Three academic areas—biological sciences (Area A), social sciences (Area B), and humanities (Area C)—include 19 fields of concentration.
Biological sciences (area A)
- Anthropology and archaeology* (physical)
- Biology
- History of science, technology, and medicine* (new in 2011–12)
Social sciences (area B)
- Anthropology and archaeology* (social and cultural)
- Clinical psychology
- Foreign literature, language, and culture*
- Government
- History
- History of science, technology, and medicine*
- International relations
- Legal studies*
- Linguistics*
- Medieval studies*
- Middle Eastern studies*
- Psychology
Humanities (area C)
- Celtic languages and literatures
- Dramatic arts
- English
- Foreign literature, language, and culture*
- Linguistics*
- Literature and creative writing
- Medieval studies*
- Middle Eastern studies*
- Religion
- Visual arts
*Interdisciplinary fields
The fields above marked with an asterisk (*) fall into 2 areas and are considered interdisciplinary fields. Though interdisciplinary concentrations include courses under more than 1 area, students must pursue fields in 1 primary area. The chosen area should reflect the student’s methodological inclination and has an impact on the selection of a proseminar, elective courses, and thesis topic.
Students may choose their electives from the broad range of courses available in an interdisciplinary field. For example, medieval studies concentrators in humanities may select medieval studies courses under social sciences and count them as either field courses or electives.
Foreign literature, language, and culture concentration
This concentration can be focused either on the humanities or social sciences in non-English-speaking settings. If students wish to focus on literature, language, film, or the arts, they should take a humanities proseminar and plan to develop a thesis on 1 of these subjects.
Students who wish to focus on ethnography, history, or other aspects of everyday life should take a social sciences proseminar and develop their thesis on 1 of these topics. Concentrators in this field may focus their studies on 1 particular country (for example, France, Spain, or Russia), or they may approach 1 or more countries comparatively. No more than 2 approved graduate-level language courses can be accepted toward degree requirements.
A variety of courses chosen from several different fields satisfy both field and elective requirements. See the degree course search.