Only with knowledge of the past, where humans have come from and how they have responded to success and failure, can anyone expect to understand the consequences of future actions.

The Franklin & Marshall History major offers a comprehensive curriculum, covering a wide range of geographic regions, topical themes and time periods. Our global and transnational approach to history draws on faculty specialties ranging from African to Asian, Islamic, Jewish, Latin American, European and American history. The department's course offerings are especially strong in the study of women, gender and sexuality as well as 20th- and 21st-century history.

We encourage our students to study abroad throughout the world. Our students have studied in Argentina, Australia, Austria, China, El Salvador, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania and Zanzibar, among others.

In keeping with the traditions of a small, liberal arts college, we direct a large number of independent studies, allowing students to study specific topics related to world history while pursuing a personal line of intellectual inquiry.

We provide close supervision as students learn the essential skills of historians. Through survey and topics courses, seminars and independent study projects, students gain the ability to research thoroughly, read critically, analyze sources accurately and write and communicate their findings clearly.

The study of History at F&M provides a strong foundation for many professional fields. Recent graduates have chosen careers in, among other fields, law, government, business, journalism, education, social work, filmmaking, sports management and coaching, communications, publishing, marketing, foreign service and archival and museum management.