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Bulletins

History Major, B.A., B.S.

B.A. and B.S. degrees 

Admission Requirements, Retention & Termination Standards

  1. Students planning or considering a major or minor in history are urged to consult with an advisor as early as possible in their college careers. Students may select any history faculty member to serve as advisor.
  2. Six (6) hours of Credit/No Credit in history courses will be accepted in the major or minor, but these hours may not be in 400 level or 500 level courses.
  3. Survey or introductory courses (when transferred from another college or university) are accepted for no more than 3 hours per course on the major or minor.
  4. History majors, particularly those planning to do graduate work in history, are strongly urged to include two years of foreign language study in their undergraduate programs.
  5. History majors and minors planning to do graduate work in history are strongly urged to take both the general aptitude and advanced history tests of the Graduate Record Examination early in their senior year. These examinations are generally required for admission to graduate schools.
  6. Credit Limitation. Courses in the department that are subject to graduate credit limitation under the policy covering unspecified content or variable credit include HST 532, 590, 595, 597, 601, 690, and 791.
  7. The history department does not accept the CLEP examination for credit toward a major or minor.
  8. Up to 6 hours of credit for AP examinations will be approved as follows: 3 credits for a score of three for History (American) in HST 111 or HST 112; History (European) in HST 101 or HST 102; or History (World) in HST 201 or HST 202 or 6 credits for a score of four or five for History (American) in HST 111 and HST 112; History (European) in HST 101 and HST 102; or History (World) in HST 201 and HST 202.
  9. The History Department strongly urges all history majors and minors to study abroad, particularly those planning to teach history or to go on to graduate study. Students are encouraged to meet with a department study abroad faculty advisor or an Office of Study Abroad advisor as early as possible.

Program Requirements

Required Courses I (4 hours)

HST 301The Craft of History

4(4-0)

Required Courses II (3 hours)

HST 496WIResearch Seminar

3(3-0)

Note: HST 496WI or a substitute approved by an advisor.

Required Courses III (3 hours)

U.S. History

Select one of the following:

HST 110The American Experience

3(3-0)

HST 111The Quest for Liberty: The United States to 1865

3(3-0)

HST 112The Struggle for Equality: The United States, 1865-Present

3(3-0)

HST 221Growing Up in America

3(3-0)

HST 222WICherokees, Slaves and the Struggle for Racial Justice

3(3-0)

HST 226/WGS 226From Trials to Women’s Liberation: Women in America

3(3-0)

HST 228American Business: A History

3(3-0)

HST 302Comparative Environmental History

3(3-0)

HST 303The American Revolution

3(3-0)

HST 312American Military Experience

3(3-0)

HST 315The Vietnam War

3(3-0)

HST 319The United States since World War II

3(3-0)

HST 320United States Social History to 1865

3(3-0)

HST 321United States Social History since 1865

3(3-0)

HST 322Westward Movement in America

3(3-0)

HST 323History of Native Americans

3(3-0)

HST 324'Death is Better than Slavery': African American History to 1877

3(3-0)

HST 325'By Any Means Necessary': African American History, 1877-Present

3(3-0)

HST 328Technology in American History

3(3-0)

HST 329Film and the Politics of Gender, 1960-Present

3(3-0)

HST 330'We the People': U.S. Constitutional History

3(3-0)

HST 333History of Michigan

3(3-0)

HST 335History of the Rock and Roll Era

3(3-0)

HST 511Colonial British America

3(3-0)

HST 513Era of the Early Republic, 1789-1825

3(3-0)

HST 514Democracy, Expansion, and Reform in America, 1824-1848

3(3-0)

HST 515Civil War and Reconstruction

3(3-0)

HST 516Emergence of Modern America, 1877-1920

3(3-0)

HST 517U.S. Rise in World Leadership, 1917-1945

3(3-0)

HST 518African Americans and the Law: From Slavery to Civil Rights

3(3-0)

HST 522Indians of the Great Lakes Region

3(3-0)

HST 523American Diplomatic History, 1775-1898

3(3-0)

HST 524American Diplomatic History Since 1898

3(3-0)

HST 525The Industrialization of America

3(3-0)

HST 526Modern American Political Culture, 1865-Present

3(3-0)

