Academic Program

The Department of History offers the Bachelor of Arts degree in history, a minor program, and general and specific courses for all students interested in studying history for personal enrichment or for meeting their professional needs.  Survey courses are offered by which students may fulfill the liberal learning curriculum requirements, major or minor prerequisites, and education certification requirements.  Courses are offered in American, European, Latin American, African, Middle Eastern, and Asian history, as well as themes in ancient and modern eras.

BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE IN HISTORY

Full History Curriculum (Click link, View beside College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, then History)

In addition to requiring successful completion of the liberal learning curriculum, the Bachelor of Arts degree in history requires successful completion of the following courses:

1)  Select three from the following:  HIST 111, 112, 121, 122;

2)  A minimum of 24 additional credit hours.  At least six credits must be taken at the 400-level and no more than three credits may be taken at the 200-level.  A student selects a minimum of:

• 6 credits of American history,
• 6 credits of European history,
• 6 credits of the history of the Other Regions of the World (African, Asian, Latin American, Caribbean, Middle Eastern) and Special Subjects,
• 6 credits of electives at the 200-level or higher of the student’s choice, excluding HIST 491 and 499;

3)  HIST 390W;

4)  HIST 490;

5)  A maximum of six hours in HIST 295/395/495 courses may be applied toward the Bachelor of Arts degree in history.

PUBLIC HISTORY FOCUS

The Bachelor of Arts degree in history can help prepare students for a career in public history, material culture, and museum studies.  Students should meet regularly with their advisor to prepare an appropriate course of study.  They should study abroad, and take HIST 348 with field work in historical archeology, HIST 435 course in public history, and the HIST 491 Practicum.  The Practicum is a three-credit, semester-long internship working in an historical agency such as a museum, archive, and national historical park.

THE PRE-LAW PROGRAM

The Bachelor of Arts degree in history represents an excellent schedule of rigorous analytical courses recommended for both admission to and success in law school.  History majors routinely score higher on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) than other majors in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.  The American Bar Association (ABA) recommends courses to develop your analytical, research, and writing skills rather than courses with subject matter about the law specifically.  Therefore, history majors seeking careers in law should take as many 400-level history seminars as possible because they emphasize skills over content.  Specific course requirements and recommendations for both the history major and the 18-hour government minor are available from the department pre-law advisor.

THE HISTORY-BUSINESS PROGRAM

The Bachelor of Arts degree in history may be taken with a minor program in business administration to attain a liberal arts education plus preparation for a career in business. The total program of study must satisfy all requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree in history and the minor program in business administration.  For details, see the minor in Business Administration under the School of Business.

THE MINOR IN HISTORY

The minor program in history requires successful completion of the following 21 credits in history courses: HIST 111, 112, 121, 122; plus nine credits in history courses of the student's choosing at the 300-400 level.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT

Students pursuing the Bachelor of Arts degree in history or the minor program in history may complete the 100 and 200-level requirements in the Department of History through coursework or alternatively through the successful completion of "Advanced Placement History" in high school and the earning of an acceptable score on the Advanced Placement (History) Examination of the College Entrance Examination Board.

TEACHER PREPARATION IN HISTORY/SOCIAL SCIENCE

Those students who wish to become teachers should apply to the five-year Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program.  Application to the program must be made in spring of the junior year and will require:  3.0 GPA; passing scores on the PRAXIS I exam or SAT score of 1100 with at least 530 verbal and quantitative subtests; essay specifying the reason for applying to the program; and two letters of recommendation.  Students will earn a BA in History after the first four years and them complete an additional year of study leading to an MAT degree.  The courses and degree requirements for the MAT are found in the Graduate Catalog (PDF, opens new window).  Students accepted into this program must complete one of the following tracks with the bachelor's degree: 

• Elementary level (PK-6) Track
• Teacher Preparation in History (6-12) Track:  Social Science, secondary level

HIST 491 PRACTICUM

If you are not sure what you would like to do with your history degree after you graduate, you might consider taking HIST 491:  Practicum.  The course is a hands-on, intern experience in history, working in an historical agency such as a museum or an archaeology dig.  The course requires:

• 120 hours of time distributed over a semester (10 hours per week)
• Keeping of a journal of your daily activities at the site
• Writing of a paper at the end of the Practicum detailing your experiences
• A statement and rating from your agency supervisor about your work

Practicum is offered each semester and over the summer.  It does not, however, count toward the history major, but is an elective toward graduation.  For additional information, contact Dr. Sheri Shuck-Hall, Program Coordinator, at (757) 594-8430 or sheri.shuckhall@cnu.edu.