Program Requirements: History

All history majors must take 10 history courses and two related nonhistory courses distributed as follows:

1. HIST120 Writing History, should be taken before the junior year and before taking a research seminar.

2. Five courses inside their geographic area of specialization. Of these five courses, at least three must be at the 200 level and at least one must be a seminar or a proseminar.

3. At least one course in each of the two geographic areas different from their own area of specialization. (For example, a student specializing in European history would need to take at least one U.S. and one global history course). At least one of these two courses must be at the 200 level.

4. At least one course, either inside or outside their area of specialization, devoted primarily to the period before 1800. An up-to-date list of courses that meets this requirement may be found in the History Department Handbook.

5. A capstone course during the senior year. This requirement may be fulfilled by writing an honors thesis, or (with the permission of the chair and instructor) by taking a research seminar or directed-research course in the student’s area of specialization. The capstone requirement cannot be met by any course used to meet conditions one through four.

6. Two courses outside history in fields related to the student’s area of specialization. These courses must be approved in advance by the student’s history adviser and must be taken after the student has declared herself or himself to be a history major.

Majors select an adviser from the history faculty and they consult regularly, especially before registering each semester. The student and adviser design a coherent sequence of courses, and choose nonhistory courses that enhance the area of concentration. They also can make decisions about advanced research courses and enrollment in the departmental honors program.

General Track for Elementary Education Certification
This track may be taken by any student who is preparing to become certified to teach in Massachusetts at the elementary level and is available only to those students who are completing the education program in elementary education. Like the regular history major, the general track also requires 10 courses in history and two courses outside of history. The requirements for the general track are as follows:

EDUC283 Ways of Knowing: Social Science
HIST120 Writing History
HIST011 Survey of U.S. History to 1865
HIST012 Survey of U.S. History Since 1865
HIST070 Our European Roots I (Western Civ. To 1600)
HIST071 Our European Roots II (Western Civ. Since 1600)

• One thematic course in each of three areas (1) U.S. history; (2) European history; and (3) non-Western history. Two must be at the 200 level and at least one must be a proseminar or seminar to be taken junior year.
• Capstone requirement completed during the student-teaching practicum, under the supervision of the student’s clinical faculty adviser in the Education Department and the student’s adviser in the History Department.
• One course in American literature
• One course in European or non-Western literature