Bachelor of Arts
Paul McBride, Professor and Chair
History is the study of the successes and failures of humanity. It is the study of the political, economic, philosophical, theological, diplomatic, sociological, scientific, and military activity of humanity and of individual men and women, from the dawn of civilization to the present. For this reason, the study of history is the best method by which to comprehend the complexities of the modern world. Thus, students who major in other disciplines find history an invaluable field in which to minor. Both history majors and history minors have gone into a variety of professional and graduate careers such as law, business, international business, governmental service, politics, radio-television and performing arts, archaeological and museum work, teaching, and the helping professions.
All students have the opportunity to graduate with honors in history. History majors must have at least a 3.50 GPA in the history major and a 3.00 GPA or better overall. They must also complete and defend an honors thesis. Non-history majors must have taken 21 credits of history with a GPA of at least 3.50, and an overall GPA of at least 3.00. Students may enter this program in the junior year, but not later than the first two weeks of the senior year.
All honors candidates must have a sponsor and complete, to the satisfaction of the sponsor and the department chairperson, a department honors form giving the title and nature of the project. Two additional faculty members shall serve with the faculty sponsor as an examining committee. The project may be a new study or it may reflect substantial extension or reworking of topics developed in a course. The finished thesis must be defended and receive the favorable recommendation of the examining committee by the 10th week of the candidate's final semester and be presented in open session before the history faculty. Honors are awarded only upon recommendation of the history department faculty.
History majors must complete a minimum of 39 credits (i.e., 13 courses) of history, including the following:
|
Two courses of the survey of United States history (311-11100 and 311-11200)5 |
6 |
|
Two courses of the survey of Western civilization (311-10100 and 311-10200)* |
6 |
|
A minimum of five courses level 3 or above. |
15 |
|
Two tutorials (311-49100, 311-49200, 311-49300, or 311-49400) or two seminars (311-48100, 311-48200, 311-48300, or 311-48400) or one of each. Tutorials and seminars partially fulfill the requirement for five courses (15 credits) at level 3 or above. |
6 |
|
A minimum of three courses in non-United States history at level 2 or above. |
9 |
|
A minimum of three courses in United States history at level 2 or above. |
9 |
No more than 3 credits at the grade of C- or below may be counted toward meeting the 39-credit requirement of the history major.
Note: Tutorials and seminars required in all history department programs must be taken at the Ithaca College campus.
Advanced placement (AP) credit is accepted under the following conditions:
1. A student must have an AP test score of 4 or higher to receive course-specific credit (i.e., 311-11100, 311-11200, or 311-10200). If a student receives course-specific AP credit, he or she cannot also receive credit for taking the course.
2. A student with an AP test score of 3 may receive unspecified history credit (i.e., general credit without a particular designation) which may be used to fulfill distribution requirements. AP test scores below 3 receive no credit.
3. For all majors (including social studies and social studies 7-12; see below), AP credit does not reduce the number of credits required by the major.
The Department of History strongly recommends that each history major, in consultation with his or her adviser, develop a course of study providing a balance between the various historical eras (e.g., premodern and modern). The letters in parentheses at the beginning of each course indicate whether the course deals with preindustrial times (A), modern times (B), or both (C).
We also recommend that history majors take a minimum of three related courses in another humanities department (e.g., English, philosophy, art history) and in a social science department (e.g., economics, anthropology, politics) that serve to complement the student's historical studies and provide insights from another discipline.
The history department encourages its majors to declare a minor in another discipline as a means of broadening their historical understandings and general educational background.
Credits required for the degree |
120 |
Students may take up to 18 credits a semester at no extra expense, allowing even greater variety within the major, double majors, and major-minor combinations.
The Department of History offers a minor requiring the completion of 21 credits in history of which three courses, including one tutorial or seminar, must be level 3 or above. Students who wish to earn a minor in history must fill out and submit a registration for a minor form. The chair will assign the student to a history adviser who will coordinate his or her advising with the student's major adviser.
Requirements for Other Majors Offered by the History Department |
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In addition to the history major, the department offers two other majors - social studies and social studies 7-12. The department perceives the social studies major as useful for the student seeking a solid foundation in history integrated with relevant courses in the social sciences. The social studies 7-12 major leads to provisional certification in the teaching of social studies on the secondary school level.
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History, including 6 credits in United States and 6 credits in European history, and either two tutorials or one tutorial and one seminar. |
30 |
306-12100-306-12200 |
Economics |
6 |
311-20300 |
Geography |
3 |
|
Politics, at least three of which must be in U.S. government and three at level 3 or higher |
6 |
|
Anthropology electives |
6 |
Total required for degree |
120 |
311-11100 |
United States History to 1865 |
|
311-11200 |
United States History since 1865 |
|
311-20900 |
Ethnic United States History since the Civil War |
|
|
Total required |
9 |
311-10100 |
Foundations of Western Civilization |
|
311-10200 |
Modern Western Civilization |
|
|
or |
|
311-18100 |
World Civilization I |
|
311-18200 |
World Civilization II |
6 |
(A sequential combination of Western Civilization and World Civilization (311-10100 and 311-18200 or 311-18100 and 311-10200) may be substituted for the two-course sequences above.)
