History Major

Director of Undergraduate Studies: Holly Brewer, Ph.D.

Historical study offers preparation for informed and empathetic citizenship in an increasingly complex and interdependent world.  A major in History requires students to engage in analytical reading, critical thinking, and persuasive writing. The Department of History seeks to broaden the student's cultural background through the study of history and to provide preparation for those interested in publishing, teaching, museum work, law, journalism, civil service, military, archival and library work, diplomacy, business school, and graduate study.

The History major encourages students to specialize in different geographic or thematic concentrations, but does not require it. Undergraduate advisors assist all majors in planning a curriculum to meet their personal interests. Students are encouraged to take advantage of study abroad programs and to acquire and/or cultivate the language skills relevant to their specializations. We expect students to meet with a history undergraduate advisor once every semester.

Courses offered by the Department of History may be found under the course code HIST.

Program Learning Outcomes

1. Students will demonstrate their ability to find and to analyze primary and secondary sources.
2. Students will be able to think in complex ways about the bias of sources and to evaluate their reliability and origins.
3. Students will demonstrate their ability to properly cite sources and to understand the range of possibilities of where to search for evidence.
4. Students will show awareness about strategies for testing for invalid and fabricated information about the past.
5. Students will be able to situate their findings with regard to earlier scholarship and to identify their contribution.
6. Students will be able to communicate their findings clearly and persuasively.
7. Students will be able to think systematically and critically about historical information.
8. Students will distinguish facts that can be determined from questions of interpretation.
9. Students will demonstrate the ability to understand historical differences in human societies.
10. Students will demonstrate the ability to explain the value of historical study.
11. Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze historical causes and consequences, including contingency and agency.
12. Students will be able to demonstrate a historical understanding of how societies have created and maintained inequalities of power based on such perceived differences as race, class, gender, or sexuality.
13. Students will appreciate how aspects of today’s society have been shaped by past inequalities.
14. Students will demonstrate an understanding of how to explore how subordinated peoples have challenged, shaped, and sometimes transformed unequal relations.
15. Students will be able to articulate how structural factors have contributed to knowledge production, including the preservation of documents and/or gaps of sources.

Requirements for the History major are 39 credits of history course work distributed as follows: 12 credits in 1xx or 2xx-level introductory courses and including HIST208; HIST408. All courses for the major must be completed with a minimum grade of "C-", and 21 credits of the 39 total credits must be at the junior-senior (3xx or 4xx) level. An overall GPA of 2.0 in the major is required for graduation.

Students must take courses in at least three of the following geographical regions: Africa and the African Diaspora; Latin America and the Caribbean; Middle East,  Asia, Europe (which includes Britain, Europe and Russia), and transregional.

Students must take at least one course in the pre-1750 period and one course in the post-1750 period.

No more than 6 credits can be fulfilled by AP and IB credits.

History majors can petition to include up to two courses taught outside the Department toward the fulfillment of the major, with the approval of the Undergraduate Committee. Courses taught outside of the History Department may fulfill geographic and/or thematic requirements. They may not be used to fulfill the departmental capstone seminars.

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Should be taken in the senior year. May be substituted by HIST396 (Honors Colloquium II). HIST208 is a prerequisite for HIST408.

Click here for roadmaps for graduation plans in the College of Arts and Humanities.

Additional information on developing a graduation plan can be found on the following pages:

• http://4yearplans.umd.edu
• the Student Academic Success-Degree Completion Policy section of this catalog