The Major in History
The department encourages students to work closely with faculty to construct challenging, coherent, and integrated programs of study. The major program is structured flexibly to achieve breadth while permitting students to specialize in an area that is of particular interest. Students are encouraged to explore new areas by taking courses that focus on periods, regions, and themes with which they are not familiar.
Many history majors choose to study abroad, and faculty advisers are happy to work with students in incorporating foreign study into their major.
The requirements for the history major are as follow:
1. Eleven history courses of 3 or 4 credits each, taken for a letter grade.
a. one in pre-1700 European history (HIEU).
b. one in post-1700 European history (HIEU).
c. one in U.S. history (HIUS).
d. two from one or more of the following fields: Africa (HIAF), East Asia (HIEA), Latin America (HILA), Middle East (HIME), South Asia (HISA).
e. one Major Seminar (HIXX 4501 or 4502) or Major Colloquium (HIXX 4511 or 4512).
i. Major Seminars and Colloquia are offered in a wide range of topics. Students should select a Major Seminar or Colloquium whose topic is familiar to them based on their work in at least two previous History courses.
ii. A grade of “C” or better is required for the Major Seminar or Colloquium to count toward the major.
f. five additional courses chosen from among the total offerings of the department.
2. Of the eleven courses required for the major:
a. five – including the Major Seminar or Colloquium – should be numbered 3000 or above.
b. no more than six may be taken in any one field of history. (For purposes of this requirement, each History Department mnemonic – i.e., HIAF, HIEA, HIEU, HILA, HIME, HISA, HIST, and HIUS – represents a distinct field of history.)
3. No more than two 1500-level seminars may be counted toward the major.
4. Courses with the General History (HIST) mnemonic count toward the major, HIST 4501/4502 and HIST 4511/4512 courses count as the Major Seminar or Major Colloquium.
5. Advanced Placement (AP)/International Baccalaureate (IB) courses:
- Students with AP and IB courses cannot apply both to the major. This is a clarification of the requirements for the History major
- One Advanced Placement (AP) History course with a score of 5 may be applied toward the major. The AP course does not fulfill departmental requirements in the fields of United States (HIUS) or European (HIEU) History. The AP course will transfer as HIST 2000T. This is a revision of the requirements for the History major. It is effective for all students who declare a major in History after August 20, 2010.
- International Baccalaureate (IB) courses with a grade of 6 count as one course toward the major; courses with a grade of 7 count as two courses toward the major. The IB course will transfer as HIST 2000T, with either three or six credits.
6. Up to four approved transfer courses may be applied toward the major. The transfer credits should appear on the transcript or Academic Requirements form with a History Department mnemonic in order to be applied toward the major. (For approval of and questions about transfer credits, contact the department’s Transfer Credit Adviser.)
7. Courses taken in other departments may not be counted toward the major unless cross-listed in the History Department (e.g., ECON 2061/HIUS 2061).
8. Students must maintain a GPA of 2.0 in the major.
9. Before declaring the major, a student should have completed at least one university-level (i.e., UVa or transfer) history course with a grade of “C” or better. This course may be counted toward the eleven required for the major. AP credits may not be used to satisfy this prerequisite.
The Minor in History
The requirements for the history minor are as follows:
1. Six History Department courses of 3 or 4 credits each, taken for a letter grade.
2. All six courses must be taken in residence at the University or on approved study-abroad programs taught by a member of the History faculty.
3. Courses should be distributed in at least three geographic fields. For purposes of this requirement, the geographic fields are: Africa (HIAF), East Asia (HIEA), Europe (HIEU), Latin America (HILA), Middle East (HIME), South Asia (HISA), and United States (HIUS).
4. No more than three General History (HIST) courses may be counted toward the minor.
5. At least two courses should be numbered 3000 or above.
6. Courses taken in other departments may not be counted toward the minor unless cross-listed in the History Department (e.g., ECON 2061/HIUS 2061).
There are no prerequisites for the minor.