History Major

Goal 1: Students gain a body of knowledge, with chronological and geographic breadth and depth, and the tools and habits to grow in understanding the diversity of the human experience.

Outcome 1: Students will identify, define, explain, compare, and contextualize historical phenomena from different times, places, and experiences.

Goal 2: Students interpret cases, issues, and trends, developing a range of skills to elucidate the incomplete, complex, and provisional nature of the pursuit of human understanding.

Outcome 2: Students will analyze and assess verbally or in writing competing explanations about historical phenomena and diverse human experiences.

Goal 3: Students create and communicate their own research findings, developing professional skills and ethical standards.

Outcome 3: Students will identify and access primary and secondary sources and use them to generate and defend interpretations of historical phenomena based on the professional and ethical standards of the discipline of History.

The traditional undergraduate programs includes a minimum of 120 credits distributed across three components: A General Education component divided into Signature Courses, Variable Courses, and an Integrative Learning requirement; a Major and Divisional component; and Free Electives. In addition to course requirements as specified in each area, students must complete one certified course in each of the following overlay areas¹:

Diversity, Globalization or Non-western Area Studies,
Ethics Intensive
Writing Intensive, and
Diversity

¹: Overlay requirements are part of the 120 credit requirements

General Education Signature Courses

See this page about Signature courses.

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
HIS 154	Forging the Modern World	3

General Education Variable Courses

See this page about Variable courses. Six to Nine courses

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Social/Behavioral Sciences
Select any 100 level POL

General Education Overlays

See this page about Overlays.

General Education Integrative Learning Component

See this page about Integrative Learning Component. Three courses:

History majors can complete the Integrated Learning Component of the GEP by completing three courses from any one track shown below. Courses taken as part of the History Department's ILC may count toward a minor or a second major. They may not, however, count for credit elsewhere in the GEP. Subject to departmental approval, and under their advisor’s guidance, students may petition to construct a different ILC.

The Arts and Letters Track consists of any three courses that count toward majors in any of the following departments:
- English
- Art
- Modern and Classical Languages
- Music, Theater and Film
- Philosophy
- Theology and Religious Studies
The Social Sciences Track consists of any three courses in any of the following majors:
- Criminal Justice
- Economic
- Education
- Political Science
- Sociology
The Multi-disciplinary Track consists of three non-history courses that are all part of the same multi-disciplinary College of Arts and Sciences Program, including:
- Africana Studies
- American Studies
- Ancient Studies
- Asian Studies
- Faith Justice Studies
- Gender Studies
- International Relations
- Latin American Studies
- Medieval/Renaissance/Reformation Studies

Major Requirements

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses:
HIS 201	U.S. History to 1877	3
HIS 202	U.S. History since 1865	3
Ten approved History courses, HIS 203 or higher:		30
Upper-division course in U.S. History
HIS 360	Colonial America
HIS 361	America in Age of Revolutions
HIS 362	The American Civil War
HIS 363	American Medicine Since 1865
HIS 366	Reform and Reaction in the US
HIS 379	Black History Since Civil War
HIS 381	US in the World since WWI
HIS 382	American Foreign Policy
HIS 383	Food in American History
HIS 385	Women in America
HIS 386	American Environmental History
HIS 387	Popular Culture in the US
HIS 388	Reacting to the Past
HIS 391	American Military History
HIS 392	Museums, Monuments, and Media
HIS 483	Readings in American Hist
Upper-division course in non-U.S. or non-European History
HIS 203	Historical Intro to Latin Am
HIS 204	Latin American-U.S. Migration
HIS 208	Historical Intro to Asian Civs
HIS 210	History of Modern Africa
HIS 301	Latin America and the U.S.
HIS 303	History of Modern Mexico
HIS 304	Social Protest in Latin Am His
HIS 324	Vietnam War in Film & History
HIS 337	War & Peace in Imperial Russia
HIS 338	Russia & USSR, 1881-1991
HIS 339	The Mongol Empire
HIS 340	Stalinism in the USSR
HIS 341	Genocide & Human Rights
HIS 343	African Ethnicities
HIS 346	Religion & Philosophy: Africa
HIS 350	Exchng & Conq in Mod E. Asia
HIS 351	Gndr, Ideolgy & Rev in E. Asia
HIS 352	Late Imperial China
HIS 353	Modern China
HIS 354	Japan Since 1600
HIS 356	Modern South Asia
HIS 357	History of Islam in Asia
HIS 358	Contemporary China
HIS 359	India & Pak: Colony to Nation
HIS 370	Special Topics in History
HIS 480	Readings in Latin Amer Hist
HIS 481	Readings in Asian Hist
HIS 482	Readings in European Hist
HIS 484	Readings in African History
Upper-division course in European History
HIS 209	AP European History Credit
HIS 270	Special Topics in History
HIS 296	Transfer History Credit
HIS 306	Sports & Spectacle Greece/Rome
HIS 307	Ancient Greece & Rome Cinema
HIS 308	Race & Ethnicity Greece/Rome
HIS 313	The Crusades
HIS 315	The Glory that was Greece
HIS 316	The Grandeur that Was Rome
HIS 317	The Rise of the West: 400-1000
HIS 318	Italian Renaissance 1100-1600
HIS 319	Reform/Rev in Europe 1500-1650
HIS 327	Early Modern Europe 1400-1800
HIS 329	Crime & Punishment in Europe
HIS 330	Eng: Danes to Tudors, 700-1485
HIS 348	Witches in Early Modern Europe
HIS 396	Transfer History Credit
HIS 470	Special Topics in History
Seminar
HIS 471	Seminar in American History
HIS 472	Seminar in European History
HIS 473	Seminar in Eurasian History
HIS 474	Seminar in Latin Am His
HIS 476	Seminar in Asian History
HIS 477	Seminar in African History
HIS 478	Seminar Global Comparative His
Experiential Learning
HIS 191	Washington Leadership Seminar
HIS 192	Washington Internship
HIS 193	Washington Center Elective
HIS 411	Washington Internship I (Experiential Learning)
HIS 412	Washington Internship II
HIS 491	Philadelphia Area Internship
HIS 493	Honors Research & Ind Study I
HIS 494	Honors Research & Ind Study II
HIS 496	Transfer History Credit
Total Hours		36

Free Electives

Ten courses

Internships

Qualified history majors are eligible to participate in a variety of internships for academic credit with historical, cultural, educational, governmental, and other organizations. See the HIS 411, HIS 412 and HIS 491 course descriptions for more information.

History majors are eligible to complete a double major in History and Secondary Education. In addition to the subject-specific content requirements for secondary school teacher certification that are met by completing the major, dual majors become candidates for the Grades 7-12 teaching certificate in Pennsylvania by completing a prescribed sequence of coursework, which includes the specific requirements for Accommodations and Adaptations for Diverse Learners in Inclusive Settings and Meeting the Needs of English Language Learners under PA §49.13(4)(i).

Students seeking the double major are urged to declare their intentions as early as possible in their undergraduate careers and must register with the Teacher Education Department, which will guide candidates through their required Teacher Education courses and also assist students through the certification requirements of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Students must have an overall Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher to be accepted into the teacher certification program and must have an overall GPA of 3.0 as one of the requirements to obtain teacher certification. See the Teacher Education Department section of the Catalog for more information.

Diversity, Globalization or Non-western Area Studies,
Ethics Intensive
Writing Intensive, and
Diversity

¹: Overlay requirements are part of the 120 credit requirements