HST 532Michigan History Studies

1-3(Spec)

HST 562The Atlantic World in the Age of Empire

3(3-0)

Required Courses IV (3 hours)

Modern European History

Select one of the following:

HST 102The Development of Western Civilization: From 1700 to the Present

3(3-0)

HST 106Twentieth Century: Western World Issues

3(3-0)

HST 254/WGS 254Women in European History

3(3-0)

HST 280Nazi Germany and the Holocaust

3(3-0)

HST 343History of Paris

3(3-0)

HST 344Modern Europe, 1815-1918

3(3-0)

HST 347The French Revolution and Napoleonic Period

3(3-0)

HST 349Russia in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

3(3-0)

HST 351Britain since 1689

3(3-0)

HST 352British Imperialism

3(3-0)

HST 353Germany since 1870

3(3-0)

HST 356Europe Since 1945

3(3-0)

HST 542The Enlightenment in Europe

3(3-0)

HST 543Napoleon

3(3-0)

HST 548Russian Thought

3(3-0)

HST 558Europe, 1914-1945

3(3-0)

Required Courses V (3 hours)

Non-Western History

Select one of the following:

HST 163The Latin American Experience

3(3-0)

HST 168Modern East Asia

3(3-0)

HST 176The African Experience

3(3-0)

HST 236Babylon and Beyond: Ancient Civilizations of the Near/Middle East

3(3-0)

HST 237Baghdad and Beyond: The Middle East from 600 C.E.

3(3-0)

HST 261Indigenous Peoples of Latin America: Precontact to 1821

3(3-0)

HST 336Iran and Iraq in History

3(3-0)

HST 361/REL 361Sinners and Saints of Colonial Latin America

3(3-0)

HST 362Latin American Revolutions: Mexico, Cuba and Central America

3(3-0)

HST 369Traditional China

3(3-0)

HST 370Modern China

3(3-0)

HST 375Continuity and Change in Contemporary Africa, 1960s to the Present

3(3-0)

HST 376East/Central Africa: Issues

3(3-0)

HST 377West Africa

3(3-0)

HST 378South Africa

3(3-0)

HST 379/HUM 340Race, Class and Power: South Africa in the 20th Century

3(3-0)

HST 382/REL 382History of Israel

3(3-0)

HST 535The Middle East in the Modern Era

3(3-0)

HST 560Mind Games

3(3-0)

HST 576Colonialism in Africa, 1880s-1960s

3(3-0)

Note: HST 236, HST 237, and HST 369 may fill requirements for either Required Courses V or Required Courses VI, but cannot fill requirements for both categories.

Required Courses VI (3 hours)

Pre-Modern History

Select one of the following:

HST 101The Development of Western Civilization: From Ancient Times to 1700 A.D.

3(3-0)

HST 200Medieval Civilization

3(3-0)

HST 201World History to 1500

3(3-0)

HST 236Babylon and Beyond: Ancient Civilizations of the Near/Middle East

3(3-0)

HST 237Baghdad and Beyond: The Middle East from 600 C.E.

3(3-0)

HST 238Ancient Greece and Rome

3(3-0)

HST 336Iran and Iraq in History

3(3-0)

HST 338The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

3(3-0)

HST 340The High Middle Ages

3(3-0)

HST 341Renaissance and Reformation

3(3-0)

HST 342The Culture of Renaissance Italy (Study Abroad)

3(Spec)

HST 346The World of Versailles: Power and the Politics of Splendor in 17th-

3(3-0)

HST 348Russia through the Reign of Catherine the Great

3(3-0)

HST 350English History to 1688: From Stonehenge to the Glorious

3(3-0)

HST 369Traditional China

3(3-0)

HST 505Tudor England

3(3-0)

HST 537The Age of Cicero

3(3-0)

HST 538Athens: Classical Period

3(3-0)

Note: HST 236, HST 237, AND HST 369 count for either non-Western or pre-Modern. No course, however, can fill requirements in more than one area.

Required Courses VII (6 hours)

Six (6) additional hours of history courses numbered 100-599.

Electives I (6 hours)

Two additional courses at 300-500 level

Electives II (3 hours)

One additional course at 500 level - HST 590 cannot be used for this requirement

Total: 34 semester hours