The Bachelor of Arts in History requires students to take 10 courses (40 units).
The History major offers students a means to encounter the peoples and cultures of the past and develop critical thinking, research and writing skills essential for understanding the present. The program exposes students to underlying connections between the study of past times and places and the roots of that study in human concerns about values, identities, issues and policies.
In their lower-division courses, majors will have the opportunity to explore the histories of different cultures across time. Students at the upper-division level hone their knowledge of different cultures and societies, while also learning how to do history. When they arrive at their capstone course, they will apply that knowledge to a substantial world of independent research.
Lower-Division Requirements
All majors are required to complete HIST 201 Approaches to History. It is recommended that students complete HIST 201 early in their course of study.
Students can take up to three additional lower-division survey courses. However, if they prefer to take upper-division courses instead, they may.
The Department of History will accept scores of 4 or 5 on Advanced Placement European History, Advanced Placement United States History or Advanced Placement World History as a substitute for one course requirement at the lower-division level.
Upper-Division Requirements
Six upper-division courses are required, of which at least two must be 400-levels. No more than 4 units of HIST 490x Directed Research may be counted as satisfying the upper-division seminar requirement.
Geographic and Temporal Breadth Requirements
For geographic breadth, majors must take at least one course from four geographic areas. Those areas and the classes that fulfill them are listed below. Majors must also take two class that focus on the period before 1800 and two that focus on the period after 1800 to show temporal breadth. The courses that cover those periods are listed below. A single course may fulfill both a geographic and temporal requirement.
Capstone Requirement
Every major must complete a capstone to finish the major. To do so they must take a 400-level course their last year in the major (usually their senior year, but exceptions will be considered), which includes a substantial work of independent scholarship. They must have their choice approved by the department. See the department website for how to achieve an approved capstone. For students who choose to complete the Honors Thesis, this counts as a capstone. Classes that can be considered for a capstone are listed below.
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