Degree Requirements - 126 credits
Students can earn a Bachelor of Arts degree or a Bachelor of Science degree with this major
History Major Requirements: 11 courses, 41 credits
Core Requirements (2 courses, 5 credits)
| CAS-201 | College to Career: Explore Your Options and Find Your Path | 1 |
| HST-200 | Gateway to the Past The Historian's Craft | 4 |
Introductory Elective (1 course, 4 credits)
Choose one of the following:
| HST-100 | Introduction to Asian Studies: Culture, People, Ideas | 4 |
| HST-103 | Cultures and Social Transformations in Asia | 4 |
| HST-121 | World History I | 4 |
| HST-122 | World History II | 4 |
| HST-140 | Empire of Our Things: How We Became Consumers | 4 |
| HST-181 | American Life to the Civil War Era | 4 |
| HST-182 | American Life Since the Civil War Era | 4 |
Advanced Electives (3 courses, 12 credits)
| - | Choose one additional 4-credit History course at the 200-level or above | 4 |
| - | Choose one additional 4-credit History course at the 200-level or above | 4 |
| - | Choose one additional 4-credit History course at the 200-level or above | 4 |
Capstone Experience (1 course, 4 credits)
Choose four credits from the following in consultation with the major advisor:
Concentration Requirement (4 courses, 16 credits)
Choose one of the following areas of concentration:
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United States History
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Regional and Global Histories
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Public History
Advanced Placement Credit: Students who scored a 4 or 5 in A.P. American and/or European History may count these toward the Introductory Electives requirement.
Residency Requirement Policy: In the College of Arts and Sciences, a two-course (8 credit) residency requirement must be satisfied for completion of a minor and a four-course (16 credit) residency requirement must be satisfied for the completion of a major.
About the History Major
Learn more about the experiences and opportunities available within this major.
View the Program Page
Concentrations
United States History Concentration: 4 courses, 16 credits
Choose four of the following, at least one must be at the 400-level:
| BLKST-226 | The African American Experience in Literature and Film | 4 |
| HST-227 | Eyes on the Prize: Civil Rights Movement of the 20th Century | 4 |
| HST-271 | African-American History 1619-1860 | 4 |
| HST-272 | African-American History from 1860 | 4 |
| HST-288 | Presidents We Love to Hate | 4 |
| HST-289 | Hamilton: The Seminar | 4 |
| HST-290 | 19th-Century America | 4 |
| HST-292 | Modern American Foreign Relations | 4 |
| HST-319 | The History of Black Music in America | 4 |
| HST-333 | Age of Reform, Depression, & World Wars, America: 1898-1945 | 4 |
| HST-334 | Cold War America Through the Tumultuous 1960s | 4 |
| HST-335 | Recent America: From Nixon to the Present | 4 |
| HST-359 | The Age of Franklin | 4 |
| HST-361 | Native America 1832 to Present | 4 |
| HST-371 | U.S. Women's History Colonial to 1865 | 4 |
| HST-372 | U.S. Women's History: 1865-present | 4 |
| HST-374 | Jefferson to Jackson: Culture and Politics in the New Nation | 4 |
| HST-381 | American Colonial History | 4 |
| HST-483 | Death, Disease, Healing-U.S. History | 4 |
| HST-494 | Politics and Protest | 4 |
| UES-325 | Environmental History of the U.S. | 4 |
Regional and Global Histories Concentration: 4 courses, 16 credits
Choose four of the following, at least one must be at the 400-level:
| BLKST-225 | West African History Through Film and Literature | 4 |
| HST-218 | Sl- Walls & Bridges: Immigration in Global Perspective | 4 |
| HST-251 | Modern East Asia | 4 |
| HST-256 | Exploring Asia | 4 |
| HST-260 | Asian Peoples and Cultures | 4 |
| HST-266 | The British: History & Popular Culture Since 1945 | 4 |
| HST-268 | History of the Mediterranean | 4 |
| HST-274 | Women in 19th-Century Europe | 4 |
| HST-275 | Women in 20th-Century Europe | 4 |
| HST-278 | The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and Spain Today | 4 |
| HST-304 | Imperial Rome | 4 |
| HST-312 | Renaissance and Reformation Europe | 4 |
| HST-313 | Cities of Early-Modern Europe | 4 |
| HST-321 | History of Islam | 4 |
| HST-336 | Fifth-Century Athens | 4 |
| HST-337 | Nazi Germany | 4 |
| HST-340 | Europe in the 20th Century | 4 |
| HST-343 | A History of Martial Arts in Movies | 4 |
| HST-347 | The Rise of China: Through Films, Media, and History | 4 |
| HST-348 | Samurai: History, Literature & Film | 4 |
| HST-356 | World War II: the Global War | 4 |
| HST-357 | Spain's Ancient to Early Modern Societies and Realms | 4 |
| HST-358 | Spanish Society and the State, From Absolutism to Democracy? | 4 |
| HST-362 | History of Piracy | 4 |
| HST-H362 | Honors History of Piracy | 4 |
| HST-375 | Inequality | 4 |
| HST-396 | The African Diaspora | 4 |
| HST-426 | Politics and Culture in Europe, 1919-1939 | 4 |
| HST-484 | History of the Emotions | 4 |
| WGS-330 | Furies to Femi-Nazis: A History of Modern Anti-Feminism | 4 |
Public History Concentration: 4 courses, 16 credits
