to the variety of human behavior and achievements of the past, the study of history also provides insights for the analysis of current issues, including questions of what may be fleeting and what may be enduring.

The Secondary is a flexible program that easily partners with your concentration in other departments.

Coursework (5 courses)
One seminar (100- and 1900-level courses). Research seminars provide students with the opportunity to learn more about a constrained topic in a small-format class. Seminars are typically capped at 12–15 students and culminate in a significant research project. The seminar requirement is ordinarily completed by the end of senior fall. Please note: the seminar requirement can only be fulfilled with courses in the History Department.

Four additional electives within History, any format (lectures, freshman seminars, GenEds, or cross-listed courses). Normally, one of these four electives may come from another program. History is inherently an interdisciplinary form of inquiry, and historians routinely use the kinds of methodologies and insights taught in other departments’ courses. Therefore, history concentrators may petition to receive History credit for non-departmental coursework in a “Related Field,” which takes the place of one of the four elective courses in History. Courses in Related Fields are typically of three kinds: 1) non-Departmental courses of a historical nature for which the History Department offers no equivalent; 2) non-Departmental courses in the social sciences (literature, anthropology, sociology, economics, statistics, government, etc.) providing content or context that complements the student’s plan of study; or 3) non-Departmental courses that provide auxiliary skills (such as foreign languages or facility with statistical methods) that are crucial to the pursuit of their historical interests. Students should complete the petition, attach a copy of the course syllabus, and obtain the signature of their History House Advisor before bringing the petition to the History Undergraduate Office. The ADUS and DUS review petitions on a rolling basis during Registration and Add/Drop.

Related Policies
All courses for the secondary field in History must be taken for a letter grade, except for First-Year Seminars taught by history department faculty. A minimum letter grade of D- is required in all courses for the secondary field.

Two types of courses count automatically toward History Secondary Field requirements:               
1.    all courses listed under “History” in the course catalog (including cross-listed courses); and
2.    all courses taught by full members of the History Department Faculty through the General Education and First-Year Seminar programs or through other departments.
 
Students may also apply to do an independent study, a History 91r, with a member of the Department; the History 91r can be used to fulfill one of the four elective course requirements.

Secondary field students wishing to count coursework from Harvard Summer School or study abroad are not eligible to use the Related Field Petition towards one of their four electives.