History at Hood is the challenging and exciting study of the human past in all its dimensions. If you've enjoyed reading historical novels or visiting historic sites, exploring museums or re-enacting past time periods, the History program will allow you to develop that interest while acquiring valuable lifelong skills in research, writing and critical thinking.
In thought-provoking seminars and small, discussion-based classes, you can study royalty, revolutionaries, African-American culture, the Crusades or the role of women in the developing world. You will work closely with faculty members who specialize in ancient history, medieval Europe, modern eastern Europe, 20th-century America, African-American history, women's history, African history and Asian history.
The history major at Hood is designed to address various educational and career goals. You can choose from among three tracks:
- Graduate school preparation: intended for students who plan to pursue further study in history or related fields at the graduate level. Your adviser will help you design a program that reflects your own interests and the requirements of graduate schools.
- Secondary Education: intended for students who plan to obtain certification to teach at the secondary level. The history major adviser works closely with Hood's Education Department to ensure that you complete all necessary requirements, including a teaching practicum, to be certified to teach in the state of Maryland (with reciprocity in many other states).
- General preparation: intended for most students pursuing the history major, either by itself or in combination with another major or minor. Your adviser will help you choose the courses that best meet your interests while fulfilling the major requirements. This is an ideal liberal arts major, preparing you for success in any number of career fields.
Historical Research Opportunities If you're interested in intensive historical research, you could design your own independent study course, work on a collaborative project with a faculty member in Hood's Summer Research Institute or be invited to write a Departmental Honors paper.
Along with resources for all historical subjects, Hood's library houses the Landauer Collection on the Civil War and the Weisberg Collection, the nation's most complete privately held archive on the Kennedy assassination and the Warren Commission.
Internships Hood's location—near Civil War battlefields, the nation's capital, the capital of Maryland and the county seat of Frederick County—provides an area rich with historical sites and internship opportunities. Among the locations where Hood history students have interned are:
- C-SPAN
- Harper's Ferry National Park
- Historical Society of Frederick County
- Library of Congress
- National Archives
- National Museum of American History (Smithsonian Institution)
- National Museum of Civil War Medicine
- National Park Service
- Smithsonian Museum
- U.S. Department of the Interior
- U.S. Department of Justice
- U.S. House of Representatives
- Washington County Historical Society
