History Major

At Pitzer College, the tuition fee is 62,392 USD per year.

This program invites students to investigate the world's development through a critical lens, drawing on varied perspectives. Students choose a theme or topic to focus on and research, utilizing extensive library resources from The Claremont Colleges. The program emphasizes critical analysis of historical narratives and the use of primary and secondary sources.

Focus areas include gender and colonialism, knowledges and sciences, labor and economics.

The major requires at least 11 history courses, including specific introductory courses, a junior/senior seminar, and courses focusing on non-US/European regions and periods before 1600. Students must also develop a thematic focus of at least three courses, with one requiring a significant research paper.

Graduates gain skills valuable for roles such as investigative journalism, by learning to read history from multiple perspectives and question information.

For international students, tuition is well above the median for US programmes. The institution admits about 17% of applicants.

Students from across the nation and 39 countries contribute to Pitzer’s community in Claremont, California. International students make up 9.6% of the student population. Campus life includes four student-run spaces, a student senate with 54 representatives, and opportunities to influence academic policy, faculty hiring, building design and campus artworks. Every student completes a social responsibility praxis course with a service-learning component before graduation, while most complete more than 40 community engagement hours through that course. Six mixed-use residence halls include solar panels, green roofs, living walls, gray-water systems and water-efficient fixtures.

Since 1963, Pitzer has organized its education around social responsibility, interdisciplinary learning, environmental sustainability, intercultural understanding and student engagement. Students can choose from more than 60 majors and minors across the arts, humanities, natural sciences, social sciences and interdisciplinary studies, while more than 2,000 courses are available across Pitzer and The Claremont Colleges. A 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio supports close academic work. Faculty from different fields often influence one another’s work and co-teach, and students can create their own major. International and globally minded students can take part in study abroad programs; 53.1% of the Class of 2026 participated in study abroad. The college’s community includes students with connections from Los Angeles and New York to Nepal, and its programs connect academic study with community engagement.