Choose three of the following, at least one must be at the 400-level:
| CJN-2355 | Production I | 4 |
| HST-228 | African American Experience and Public History in the U.S. | 4 |
| HST-239 | Getting Started With Oral History | 4 |
| HST-240 | Doing Local and Community History | 4 |
| HST-241 | Narrating the Past With Digital History | 4 |
| HST-296 | Building Urban America: City Design and Architecture From 1700-1880 | 4 |
| HST-366 | Introduction to Archives and Archival Practices | 4 |
| HST-369 | American Objects: Materials, Meaning, and History | 4 |
| HST-383 | Boston: Heritage of a City | 4 |
| HST-465 | Monumental Women: Female Public Space | 4 |
| HST-469 | Research Seminar: African American Life in Slavery and Freedom- Reconstruction And the Freedman's Bureau Papers | 4 |
| HST-489 | Germany: Film, Politics, Memory Since 1945 | 4 |
Note: CJN-2355 has the following prerequisite:
About the History Major
Learn more about the experiences and opportunities available within this major.
View the Program Page
History Major Learning Goals and Objectives
Learning goals and objectives reflect the educational outcomes achieved by students through the completion of this program. These transferable skills prepare Suffolk students for success in the workplace, in graduate school, and in their local and global communities.
| Learning Goals |
Learning Objectives |
| Students will... |
Students will be able to... |
| Understand the discipline of history |
- Communicate how and why historians frame questions on human experience
- Recognize that history is an interpretative account of the past, which historians create in the present from surviving evidence
- Explain the origins of historians’ different interpretations of the past
- Describe and apply the ethical standards for historical practice as defined by the profession |
| Understand a body of historical knowledge pertaining to a society, nation, and/or region |
- Communicate how historical actors shaped and were shaped by their historical period
- Interpret historical ideas and actions in their social, cultural, and political contexts
- Analyze the histories of a society, nation, and/or region within the context of global developments |
| Understand the sources and methods used by historians to interpret the past |
- Distinguish primary and secondary sources and their uses in explaining the past
- Analyze sources for their credibility, context, perspective, and bias
- Describe quantitative and qualitative research methods and their uses by historians |
| Know how to create credible historical arguments and narratives |
- Articulate open-ended, clear, and interesting research questions about historical actors, events, and/or developments
- Design a research strategy that comprises academic databases, archival collections, and digitized sources
- Explain historical phenomena chronologically and in terms of historical continuities, discontinuities, and cause and effect
- Identify the characteristics of a focused, reasoned, and valid historical argument
- Communicate the significance of the research findings |
| Understand how to apply historical knowledge and historical thinking to contemporary issues |
- Describe how history shapes their lives and contemporary society
- Explain the value of historical thinking for lifelong learning and engaged citizenship |
About the History Major
Learn more about the experiences and opportunities available within this major.
View the Program Page
Honors
To complete requirements for honors in the major, a candidate must:
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Graduate with a major GPA of 3.7 or higher
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Graduate with an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher
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Complete HST-H555 and either a senior thesis or a public historical project that is approved by the department
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Pass a thesis defense or pass a presentation of the public historical project
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CAS Honors Program students only: Present work from the senior honors experience at the Honors Symposium or Pecha Kucha event
To become a candidate for honors in the major, a student must:
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Have a major GPA of 3.7 or higher
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Have an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher
CAS Honors Program students only: CAS Honors program students who fulfill the GPA requirement above declare intent to the honors coordinator in the spring of junior year, when attending an honors thesis orientation session and completing an honors contract and a declaration of topic/advisor form for the thesis, which must be signed by the faculty member who has agreed to supervise the project
All other students: Consult their academic advisor and/or the department chair in the first semester of junior year
About the History Major
Learn more about the experiences and opportunities available within this major.
View the Program Page