Instead, history majors learn how to analyze historical data in order to draw their own conclusions concerning questions that affect us even today. By the time a student has completed the history major, he or she has learned how to analyze complex concepts more easily, write more clearly, and think more independently. History is more than simply the study of wars and presidents. Some history majors prefer classes that focus on social history, such as American women's history, Native American history, environmental history, immigration and ethnicity, and the medieval city. Other history majors prefer courses in American legal history, the American Civil War, World War II, the history of Mexico, or modern European history.
Several courses focus on western United States history.
The William Robertson Coe Library, which contains almost one million volumes, possesses a particularly rich collection of source materials in Western history. The undergraduate history major curriculum allows considerable leeway in course selection. During the freshman and sophomores years, the major usually takes courses that satisfy the University Studies and College of Arts and Sciences requirements, plus the general surveys of United States history and Western Civilization. During the junior and senior years, history majors choose additional history courses. At least 15 of these hours are at the 4000 level.