About the Department
History matters.
The study of history prepares students to live thoughtfully, to work in a wide variety of professions, and to participate as national and global citizens. A popular undergraduate major at Pitt, history develops skills (research and synthesis, critical reading, careful and clear writing and speaking) that are critically important in politics, law, business, teaching, and public relations. History faculty members are experienced and passionate scholar-teachers of both undergraduate and graduate students. Along with the students they train, they bring the long-term perspective of history into important debates about the present.
The History Department at the University of Pittsburgh enjoys an international reputation. The area studies—U.S., East Asia, Latin America, and Europe—rank among the best programs in the nation and attract both national and international students.
The Department of History offers a wide range of courses covering
Atlantic history, African history, race and ethnicity,
nationalism, military history, Native Americans, gender and sexuality,
urban history, women's history, law, and intellectual history. Working-class,
social, and political history, fields to which Pitt made pioneering
contributions beginning in the 1960s, continue to be important areas
of faculty and student interest.
