History Major

Advising:

After you declare History as your major, contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies (Contact Us) to make an appointment for advising.

Requirements for the History Degree:

Within the minimum 122-semester-hour degree, 33 semester hours in history are required for the History major. Students must take at least six semester hours in each of the following three areas: (1) United States history, (2) European history, and (3) African, Asian, or Latin American history. At least eighteen semester hours in courses at the 3000-5000 level are required for all majors, which includes a 3-hour course requirement at the 5000 level. History majors must earn a 2.00 minimum GPA in their History coursework. Those who plan to continue with advanced historical study after graduation are encouraged to take an appropriate foreign language.

In addition, History 4300, Junior Seminar in Research and Writing, is required. It counts as three hours of the eighteen advanced hours required for the major but cannot be counted toward area distribution requirements for the major. NOTE: Majors are required to take the Junior Seminar during their Junior year--not before or after that time. Any exception to this rule must be cleared by both the Director of Undergraduate Studies and the Departmental Chairperson.

General Education Curriculum:

History courses may not be used by history majors to fulfill Perspectives requirements.
Students who elect to enroll in a GEC Cultural Formations course that is co-listed as a History course will not receive credit for the History major. Likewise, those electing to enroll in a History course that is co-listed as Cultural Formations will not receive credit for the GEC Cultural Formations group.

Departmental Distinction

History majors with sufficiently high standing may graduate with honors in history by applying for the degree "with departmental distinction." Eligible students--those who have completed 21 hours of History credit, including the Junior Seminar, with a 3.7 History GPA and overall 3.5 GPA--will be invited by the Department Chair to apply. Candidates for distinction will pursue an individual research project under the direction of a particular professor (while enrolled in HIST 4375). Such a major research project will develop out of the 5000-level seminar or HIST 4300, the junior seminar. The research project will be presented as a thesis before the end of the semester. The successful honors graduate must pass an oral examination on the thesis before a committee of three history faculty and receive at least an A minus on the work.

Internship Program

To promote learning based on practical experience and to expose students to some of the careers that can be pursued with a History major, the History Department offers the opportunity to earn up to three credit hours for an approved internship. For details about the program, see either the History Chairperson or the Director of Undergraduate Studies (Contact Us) .