DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

History at Villanova teaches students to use a variety of sources—texts, data, visual and material culture—to explore the past and become their own historians.

The History Department offers an undergraduate major and minor in History and Art History, as well as a Master's degree and graduate certificates in History. History seeks to understand and to explain the story of human experience, since the past provides the only laboratory of human experience actually lived. It is the story of individuals, the story of individuals in society, and the story of the political, religious, economic, and social ideologies and institutions they create in their search for identity, purpose, and value. History recognizes both the commonality of the human experience and the reality of cultural, class, racial, and gender distinctions that enrich that experience.

One of the Department's greatest strengths is its diversity. We offer more than 30 different courses each semester that cover a wide range of cultures, periods and themes, reflecting the diverse backgrounds, perspectives and interests of the faculty. History students at Villanova learn how to conduct research, think critically, and work independently and in groups. The History Department also offers a variety of paid internships and financial support for research and presentations at conferences.