I'd Like to Take a History Class

If you are interested in taking a History course but need some guidance on where to start, read on.

A list of our courses is available in the Course Listing page on our site and the Columbia Course Directory linked here (click "H" for department and go to History @ Barnard). Note that this list changes semester by semester.

General advice:

• In general, seminars are reserved for juniors or seniors and are limited to 15 students. However, sophomores may certainly apply. Non-majors regularly take seminars, particularly if they have some background in the topic acquired in other coursework. Some seminars, such as Introduction to Historical Theory and Method, are actually aimed at sophomores and juniors.

• Note that lecture courses aren't always 'lectures'; some are quite small and have a significant discussion component (you can check the class enrollment on the course list page).

• In general, courses are numbered to reflect the type of course and world region:
  • For U.S. and European history courses, 1000-level indicates introductory lecture courses
  • For all other area histories, course numbering begins at the 2000-level. (For U.S./Europe, 2000-level numbering indicates somewhat more advanced lectures.)
  • For all regions, 3000-level courses correspond to undergraduate seminars

World region/epoch is indicated by :

x000-x059: Ancient
x060-x099: Medieval
x1xx-x199: Early Modern Europe
x2xx-x299: East Central Europe
x3xx-x399: Modern Western Europe
x4xx-x599: United States
x600-x659: Jewish
x660-x699: Latin America
x700-x759: Middle East
x760-x799: Africa
x800-x859: South Asia
x860-x899: East Asia
x9xx-x999: Research, Historiography, Trans-National