Program Overview

Overview of the Secondary Field in European History, Politics, and Societies (EHPS)

The Secondary Field in European History, Politics, and Societies (EHPS) offers Harvard College students the opportunity to pursue an interdisciplinary course of study focused on modern Europe, in particular its politics, economics, history, and social and cultural developments. EHPS is based at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies (CES), the locus of innovative research on European history and contemporary affairs.

Course Requirements

• A minimum of three courses must be in social science disciplines (anthropology, economics, government, history, sociology or social studies).
• The six courses must come from at least two different departments/disciplines.
• A minimum of three courses must be regular departmental courses (i.e., not General Education courses, Freshman Seminars, or House Seminars).
• One course of relevant language study at the intermediate or advanced level may count towards the secondary field.

Additional Information

• Students considering this specialization should consult with CES to discuss the coursework that would be best suited to their interests.
• All courses must be taken for a letter grade and completed with a grade of B- or above, with the exception of Freshman Seminars, which may be applied toward the secondary field with a grade of SAT.
• Students may petition to potentially receive credit for courses which may be relevant to the program of study but are not listed as part of the approved courses, including one course of credit taken through Harvard’s Summer Study Abroad Program or an OIE-approved study abroad program.

Opportunities and Resources

• Students interested in EHPS are encouraged to register for the field as early as possible in order to take advantage of the rich program of lectures offered by CES, as well as summer internships, thesis workshops and senior thesis grants.
• There are well over 100 courses at Harvard that have been identified as counting toward the secondary field.
• Courses outside of these focused on modern Europe may also be approved on an individual basis, given that they align with CES requirements.

Alumni Profiles

• Taylor Whitsell (Government, Secondary in European History, Politics and Societies, 2022) - Action-Based Optimism: Finding Justice in the (Dis)Information Age
• Pablo Rasmussen (Government, European History, Politics and Societies) - Learning Through Experience – How Pablo Rasmussen became a Rugged Internationalist
• Spencer Ma '19 (Economics, European History, Politics and Societies) - European Studies Concentrator Turns Passion into Reality

EHPS Alumni

• 2025 EHPS Concentrators:
  • Kya Brooks (Economics, Secondary Field in History of Art & Architecture, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2025)
  • Addie Esposito (Government, Germanic Language and Literature, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2025)
  • Tali Finger (Physics, Philosophy, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2025)
  • Oriana Gjini (Physics, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2025)
  • Benjamin Rosa (Social Studies, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2025)
• 2024 EHPS Concentrators:
  • Nicole Fintel (Government, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2024)
• 2023 EHPS Concentrators:
  • Abigail LaBreck (Government, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2023)
  • Florian Bochert (Government, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2023)
• 2022 EHPS Concentrators:
  • Lauren Anderson (Social Studies, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2022)
  • Alec Fischthal (History, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2022)
  • Bryce Kim (History, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2022)
  • Mary Kolesar (Applied Mathematics, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2022)
  • Taylor Whitsell (Government, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2022)
• 2021 EHPS Concentrators:
  • Emmanuel Calivo (Government, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2021)
  • Colin Gray-Hoehn (Government, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2021)
  • Alexandra Todorova (History, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2021)
• 2020 EHPS Concentrators:
  • Pablo Rasmussen (Government, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2020)
  • Ben Roy (Classics, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2020)
  • Mason Sands (Government, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2020)
• 2019 EHPS Concentrators:
  • Spencer Ma (Economics, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2019)
• 2018 EHPS Concentrators:
  • Marko Kostich (Statistics, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2018)
  • Alexander Stevenson (Economics, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2018)
• 2017 EHPS Concentrators:
  • Luka Kordic (Statistics, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2017)
  • Camelia Valldejuly (Government, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2017)
  • Akshay Verma (Economics, Secondary Field in European History, Politics and Societies (EHPS), 2017)