Department of History

Undergraduate Program

The Department of History at Pitt is unusual in its wide range of teaching and research—U.S., European, Latin American, Asian, and African history—and its inherently comparative and international approach. History is an open-ended discipline, and the department welcomes students, as well as ideas and techniques, from other subjects.

The study of history combines well with courses in economics, anthropology, sociology, political science, literature and other disciplines, and interested students will receive help in combining their major with one of the many certificate programs offered in the University, such as the Area Studies certificates (West European, Asian, Russian and East European, and Latin American), or the Certificate in Historic Preservation.

Our Program

The department encourages students to participate in activities that will take them outside the University, such as a semester of study abroad or an internship done either as part of the major or for general University credit. Many history majors have become lawyers, journalists, civil servants, business executives, and teachers. In short, the history major offers an exciting intellectual challenge in itself, and an excellent all-around preparation for a wide range of professional careers after graduation.

About Our Advisors

John Stoner

James Hill has been teaching at Pitt since 2019. He received his Ph.D. from the College of William & Mary and specializes in Atlantic World, Native American/Indigenous, Caribbean, and Colonial North American history. He has published articles in Early American Studies (Winter 2014) and the Florida Historical Quarterly (Fall 2014) and has held fellowships at the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, the John Carter Brown Library, the Huntington Library, and the David Library of the American Revolution.

Learn more about undergraduate advising for the History Department.