History Major and Minor Requirements (updated Fall 2024)

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Major Requirements

The requirements for the major in history are flexible enough to enable a student to pursue personal interests and goals and at the same time foster an appreciation for the diversity of the human experience. To qualify for a major in history the following minimum requirements must be met:

  1. A minimum of nine (9) history courses must be completed.
  2. At least three courses (at any level) must be drawn from three of the following broad categories into which the history curriculum is divided: a) Africa, b) Asia, c) Europe, d) Latin America and the Caribbean, e) Middle East, f) North America, g) Transnational.
  3. At least one course must be a 299 Historical Research Methods seminar, which must be taken before the senior year.
  4. At least one course must be a 300-level seminar.
  5. At least one course must be a Senior-Year Experience (SYE), which may be fulfilled by a 400-level research seminar involving a substantial research project, by the two-semester Honors Project, or by a 400-level independent study (see below).
  6. No more than three courses at the 100 level may be credited toward the major.
  7. Students must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA in the major.

Honors

The honors program in history enables qualified students to engage in intensive original work in the senior year. Admission to the program, at the discretion of the department, requires a GPA of at least 3.5 in the major. Students seeking admission must apply to the chair of the department by no later than May 1 of the junior year. Honors are granted upon the successful completion of an honors thesis written under the direction of a faculty advisor. Completion of the honors thesis earns two credits toward the major (History 498 and 499) and fulfills the SYE requirement. Completion of a written historiography and other requirements by the end of the fall semester (History 498) is required for admission to History 499 in the spring.

Minor Requirements

A minor in history provides students with an opportunity to select courses that satisfy their interest in the field while learning the tools of the historian’s craft. To qualify for a minor in history the following minimum requirements must be met:

  1. A minimum of five (5) history courses must be completed.
  2. At least one course must be a 299 Historical Research Methods seminar, which must be taken before the senior year.
  3. At least one course must be a 300-level seminar or an SYE course (400-level).
  4. No more than one course at the 100 level may be credited toward the minor.
  5. Among the minimum of 5 courses, not more than one may be an independent study (489, 490) or an internship (481, 482).
  6. Students must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA in the minor.

Advanced Placement Credit. 

A 4 or 5 in one history AP course may count for major credit.