History, BA

Major Requirements

Majors in history must complete a minimum of 30 credits in history courses, including the following:

• Required core courses (15 credits)
• One course in pre-1500 history
• One course in Latin American, Asian, East European, Russian and Soviet, African, or Middle Eastern history
• Required focused area of study (12 credits)

Note:

Majors must take four courses beyond the core courses. These courses will be selected by the student with the help of a faculty member or the undergraduate advisor to form a focused area of study. Such areas may be chronological, geographic, or thematic and normally should be declared during the junior year. Many students choose a geographical focus, e.g., History of the Americas or Europe; however students are encouraged to discuss with their advisors or faculty concentrations based on their own grouping together of four courses.

• One additional history course

In addition to those course requirements, the following rules and requirements apply for history majors:

• Students must earn at least a 2.00 overall GPA in history courses.
• Fifteen credits must be in courses numbered 1000 or above.
• Majors may take a total of 9 credits for the major on an S/NC basis (formerly the S/N option). HIST 1000 - CAPSTONE SEMINAR  or HIST 1001 - INTRODUCTORY SEMINAR  may not be taken S/NC (formerly the S/N option).
• Students may earn up to 9 credits in history on a credit-by-examination basis; arrangements can be made by contacting the instructor of the course involved.
• Students must complete an A&S 12-credit related area; economics, sociology, political science, statistics, or computer science are suggested.
• 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 6 extra credits. Students apply for the honors program in their sophomore year and should have completed 12 credits in history, have a 3.35 GPA overall and a 3.50 in history, and submit a piece of writing for approval by the Undergraduate Committee. There are four elements to the honors program:
  • The special honors seminar, HIST 1902 - WRITING: HISTORY HONORS SEMINAR ; this is separate from and in addition to the required seminar for majors
  • One University Honors College history course
  • An independent study (HIST 1901 )
  • The completion and acceptance of a 25-50 page honors thesis
  • No grade below B is acceptable to fulfill the honors requirements.

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.