Which is better for studying history as an undergraduate: Emory or William & Mary?

William & Mary has the stronger overall undergraduate history experience for a student who wants history to be a central, hands-on part of college. Its History Department is closely tied to Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown, giving students unusual access to sites, museums, and public-history institutions connected to early America. William & Mary also has the Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture, a major scholarly center that supports talks, research, and engagement with historians working in the field.

Students interested in colonial, Revolutionary, early U.S., Atlantic-world, museum, or archival history can build coursework and internships around nearby institutions such as Colonial Williamsburg and the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. Swem Library’s Special Collections Research Center further makes primary-source work accessible at the undergraduate level.

William & Mary’s undergraduate-centered identity is another advantage. History majors have substantial opportunities for seminar-based classes, faculty mentorship, independent research, and an honors thesis, without competing as heavily with graduate students for departmental attention. Its curriculum is not limited to early American history, but that regional strength gives the program a distinctive intellectual character.

Emory is still an excellent choice, particularly for a student drawn to a broader research-university setting and Atlanta-based opportunities. Its history offerings are especially compelling in areas such as African American history, global and transnational history, religion, medicine, and the modern South, while the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library is a serious resource for archival research. For a history student who is undecided or whose interests lean strongly toward those areas, Emory’s interdisciplinary ecosystem can be very attractive.