Major & Minor Requirements

Major Requirements

Introductory Courses (6 credits required)

  • One introductory survey
  • Please note:
    • Introductory survey courses are numbered 1xxx and contain the note: "this course satisfies the introductory survey requirement for the history major/minor” in their course description.
  • One additional introductory course, chosen from any 100- or 200-level course listed in History and taught by History Department faculty.
  • Please note:
    • "History Department faculty” does not include “affiliated faculty.”
    • This course can be an introductory survey, a lecture, or a seminar.
    • This course can be home-based or cross-listed in History.

Students may satisfy introductory course requirements using AP credit if they have earned a score of 5 on the AP European, U.S., or World History examinations.

  • Students will be awarded 3 units of credit per AP exam, for a maximum of 6 credits towards the major or minor.
  • A score of 4 on any of these exams may earn 3 units of elective credit, but will not be counted towards the major or minor.


Upper Level Courses

At least 18 3XX or 4XX level units PLUS a capstone experience (for a minimum of 22 advanced units). Requirements at this level include:

  • at least one course designated “pre-modern” and one course designated “modern”†
  • at least one course from three of the following geographical areas: Africa, East Asia, South Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, the United States, or transregional*history†
  • History 301, “Historical Methods,” a required methods course for all majors
  • The Capstone Experience: History majors must, prior to graduation, complete a capstone experience consisting of:
    • successful completion of the Senior Honors Thesis; OR
    • an Advanced Seminar‡; OR
    • an independent research project with a significant writing component (History 500); OR
    • directed fieldwork in the historical or archival profession, with a significant writing component (History 4001/4002)

Courses may satisfy more than one requirement. A course listed as “Latin America” and “pre-modern” satisfies both a geographical and a chronological requirement. A Historical Methods or Advanced Seminar may also satisfy geographical and/or chronological requirements.

† Courses home-based in history include their chronological and geographical designations at the end of their course description. For crosslisted or study abroad courses, which generally do not include these designations but can fulfill them, please consult your history major adviser.

*If a student chooses to count a transregional course toward the geographical requirement, at least one of the two other geographical areas the student counts toward the major must cover a region that is not included in the transregional course. For example, a student who has completed courses in U.S. and Latin American history could not count a transregional course that examines the comparative history of the U.S. and Latin America. But a student who has taken a transregional course on the U.S. and Latin America could take a course on either U.S. or Latin American history, and would then need to take a course covering an area other than the U.S. or Latin America in order to satisfy the third area requirement.

‡In addition to home-based history courses designated in their titles as “Advanced Seminar”, other courses that fulfill the capstone requirement for the history major note “this course satisfies the history major capstone requirement as an Advanced Seminar” in their course description.

Notes:

  • International Baccalaureate: The Department recognizes the superior preparation many students have received in the IB program. However, no credit is awarded for the International Baccalaureate.
  • The Department recognizes that some students take their first history course, or develop an interest in majoring in History, only in their junior year, and then face a dilemma in choosing between required introductory courses and upper-level course work more appropriate to their abilities. Such students, with the recommendation of their advisor in History, may petition the Director of Undergraduate Studies to permit a designated upper-level course to substitute for one of the introductory courses. In all such cases, the minimum number of units for the major remains 28 units.
  • All upper-level units must be separate courses, not double-counted toward a minor or second major.
  • Courses taken pass/fail or credit/no credit do not count towards the major or minor.

 

Minor Requirements

Introductory Courses (6 credits required)

  • One introductory survey
  • Please note:
    • Introductory survey courses are numbered 1xxx and contain the note: "this course satisfies the introductory survey requirement for the history major/minor” in their course description.
  • One additional introductory course, chosen from any 100- or 200-level course home-based listed in history and taught by History Department faculty.

Please note:

  • "History Department faculty” does not include “affiliated faculty.”
  • This course can be an introductory survey, a lecture, or a seminar.
  • This course can be home-based or cross-listed in History.

Students may satisfy introductory course requirements using AP credit if they have earned a score of 5 on the AP European, U.S., or World History examinations.

  • Students will be awarded 3 units of credit per AP exam, for a maximum of 6 credits towards the major or minor.
  • A score of 4 on any of these exams may earn 3 units of elective credit, but will not be counted towards the major or minor.

Plus:

  • 12 additional units, 9 of which must be at the 3XX or 4XX level.  
     

Notes:

  • All 18 units must be separate courses not double-counted toward the major or another minor. Courses in the minor may not be taken credit/no-credit.
  • The Department recognizes that some students take their first history course, or develop an interest in declaring a minor in History, only in their junior year, and then face a dilemma in choosing between required introductory courses and upper-level course work more appropriate to their abilities. Such students, with the recommendation of their advisor in History, may petition the Director of Undergraduate Studies to permit a designated upper-level course to substitute for one of the introductory courses. In all such cases, the minimum number of units in the minor remains 18.
  • Courses taken pass/fail or credit/no credit do not count towards the major or minor.