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Undergraduate Admission

History

If you’re the kind who loves to research, uncover and analyze history, this program will teach you to use our yesterdays to better anticipate our tomorrows.

Students looking at a blackboard as professor Joe Trotter points toward it in a lecture.
"Upon getting here, you immediately recognize how innovative and diverse the students are in terms of their interests and passions, but despite that, we are all able to come together and collaborate with one another to create something that is immersive and has a meaningful impact."
Jacoby '23

Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences

History

This is a place where history buffs mine the past to map the future — and if you’re the kind of person who devours documentaries about ancient Rome, who has a bucket list of museums to visit, and who’s more interested in World War II novels than video games, you’ll find a natural home in the history program. Here you’ll examine the past to understand current events with deeper context, honing your skills in research, theoretical concepts and analytical writing as you learn how age-old events affect society today. 

History Majors and Minors

Choose the path that fits you best. Browse all current history curriculums and courses.

Social and Political History

Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Science
Minor

The social and political history major is a research- and writing-intensive program that emphasizes the analysis of change over time and an in-depth understanding of the societies, cultures, economies, political systems and conflicts that have shaped our world.

The broad analytical, research and writing skills cultivated by the SPH major will prepare you for success in a wide variety of graduate and professional schools. Often, history graduates pursue further scholarship in law, business administration, education, public policy, urban planning, librarianship, journalism, the ministry, or social work.
 

Global Studies

Bachelor of Arts

Global studies is an interdepartmental major designed for students interested in humanistic approaches to understanding the past and present processes of globalization. The rigorous yet flexible curriculum combines anthropology, history, literary and cultural studies, and advanced language training in order to help you make sense of complex interactions among global processes, regional and local cultures, and societal structures. In other words, this program will give you a broad understanding of your prospects and responsibilities as a citizen of the world, confronting challenging contemporary problems.

Ethics, History and Public Policy

Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Science

This highly interdisciplinary program is jointly administered by the Department of History and the Department of Philosophy. You’ll develop a deep historical understanding of how modern-day problems have evolved, a facility with frameworks for ethical decision-making that help formulate and evaluate solutions to these problems, and a grasp of public policy needed for moving toward a better state of affairs. In addition to gaining a solid liberal arts background, EHPP majors learn how to conduct historical research, analyze and construct arguments, evaluate evidentiary statements, and find persuasive means of presenting their ideas. You’ll also conduct research under time and resource constraints, and craft policies that address real-world problems in a way that’s sensitive both to history and to competing sets of values.

Additional Minor options
  • African and African American Studies
  • Anthropology
  • Gender Studies
  • Religion
  • Science and Technology

Contact

Department of History

240 Baker Hall
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
 
 

History Website

Apply Now

 

Classes of 2021-2023, Six Months After Graduation

81%

Employed or in Grad School

$55,225

Average Salary

Recent Employers

Aliner

Amazon

Deloitte

Museum of Science

More Post-Graduation Stats

High School Course Requirements

4 years English
3 years Mathematics**
1 year Science (2 or more preferred)
2 years Foreign Language
6 electives
 

**Three years of mathematics should include at least algebra, geometry, trigonometry, analytic geometry, elementary functions as well as pre-calculus. Advanced mathematics courses are encouraged.

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Mix It Up

You’re not just one thing. You’re a scientist. An artist. A technologist. A maker. A writer. Carnegie Mellon has been mixing it up for decades, and whatever you want to pursue, we’ve got the right mix for you.

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How to Major in Mixing-It-Up