History (Minor Required), Bachelor of Arts

As an integral part of a liberal arts education, history courses introduce students to different historical eras, diverse cultures, famous and ordinary women and men, and a variety of geographical settings. Our courses challenge students to think critically, express themselves clearly, and become informed and responsible citizens in an increasingly interconnected world. Students majoring or minoring in history may become teachers or seek employment in business or government. History is an excellent background for those who wish later to go to law school or enter journalism.

Core Curriculum - 42 Hours

The Core Curriculum serves as a broad foundation for the undergraduate degree. All candidates for a bachelor’s degree must achieve core student learning outcomes, including communication, critical thinking, empirical and quantitative skills, teamwork, personal responsibility and social responsibility, by completing courses within each category or component area of the Core Curriculumas outlined below.

The University has approved specific courses that satisfy Core Curriculum Requirements. Approved courses can be found on the Core Curriculum Page. Students seeking the most efficient way to complete the core curriculum and major or minor requirements are advised to take approved courses that can fulfill both requirements. Although core curriculum courses can also be used to fulfill major or minor requirements, earned credits hours are only applied once. The courses listed below fulfill core curriculum and major requirements. Students who have completed a core curriculum category with courses other than those listed below will still be required to take the listed course(s) to meet major requirements.

040 Language, Philosophy & Culture - 3 hours

HIST 2321

World History I

3

090 Integrative and Experiential Learning - 6 hours

HIST 2322

World History II

3

Major Requirements – 36 Hours

Required Courses - 6 hours

History Core 

HIST 3300	Historiography and Methods	3
HIST 4399	Senior Research Seminar	3

Prescribed Electives - 30 hours

This degree plan includes courses that appear in more than one section of the degree plan. Except for core curriculum courses, such courses can only be used to fulfill one requirement on the degree plan and credit hours will only applied once.

United States History - 6 hours

Choose from:

HIST 3320	Colonial America to 1763	3
HIST 3321	The United States, Revolution, and the New Nation, 1763-1815	3
HIST 3322	Rise of the American Nation, 1815-1848	3
HIST 3323	Era of Sectional Conflict, 1848-1877	3
HIST 3324	The Emergence of Modern America, 1877-1929	3
HIST 3325	Twentieth Century America	3
HIST 3326/ANTH 4304	Indians of North America	3
HIST 3327	The American Military Experience	3
HIST 3328	History of the American Presidency	3
HIST 3329	American Legal History	3
HIST 3330	The United States as a World Power	3
MASC 3332/HIST 3332	Mexican American History	3
HIST 3333	Texas History	3
HIST 3334	History of the American West	3
HIST 3335	American Environmental History	3
HIST 3336	Spanish Borderlands to 1821	3
HIST 3338	United States-Mexico Borderlands after 1821	3
HIST 4315/ANTH 4315	Discovering the Rio Grande Valley	3
HIST 4323	History of the Old South	3
HIST 4324	History of the New South since 1877	3
HIST 4325	The United States: War, Prosperity, and Depression, 1917-1945	3
HIST 4326	The United States since 1945	3
HIST 4327	History of the American Family and Childhood	3
HIST 4329	Black History and Thought	3
HIST 4330	Race and Ethnicity in America	3
MASC 4331/HIST 4331	Mexican-American Civil Rights	3
MASC 4332/HIST 4332	Chicano Movement	3
HIST 4333	Food and Agricultural History	3
HIST 4392	Special Topics in United States History	3

European History, Latin American History, World History, Asian/Middle Eastern History - 6 hours

European History - Choose from:

HIST 3340	Medieval Europe	3
HIST 3341	Early Modern Europe	3
HIST 3342	Revolutionary Europe, 1789-1850	3
HIST 3343	Europe's Age of Imperialism, 1850-1919	3
HIST 3344	Contemporary Europe, 1919 to the Present	3
HIST 3345	History of England to 1688	3
HIST 3346	History of England after 1688	3
HIST 3347	History of Spain	3
HIST 3348	Russian History	3
HIST 4339	Ancient Greece and Rome	3
HIST 4342	The Renaissance and Reformation, 1300-1650	3
HIST 4344	Absolutism and Enlightenment in Europe, 1650-1789	3
HIST 4391	Special Topics in European History	3

Latin American History - Choose from:

HIST 3361	Colonial Latin America	3
HIST 3362	Modern Latin America	3
HIST 3363	Mexico from Pre-Conquest to the Present	3
HIST 4360	Mexico's First Century as an Independent Republic	3
HIST 4361	Contemporary Mexico	3
HIST 4362	History of Mexican Culture	3
FILM 4363	History of Mexican Cinema	3
HIST 4366	The Caribbean and Central America	3
HIST 4393	Special Topics in Latin American History	3

World History - Choose from:

HIST 3302	World Environmental History	3
HIST 3306/ANTH 4305	Great Discoveries in Archaeology and History	3
HIST 3307	Women in History	3
HIST 4301/ANTH 4307	Maritime Archaeology and History	3
HIST 4303	Public Health in the Americas	3
HIST 4306	History of the Cold War	3
HIST 4390	Special Topics in World History	3

Asian/Middle Eastern History - Choose from:

HIST 3370	Early Middle East History	3
HIST 3371	Modern Middle Eastern History	3
HIST 3372	History of East Asia to 1800	3
HIST 3374	History of the Ottoman Empire	3
HIST 3375	History of Modern Japan	3
HIST 3376	History of Modern China	3
HIST 4394	Special Topics in Asian and Middle Eastern History	3

Additional History Electives - 18 hours

Choose from additional advanced History (HIST) courses except HIST 3301.

Minor - hours will vary

Minors vary in credit hours required. If applicable, the credit hours in the minor selected may impact the number of free electives required to reach the 120 credit hours needed to earn a bachelor’s degree.

Free Electives - hours will vary

The B.A. in History requires free elective credit hours. The number of free electives required for the B.A. in History is contingent on the credit hours of the minor selected. Advanced hours will vary to meet the minimum 42 advanced institutional credit hour requirement for a bachelor’s degree.

Total Credit Hours: 42

Total Credit Hours: 120

Major Graduation Requirements

Specific graduation requirements required for this program beyond university bachelor’s degree requirements. 

A student graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in History is required to demonstrate proficiency (beginning, intermediate or advanced) in a foreign language. Proficiency can be demonstrated by: 

• Earning 6 credits of foreign language through successful completion of coursework
• Earning 6 credits through a foreign language college credit exam (e.g., AP, CLEP, International Baccalaureate)
• Demonstrating proficiency by meeting the WebCAPE scores approved by the Department of Writing and Language Studies
• Demonstrating proficiency by an exam approved by the Department of Writing and Language Studies.