During the first half postwar decade, the Department of History also struggled to accommodate the large number of new students. 

Undergraduates had to take introductory courses in their first year: History 101 – 107, focusing on Ancient Greece/Rome, Medieval, Early Modern and Modern Europe, Colonial America, History of the US, Economic History (taught at the Economy Department).

After having successfully finished the 100-level courses, students could take 200-level courses which often directly continued from the lower level, like f. e. Hist 201, 202 would focus on “The Development of the American Nation Since 1763”, a course on political history with “constant reference to economic, social, and cultural developments” (mostly divided into two semesters). 201 could also be about “English/British Constitutional History”.

The 300-level courses were restricted to students who had already done 201/202. These were more specialized courses, focusing on “Political and Cultural History of England” (301/302) or on specific periods of European history (303: Renaissance and Reformation (sometimes also called “Protestant Revolt”), 304: Europe, 1555-1789, 305: French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era. 301 sometimes focused on “Renaissance and the Religious Revolution” (1938/39, 1939/40 – Dr. Ellis) while 315/316 was dedicated to the “Social and Industrial History of the U. S.” (Dr. Lilly, 1939/40 and 1940/41). Junior students who majored in history also had to take 351/352 “Reading List” which included “historical criticism and interpretation.”

Seminars on the 400-level were mostly courses on Modern European history (401: Modern Europe, 1815-1871, 402: Europe since 1870, 411: Europe since 1914). History seniors were required to attend the coordinating seminar 451/452 which investigated historical methods and historiography. 

Finally, there were courses on the 500-level. These included 501/502 “English Political and Constitutional History to 1714” (prerequisites: 101, 102, 201, 202) and 503/504 the same after 1714. Other classes studied Ancient History (505, 506), European history (513/514, 540: “The Catholic Church and Nineteenth Century Liberalism”, 543/544: “New Imperialism (1870-1914)”, 545/546: Europe Since 1914), or “Spanish American Colonial History” (525/526 or 595/596: “Spanish Colonial Empire”, “Spanish Borderlands: From California to Florida”), and, finally US History (575/576: “Social and Industrial History of the US”), (583-586: “History of the Catholic Church in the U. S.”)