Distinguished Majors Program

The DMP begins in the fall semester of your third year with HIST 4890 (Distinguished Majors Colloquium). This intensive reading, writing, and discussion course is intended to familiarize students with the conceptual and methodological approaches that historians commonly employ and to develop analytical and writing skills. Class meets for 2.5 hours each week. Throughout the semester, students will meet faculty representing the wide range of fields in the history department and learn how they approach their research.

In the spring semester of the third year, DMP students take one of the Major Seminars (HIXX 4501/4502) or Major Colloquia (4511/4512). The goal of the Major Seminar/Colloquium, which is required of all majors, is to produce a 20 to 25-page research paper or several shorter historiographical papers. Ideally, DMP students will use the Major Seminar/Colloquium to explore a potential topic for their thesis that is related to the topic of their thesis, although this is certainly not always the case. The major seminar also initiates students in the art of finding and use of primary materials to construct an historical argument.

There are no formal requirements over the summer between the third and fourth years. However, many students use this time to make progress on their thesis. This would be the time for background reading, refining a topic, bibliographical exploration, and even archival research. Whatever you do, it is expected that you will have one or several concrete ideas for a research project by the beginning of fall semester.

The fourth-year program consists of HIST 4990 and HIST 4991, the year-long Distinguished Majors Seminar, which provides a total of six credits for researching and writing the thesis. In the fall semester, the class meets from four to six times to provide support and assistance in refining your topic and beginning research. Over the course of the semester students will complete a formal, eight- to ten-page prospectus. Participants should expect to devote most of their energy in the spring semester to the completion of the thesis. The class will again meet occasionally, but for the most part you will be working independently. The first draft of the completed thesis will be due in mid-March, with the final revised draft due by mid-April.

As a rule, theses are evaluated by the student’s advisor, the director of the DMP and the Director of Undergraduate Studies. In addition to assigning grades, the director of the DMP along with the director of Undergraduate Studies assigns levels of distinction (e.g., Distinction, High Distinction, Highest Distinction). The levels are determined, above all, by the quality of the thesis but also by performance in all aspects of the program. Applicants should realize that there is the option of denying Distinction if the quality of the thesis is below the department’s standards. In this (fortunately, rare) case, the student will graduate as a regular history major. The College of Arts and Sciences requires a minimum GPA of 3.4 for graduation with distinction; should a DMP student successfully complete the thesis but graduate with a GPA below 3.4, the student will graduate as a regular history major.

DMP students are eligible for prizes and awards that are typically given at the department's spring graduation ceremony.

Admission to the DMP is competitive. There are fifteen openings, and we often receive twice as many applications. Successful candidates have excellent analytical skills, the ability to write well, a capacity for self-directed work, and a commitment to undertake serious research.

DMP students should be resourceful, persistent, and motivated. They must be the kind of individuals who will work steadily and methodically toward a long-term goal. They have to be able to learn from the inevitable missteps and find their own way to solutions. They should be prepared to sacrifice some of their other commitments — and even winter or spring breaks — to the goal of producing a thesis.

The College of Arts and Sciences requires a 3.4 overall GPA for a degree with Distinction and applicants typically exceed this threshhold. However, interested applicants with a GPA below 3.4 should speak to the director; students with superior grades in the major have occasionally been admitted if they can demonstrate that they are on track to raise their cumulative GPA to the minimum level. Most admitted students have a GPA of 3.6 or above as well as top grades in their history courses.

Applicants need not have a specific research interest when they apply, but they should be individuals who will, over time, develop a passion for a particular historical topic. After all, work on the thesis will consume much of the DMP student’s attention during the fourth year.

Yes, but it requires careful planning. DMP students must be on Grounds in the fall of the third year and for the entire fourth year. Therefore, students should plan to study abroad before beginning the program, or in the spring of the third year. Note that spring of the third year is the semester in which most DMP students take the required 45xx seminar. DMP students who choose to study abroad that semester must plan ahead to complete their major seminar at another time. This will likely mean taking it at the same time as one of the DMP courses. DMP students who have studied abroad in the past report that this resulted in a very demanding courseload, but that the experience was worthwhile.

Yes, many do. You must plan ahead to ensure that you can complete the courses for the DMP and your second major in the proper sequence. The College permits students to complete only one DMP or honors major.

Some do, and DMP students have gone on to top PhD programs in history. However, most pursue careers outside academia. Graduates have been successful in law school, in graduate programs in fields other than history, in government jobs, and in business. The DMP is good preparation for any career that requires critical thinking and good writing, as well as skills such as the analysis of evidence and the construction of an argument.