Welcome to the Department of History and Program in Religious Studies at Penn State!
This department consists of two related units.
The Department of History at Penn State is built around a dynamic faculty who teach and conduct historical research spanning times and places ranging from ancient Greece to modern India. We are dedicated to pursuing new historical knowledge and sharing it with students, scholars, and the wider community. Chronologically, faculty areas of particular strength now include the early modern period; the US Civil War era; and modern society. Faculty also share interests in thematic areas which cut across chronological lines, such as gender, the African diaspora, and empire and colonialism. In conjunction with the Department of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, we also have a strong concentration in Ancient history. Degrees offered by the History department include the BA, MA, and Ph. d. About 70 graduate students and over 300 undergraduate majors are currently enrolled in History degree programs; we also offer a popular undergraduate minor. About 80 percent of History courses are taught by tenure-line faculty; the remainder are mainly taught by advanced graduate students under faculty supervision. Most upper level class enrollments are capped at 35. The History graduate program is small and intensive. Those who study History at Penn State thus can enjoy a degree of exposure to professors that is unusual in a large university. Lively lecture series, workshops, and roundtables foster scholarly dialogue and outreach to the public. More than half of the History faculty have arrived at University Park since 1990; continued recruitment has resulted in a diverse and talented group of scholars. Penn State history faculty regularly win fellowships, prizes, and grants.
The Religious Studies Program is administratively housed under the Department of History; most Religious Studies faculty have joint appointments with other units, mainly in History but also units such as Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies (CAMS) and Jewish Studies. Religious Studies faculty publish extensively on a wide range of topics, and they are active in journal editing as well. Religious Studies offers an undergraduate major and minor; at present, there are about 30 majors and an equal number of minors. Religious Studies courses also provide a very important dimension to undergraduate general-education offerings at Penn State; literally thousands of students have obtained an appreciation of the great world religious traditions through Religious Studies. Religious Studies faculty also actively participate in graduate programs through their alternative departmental affiliation.