The Yale Historical Review provides undergraduates an opportunity to have their exceptional work highlighted and encourages the diffusion of original historical ideas on campus by providing a forum for outstanding undergraduate history papers covering any historical topic.

The Review is committed to displaying the full undergraduate history experience at Yale. To this end, we are organized around a categorical scheme in which a paper from each of the major sections of the History Department will be published: Directed Studies, Freshmen Seminars, Junior Seminars, and Senior Essays. In addition to these papers, we will also publish a paper from a Yale history class that does not fall into any of these categories, as well as a paper from a different university. This structure serves to:

• Showcase the wide variety of subjects covered in Yale's history classes
• Exhibit the progression of a history student, from Freshmen Seminar or Directed Studies to Senior Essay
• Give history and non-history students alike a chance to read model history papers for any type of class
• Highlight the original historical research going on at Yale
• Stimulate intellectual interest among the Yale community
• Provide additional incentive to write excellent history papers