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The department offers a large number of courses, taught by more than fifty faculty, covering three millennia of history. The Barnard History Department offers its own set of courses, almost all of which are open to Columbia students. Other programs, such as EALAC and MEALAC, offer courses that are cross-listed with History. We teach courses on the Ancient World, Europe, the Americas, Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East. Some courses cut across these boundaries to deal with cross-regional themes or interactions. Courses may focus on religious, intellectual, social, economic, legal, or political history, or on historical theory and method. Most courses have no prerequisites. Undergraduate seminars have limited enrollment, and preference in admission is given to majors, but any student may take them with the consent of the instructor.
There are two basic types of courses: lectures and seminars. Lectures, worth 3 points, generally meet twice a week for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Many lectures have additional discussion sections, which may be required. Lectures range from the very large (over 300 students) to the very small (fewer than 25), so the nature of the classroom experience will vary. Most lecture courses require a midterm and a final examination; most also require some sort of assignment or paper.
Seminars, worth 4 points, are generally smaller. Though the final number is up to the professor, most seminars are capped at 15 students. Seminars explore narrower topics more deeply, through concentrated reading in the secondary literature on a topic, primary-source research, or both. These classes meet once a week for 2 hours. The workload for seminars is heavier than for lectures, with more reading and more written work. Seminars normally do not have a final examination but typically require a substantial paper. Some seminars have prerequisites, which are noted on the registrar’s website. Students must apply for admission to seminars.
Students may also arrange independent reading courses with a member of the faculty. Owing to faculty leaves and the rotation of departmental offerings, a particular course may not necessarily be taught in any given year.
Courses are numbered by type:
- 1xxx Introductory Survey Lectures
- 3xxx Lectures
- 4xxx Undergraduate Seminars
- 8xxx Graduate Colloquia
- 9xxx Graduate Seminars
and field:
- x000 - x059 Ancient History
- x060 - x099 Medieval Europe
- x100 - x199 Early Modern Europe
- x200 - x299 Russia and East Central Europe
- x300 - x399 Modern Western Europe
- x400 - x599 -United States
- x600 - x659 -Jewish History
- x660 - x699 -Latin America
- x700 - x759 -Middle East
- x760 - x799 Africa
- x800 - x859 South Asia
- x860 - x899 -East Asia
- x900 - x999 -Research, Historiography, and Trans-National History
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