“Nothing is more incongruous for people or groups than to have no history.  Ignorance of one’s own past leads fatally to a crisis and the loss of identity of individuals and communities.”

– Pope Saint John Paul II, Message for the 50^th Anniversary of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, 16 April 2004

The History Department combines the rigor of a research university with the human scale of a liberal arts college.  It is dedicated to understanding the human experience in time and place, and to careful training in identifying and assessing information, executing research projects, and analytical writing and oral presentation.

History students learn in small, interactive classes with faculty committed to combining research and teaching. Studying with accomplished scholars who bring current developments in their fields to life in the classroom, students choose from a wide range of classes and seminars, increasingly incorporating digital tools for learning and studying. History faculty and students participate in a variety of interdisciplinary programs across campus, including the University Honors Program, Catholic University's flagship study-abroad program in Rome, Medieval and Byzantine Studies, Early Christian Studies, and other programs focused on Europe, Ireland, Latin American and Latino studies, and the Islamic world.