History Degrees Online

Requirements for the Minor - Credits: 18
9 Credits from 100 and 200 level history courses
9 Credits of electives in history at the 300 level or above

THE HISTORY MAJOR: A major requires thirty-two credits in history, including HI 275 Introduction to the History Major, HI 375 Colloquium in History, and nine additional credits at the 300 level.

History courses that ordinarily carry three credit hours may carry four credit hours when they have a fourth contact hour of class or when they qualify as enhanced courses without a required fourth contact hour of class, developing particular student skills and offering a distinctive approach to learning. Enhanced courses are so designated in the master schedule and follow one of the following models:

Research in History (designated HI XXX (R)): Students develop research questions and hone research skills by identifying and assessing primary and/or secondary sources (including scholarly literature), preparing interim analyses (such as thesis statements, bibliographies, drafts), and making written or oral presentations on final research findings.

Writing History (designated HI XXX (W)): Students spend additional time drafting, revising, and critiquing to hone their skills at argumentation and analysis within appropriate historical context. They attend not only to content but also to style and voice in their critical papers.

Critical Perspectives (designated HI XXX (C)): Students study films, listen to public lectures, and read novels, and/or make field trips to enrich their understanding of history, and submit critical reports on what they have learned in written or oral presentations.

In cooperation with the advisor, a student majoring in history should construct a program to include a broad knowledge of history in general, as well as specific knowledge of one area of history in greater depth. The program should include a variety of approaches to the study of history and should demonstrate the ability to work at different levels.

INTERDEPARTMENTAL MAJORS: In conjunction with the relevant departments, the History Department offers majors in government-history and history-philosophy. See Interdepartmental Majors. Other interdepartmental majors can be arranged. The department participates in the Asian studies major and minor, the environmental studies major and minor, the international affairs major and minor, the Latin American studies minor, and the law and society minor.

To earn a bachelor of arts degree with a major in history, a student must satisfy the following minimum requirements:

1. General College Requirements.

2. A total of 48 semester-hours of history courses, 36 of which must be at the 300 or 400 level.

3. 4 semester-hours from one of the following courses:
HIST 104, Historical Foundations of the Modern World to 1450
HIST 105, Western Civilization
HIST 108, History of the Modern World

4. 8 semester-hours of 200-level history courses.

5. Area Studies: At least 4 semester-hours in each of the following areas:
a. United States (HIST 200, 219, 310, 311, 316, 317, 319, 371, 375, 392, 415, 419, 431)
b. Europe (HIST 268, 272, 274, 321, 328, 329, 334, 342, 343, 345, 381, 382, 384, 385, 386, 390, 393, 435, 447)
c. Asia, Africa, Latin America (HIST 206, 253, 280, 351, 352, 353, 360, 361, 369, 378, 379, 383, 394, 401, 455, 461)
d. Comparative, Thematic, Global (HIST 264, 276, 324, 336, 396, 400, 432, 475)
Cross-listed courses will be assigned to an area studies group by the department chair in consultation with the instructor.

6. At least 4 semester-hours of an upper-level history course with substantial course content from before the modern era.
Such courses include HIST 328, 343, 351, 360, 381, 382, 383, 384.

7. HIST 395, Theories and Uses of History

8. Senior Project: This requirement may be satisfied by either (a) or (b) below:
a. HIST 493/494, St. Mary’s Project in History (8 credits). Students choosing to do a St. Mary’s Project are strongly encouraged to take at least one 400-level history class prior to undertaking their SMP. With the permission of the chair of the History Department, students may do a St. Mary’s Project in anothe department, provided that the project topic is related in content and methodology to the discipline of history.
b. Two 400-level history courses.

9. A grade of C- or better must be received in each course of the major and the cumulative grade-point-average of courses used to satisfy the major must be at least 2.0.

The student will plan a program with an adviser to make a meaningful combination of courses. In their final two years, students should seek a balance between 300-level classes and 400-level classes, the latter of which include a 15-page research paper as part of the course requirements. The following model is suggested as a possible basic program in the major to satisfy the above stipulations:

First Year:

One 100-level class listed under 3 above and one 200-level class.

Sophomore Year:

One 200-level class and 8 semester-hours in two of the fields listed in 5 above.

Junior Year:

HIST 395 in the second semester and 8 semester-hours distributed among the required fields, including at least one 400-level class.

Senior Year:

Either HIST 493/494 and two additional upper-level electives or two 400-level classes and two additional upper-level electives.