Department of History — Requirements

The Major

Majors are required to take at least 12 courses (36 credits) from those offered by the department, including specific requirements as follows:

• 2 semesters of introductory history of Western Civilization (HIST 111 and 112) (6 credits)
• 2 semesters of introductory history of the United States (HIST 165 and 166) (6 credits)
• 1 semester of course work in non-Western history (Asian, African, Middle Eastern, Latin American, or World history) (3 credits)
• 1 advanced course (300 level or above) in European history before 1800 (3 credits)
• 1 advanced course (300 level or above) in any field of history after 1800 (3 credits)
• 1 research and methods seminar (HIST 480 or 481) (3 credits)
• 4 electives (12 credits)

Total: 12 courses (36 credits)

Please note: At least six courses in the major must be at the 300 level or above.

The Minor

Minors are required to take at least six courses (18 credits) from those offered by the department, including specific requirements as follows:

• 2 semesters of introductory history of Western civilization (HIST 111-112) (6 credits)
• 1 semester of introductory history of the United States (HIST 165 or 166) 3 credits
• 3 semesters of course work above the 100 level, of which at least two must be taken from courses above the 200 level (9 credits)

Total: 6 courses (18 credits)

Pass/Fail Option

No course taken on the pass/fail option may be counted toward the requirements for the major or the minor.

Independent Reading

No more than two Independent Reading courses (488, 489) may be counted toward the requirements for the major. No more than one Independent Reading course (488, 489) may be counted toward the requirements for the minor.

Honors

To be eligible for the History Department’s honors program a student must have (a) completed all core requirements for graduation in the College of Liberal Arts by the end of the junior year, (b) completed two semesters of Western Civilization, two semesters of the US survey, and four other courses, of which one must be a Research and Methods seminar, (c) achieved a university cumulative average of 3.0 and a 3.3 cumulative average in history courses through the junior year.

A student who wishes to do honors work should seek out a supervisor willing to direct the honors paper. After receiving the approval of a supervisor, the student must apply in writing to the undergraduate studies committee for admission to the honors program, preferably before the beginning of the senior year.

An honors candidate enrolls in HIST 490 (Honors Thesis), usually in the second semester of the senior year, under the direction of his or her supervisor, for the purpose of writing an honors paper; 40-60 pages is suggested as a suitable length. Acceptance of the paper by two of the three members of a readers’ committee is required for honors.

The requirements for receiving a diploma with honors in history are

• satisfactory completion of all University and departmental requirements for graduation;
• a 3.0 cumulative average in all University courses and a 3.3 cumulative average in all history courses through the senior year;
• satisfactory completion of the senior honors paper as outlined above.