Our Programs
For undergraduates and graduate students alike, the Department of History at The University of Western Ontario offers a wide array of educational opportunities. In any given year, more than 70 undergraduate courses (half of them full-year) are on offer, and at the graduate level students can typically choose from some fifteen. At the undergraduate level we offer a minor in history, a major, a specialization, and an honours specialization, with well over 700 students registered. Depending on performance and interest, undergraduates can readily migrate among these various program elements.
History students enjoy a common experience in three key courses at the second-year level. Particularly those in the major and specializations are encouraged and required to take courses selected from the full array of small seminars offered at the third and fourth year levels. There, students are in regular and close communication with faculty and their peers, exploring the human imprint on time. Our graduate courses are smaller yet, and offer the particularly stimulating environment that graduate students need and demand. In geographic terms our teaching covers Canada, the United States and Europe, with excursions to Latin America, the Near East and the Far East. Thematically, the range of courses is considerable, though students will especially recognize clusters of courses on culture, society, international relations, war, business, and environment. The Department provides support for, and courses embedded in, an International Relations program run in conjunction with the Department of Political Science, and also for a broad-ranging program in American Studies, and another focusing on Latin America.
At the graduate level, the Department permits Masters students to follow several different paths - a course/cognate essay route, one emphasizing a thesis, and one with courses and a comprehensive exam. Moreover, we have a vigorous M.A. program in Public History. The Ph.D. program has grown notably in the last several years, as our dynamic young faculty attract graduate students among the best in the country. In the web pages here, the details of our various programs are available to you. Explore freely; contact us if you have questions.
Margaret Kellow, Chair
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