History electives as follows: choices must include at least 9 credits at level 3 or above including at least one seminar (311-48100, 311-48200) or one tutorial (311-49100, 311-49200)
Choose one of the following pre-Modern history courses
311-23100 |
The Ancient World: Greece and Rome |
|
311-23200 |
Medieval Civilization |
|
311-30100 |
The Renaissance and Reformation |
|
311-35100 |
English History to 1714 |
|
311-48100 or 311-49100 |
Appropriate seminar or tutorial |
3 |
Choose one of the following modern history courses
311-25200 |
Germany 1918-1945 |
|
311-30200 |
The Old Regime and the French Revolution |
|
311-38100 |
Europe in the Nineteenth Century |
|
311-38200 |
Europe in the Twentieth Century |
|
311-48200 or 311-49200 |
Appropriate seminar or tutorial |
3 |
Choose two of the following global or third world history
311-18100 |
World Civilization I |
|
311-18200 |
World Civilization II |
|
311-22100 |
Russian History |
|
311-22200 |
The Rise and Fall of the USSR |
|
311-23500 |
The Discovery of the World |
|
311-26100 |
The Middle East |
|
311-27300 |
Twentieth-Century Global Revolutions |
|
311-32100 |
Colonial Latin America |
|
311-32200 |
Modern Latin America |
|
311-34100 |
Dynastic China |
|
311-34200 |
Japan |
|
311-38300 |
Revolutionary China |
|
311-48100, 311-49100, 311-48200, or 311-49200 |
Appropriate seminar or tutorial |
6 |
Choose one of the following United States history courses
311-24300 |
The City in United States History |
|
311-27000 |
American Environmental History |
|
311-30400 |
The Late Colonies and the Early National Period, 1763-1815 |
|
311-30800 |
The United States as a World Power II, 1945 to the Present |
|
311-37100 |
Slavery and the Union |
|
311-48300, 311-48400, 311-49300, 311-49400 |
Appropriate seminar or tutorial |
3 |
|
Total required credits |
21 |
306-12100 |
Principles of Macroeconomics |
|
306-12200 |
Principles of Microeconomics |
|
331-10100 |
Introduction to Sociology |
|
310-10100 |
U.S. Politics |
|
339-10400 |
Cultural Anthropology |
|
|
Total required credits |
15 |
310-xxxxx |
Politics course at level 3 or above |
One Anthropology course from the following:
339-10700 |
World Prehistory |
|
339-12900 |
Introduction to Global Studies |
|
339-22000 |
Southeast Asia, Its Peoples and Cultures |
|
339-23500 |
Jewish Cultures: A Worldwide View |
|
339-24100 |
Modern Africa |
|
339-26500 |
South American Prehistory |
|
339-27000 |
North American Indians |
|
339-27500 |
North American Prehistory |
|
339-29000-339-29900 |
Seminar in World Ethnography: Selected Topics |
|
339-36400 |
New World Complex Societies |
|
|
Total required credits |
6 |
Total history and social sciences credits |
51 |
In addition to the social studies requirements listed above, social studies 7-12 majors must complete the following courses for certification.
327-21900 |
Elements of Tutoring |
|
330-21000 |
Educational Psychology |
|
330-xxxxx |
Educational Psychology Prerequisite |
|
395-34000 |
Social Foundations of Education |
|
327-30800 |
Methods of Teaching on the Secondary Level |
|
327-31200 |
Special Methods of Teaching Social Studies |
|
327-49800 |
Professional Semester in Education |
|
395-11000 |
Child Abuse Identification and Prevention Workshop |
|
395-11100 |
Drug and Alcohol Abuse: Identification and Prevention Workshop |
|
|
Total required credits |
29 |
Total credits for the major |
80 | |
|
Open elective credit |
40 |
Total credits for the degree |
120 |
· All students seeking New York State teaching certification must have proficiency in a foreign language through the 10200 level. Proficiency may be demonstrated by examination, course work, or transfer credit.
· To qualify for student teaching, students must have a 2.75 overall GPA.
· Experimental or special topics courses not listed in the catalog may be used to fulfill requirements, with permission of the department chair.
· Tutorials and seminars required in all history department programs must be taken at the Ithaca College campus.
5 Under unusual circumstances and with the consent of the student's adviser and the department chair, appropriate substitutions for 311-10100, 311-10200, 311-11100, or 311-11200 may be made. Substitution is made only when the student demonstrates sufficient mastery of history to enter an upper-level course.
