Program: History, BA - University of Pittsburgh

Major Requirements

The History major requires completion of 36 credits, 18 of which must be at the 1000-level, distributed as follows.

Pre-1800 history course

Complete one course in pre-1800 history. A partial list of eligible courses follows.

HIST 0089 - MAGIC, MEDICINE AND SCIENCE
HIST 0100 - WESTERN CIVILIZATION 1
HIST 0400 - EAST ASIAN CIVILIZATION TO 1800
HIST 0500 - COLONIAL LATIN AMERICA
HIST 0751 - ANCIENT WORLDS
HIST 0755 - RELIGION IN ASIA
HIST 0756 - INTRODUCTION TO ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION
HIST 0788 - WOMEN AND MEN IN ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN SOCIETY
HIST 0795 - HISTORY OF AFRICA BEFORE 1800
HIST 1110 - MEDIEVAL HISTORY 1
HIST 1111 - MEDIEVAL HISTORY 2
HIST 1115 - THE WEST AND THE WORLD
HIST 1121 - TUDOR ENGLAND
HIST 1190 - MEDIEVAL GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY
HIST 1191 - ENGLISH ORIGINS OF AMERICAN LAW
HIST 1420 - ANCIENT CHINA
HIST 1422 - LATE IMPERIAL CHINA
HIST 1475 - EAST ASIAN BUDDHISM
HIST 1476 - RELIGION AND HEALING IN CHINA
HIST 1477 - RELIGION IN JAPAN
HIST 1610 - UNITED STATES COLONIAL
HIST 1611 - AMERICAN REVOLUTION 1763-1791
HIST 1740 - BUDDHIST MEDITATIVE TRADITIONS
HIST 1757 - RELIGION IN INDIA
HIST 1765 - ISRAEL IN THE BIBLICAL AGE
HIST 1775 - ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY
HIST 1776 - VARIETIES OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY
HIST 1781 - ROMAN HISTORY
HIST 1783 - GREEK HISTORY

U.S. History survey course

Choose one of the following courses.

HIST 0600 - UNITED STATES TO 1877
HIST 0601 - UNITED STATES 1865-PRESENT
HIST 0670 - AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORY 1
HIST 0671 - AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORY 2

Global Understanding

Complete one course each in four of the following six categories.

Africa
Asia
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
World/Comparative

Concentration

Three additional courses are to be selected by the student with the help of a faculty member or the undergraduate advisor to form a chronological, geographic, or thematic concentration, which should normally be decided upon by the junior year.

Skills

Each student must take the following sequence of two courses.

An upper-level writing-intensive (W) course may be substituted for HIST 1001 . The alternate course should be taken as soon as practicable. HIST 1001 must be taken before enrolling in HIST 1000 .

HIST 1001 - INTRODUCTORY SEMINAR
HIST 1000 - CAPSTONE SEMINAR

Elective History course

Complete any course offered by the Department of History.

Notes

The following rules and requirements apply for history majors.

Students must earn at least a 2.00 overall GPA in history courses.
Majors may take a total of nine credits for the major on an S/NC basis. HIST 1000 - CAPSTONE SEMINAR or HIST 1001 - INTRODUCTORY SEMINAR may not be taken S/NC.
History majors are strongly encouraged to add an international dimension to their undergraduate education by studying abroad.
Students interested in graduate study in history should be aware that all graduate departments of history require proficiency in at least one second language and that many require competence in two languages for a PhD.
The honors program consists of the regular major plus six extra credits. Honors students must take the following courses.
- One University Honors College course in History, which may count toward another requirement for the major (e.g. Global Understanding or the Concentration).
- HIST 1902 - WRITING: HISTORY HONORS SEMINAR (instead of HIST 1000 ; this course is offered only in the fall term)
- HIST 1901 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
- HIST 1903 - HONORS THESIS/MAJORS ; students in this course write a paper of 25 to 50 pages

Students may apply for the honors program in thier sophomore year and upon completion of at least 12 credits in history. To apply, students must have a minimum 3.5 GPA in hsitory courses, an overall GPA of at least 3.35, and submit a writing sample for approval by the Undergraduate Committee. The minimum letter grade requirement for honors students is B.

Internships for History Credit

History majors may do an internship for 3 credits (HIST 1900 ) in a local museum in either the fall or spring semesters. Contact the history academic advisor for information.

Study Abroad

Each year the department offers a scholarship for study abroad. Applications for the A. J. Schneider Award are due by February each year. Contact the history undergraduate advisor for more information.