COURSE CURRICULUM

The History BA program (124 hours) is a liberal arts degree designed to develop strong skills in critical thinking, research, writing, and analysis through the systematic study of human societies across different time periods and regions, while also giving students flexibility to explore related disciplines such as political science, geography, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, and foreign languages. The program begins with general education requirements including written communication through English composition, natural sciences with laboratory courses, humanities such as world literature, philosophy, ethics, and comparative religion, aesthetic appreciation through arts or music courses, and social and behavioral sciences including psychology, sociology, economics, geography, and government, along with a mathematics requirement to build quantitative reasoning skills. A core feature of the degree is its structured history curriculum, which includes foundational courses in world civilizations (ancient to modern), U.S. history surveys, and advanced writing-intensive and capstone seminars that emphasize historical research methods, historiography, and independent academic inquiry. Students are required to take upper-division history electives that allow specialization in areas such as European, Asian, African, Latin American, or U.S. history, with limits to ensure breadth across regions. The program also includes a Bachelor of Arts foreign language requirement, typically 12 credit hours, which strengthens cultural literacy and global communication skills. Additional requirements outside history ensure interdisciplinary understanding, often including courses in anthropology, sociology, political science, or philosophy depending on student choice. The degree emphasizes progressive skill development, beginning with general education foundations, moving into intermediate historical analysis, and culminating in advanced seminars that require independent research and a senior capstone project in history. Overall, this BA program prepares students not only for careers in education, law, public service, archives, museums, journalism, and business, but also for graduate studies in history or related fields, while building transferable skills such as communication, analytical reasoning, and cultural awareness that are valuable across a wide range of professional careers.