Pictured | Morgan Carson | Bachelor of Arts in History / Minor in English | Valparaiso, Indiana (hometown)
Club Affiliation | History Club 

Bachelor of Arts in History

Students completing the Bachelor of Arts in History take advantage of small class sizes to develop skills in historical analysis, learning how to search for patterns and relationships throughout history; and discover the meaning of the past and its relationship to our modern world. The History major prepares students for a variety of careers that require the ability to think critically, communicate effectively, analyze texts, and write for a diverse audience. Potential careers include law, public policy, library studies, and teaching.

Academic Advising

College policy on advising requires that students meet with their academic advisors at least once each year, and in some departments, prior to each semester’s to enrollment. Advising holds are placed on all College of Liberal Arts and Sciences students prior to advance registration and are released following advising appointments. Students with a declared major are advised in their academic units. To determine who your advisor is and how to contact them, see One.IU.

Degree Requirements (120 cr.)

Degree Map >>

Students receiving the Bachelor of Arts degree must complete 120 total credit hours including:

• IU South Bend Campuswide General Education Curriculum (33 cr.)
• College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Bachelor of Arts Requirements (16-26 cr.)
• Required Minor taken in any campus school or interdisciplinary program (15-18 cr.)
• Major Requirements (30 cr.)
• Free Electives (balance of credits needed to equal 120 credit requirement)

• Six credit hours are required in the major at the 100–level.
• All other courses in the major must be at the 200-level or above to include a minimum of 12 credits at the 300– or 400–level taught by IU South Bend faculty.
• A minimum of 30 credit hours at the 300– or 400–level.
• Major and minor requirements must be completed with a grade of C– or higher.
• All courses are 3 credit hours, unless otherwise noted.

Major Requirements (30 cr.)

Required History Courses and Portfolio (6 cr.)

• HIST-H 217 The Nature of History (should be taken sophomore year).
• HIST-J 495 Proseminar for History Majors.

Note | HIST-J 495 is the capstone course of the major. Before taking HIST-J 495, students must submit a portfolio of written work to the department 60 days before the seminar begins. A portfolio is a collection of written materials that documents a student’s individual progress through the history major. It encourages students to reflect critically on their coursework and experiences as history majors as they get ready to take HIST-J 495.

Contents of the portfolio:

• Formal job resume
• Three essays (students should include the original copies with the course instructor’s comments and grade)
• A research paper that includes systematic documentation
• Three essay examinations
• Self-analysis essay (What do the materials included in my portfolio say about my learning experience as a history major?)
• Note | No more than three items in any portfolio may come from one class.

100–level Courses (6 cr.)

Select no more than two from the following

• HIST-A 100 Issues in United States History 
• HIST-H 101 The World in the Twentieth Century I 
• HIST-H 105 American History I 
• HIST-H 106 American History II 
• HIST-H 113 History of Western Civilization 1 
• HIST-H 114 History of Western Civilization 2 
• HIST-H 118 Modern World History
• HIST-H 124 Latino and African American Civil Rights 
• HIST-S 105 American History Honors Survey 1
• HIST-S 106 American History Honors Survey 2
• HIST-S 114 Honors History of Western Europe II
• HIST-T 190 Literary and Intellectual Traditions

American History (6 cr.)

Select two courses from the following

• HIST-A 300 Issues in United States History 
• HIST-A 301 Colonial America
• HIST-A 302 Revolutionary America 
• HIST-A 303 United States, 1789-1865 I 
• HIST-A 305 United States, 1865-1900
• HIST-A 310 Survey of American Indians I 
• HIST-A 314 The United States 1917-1945 
• HIST-A 315 United States Since World War II 
• HIST-A 316 United States Diplomatic History 
• HIST-A 318 The American West 
• HIST-A 325 American Constitutional History I   
• HIST-A 326 American Constitutional History II 
• HIST-A 348 Civil War and Reconstruction 
• HIST-A 351 The United States in World War II  
• HIST-A 352 History of Latinos in the United States 
• HIST-A 355 African American History I  
• HIST-A 356 African American History II 
• HIST-A 363 Survey of Indiana History 
• HIST-A 373 American History Through Film 
• HIST-A 374 September 11 and Its Aftermath 
• HIST-A 380 The Vietnam War 
• HIST-H 220 American Military History 
• HIST-H 225 Special Topics in History
  VT: Freedom Summer
• HIST-H 226 Origins and History of the Cold War 
• HIST-H 260 History of Women in the United States 
• HIST-H 425 Topics in History
  VT: American Constitutional History
  VT: The Cold War 
  VT: US Women and Social Change
  Additional topics as approved by department chair 
• HIST-H 495 Undergraduate Readings in History
  As approved by department chair
• HIST-H 496 Internship in History 
  As approved by department chair
• HIST-T 390 Literary and Intellectual Traditions
  VT: The CIA: History, Myth, Controversy
  VT: US Civil Rights Movement
  VT: Cold War Cultures
  VT: Humans and the Environment
  VT: Freedom Summer

European History (6 cr.)

Select two courses from the following

• HIST-B 221 Studies in European History 
• HIST-B 260 Women, Men, and Society in Modern Europe 
• HIST-B 300 Issues in Western European History 
• HIST-B 323 History of the Holocaust 
• HIST-B 342 Women in Medieval Society 
• HIST-B 346 The Crusades 
• HIST-B 349 From Stonehenge to King Arthur
• HIST-B 351 Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages
• HIST-B 352 West Europe- High/Late Middle Ages 
• HIST-B 353 The Renaissance
• HIST-B 354 The Reformation
• HIST-B 355 Europe: Louis XIV to French Revolution
• HIST-B 356 French Revolution and Napoleon
• HIST-B 361 Europe in the Twentieth Century I 
• HIST-B 362 Europe in the Twentieth Century II 
• HIST-B 378 History of Germany Since 1648 
• HIST-B 391 Themes in World History 
• HIST-C 386 Greek History-Minoans to Alexander 
• HIST-C 388 Roman History 
• HIST-C 392 History of Modern Near East 
• HIST-D 308 Empire of the Tsars 
• HIST-D 310 Russian Revolution and Soviet Regime
• HIST-H 201 History of Russia I
• HIST-H 205 Ancient Civilization 
• HIST-H 206 Medieval Civilization 
• HIST-H 219 Origins and History of the Second World War 
• HIST-H 226 Origins and History of the Cold War 
• HIST-H 234 Exploration and Discoveries 
• HIST-H 235 Discoveries and Settlement 
• HIST-H 250 The Holocaust and Genocide in the Modern World 
• HIST-H 333 Epidemics in History
• HIST-H 425 Topics in History
  As approved by the department chair
• HIST-H 495 Undergraduate Readings in History
  As approved by department chair
• Hist H 496 Internship in History
  As approved by department chair
• HIST-T 390 Literary and Intellectual Traditions
  VT: Everyday Architecture
  VT: The French Revolution
  VT: Gender and Biography
  VT: The Great War 1914-1918
  VT: The Modern City
  VT: National Socialism
  VT: Sex and Society in Great Britain and Empire
  VT: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

African/Asian/Latin American/Middle Eastern History (6 cr.)

Select two courses from the following

• HIST-C 392 History of Modern Near East 
• HIST-E 300 Issues in African History 
• HIST-F 300 Issues in Latin American History 
• HIST-F 342 Latin America: Evolution and Revolution Since Independence 
• HIST-G 358 Early Modern Japan 
• HIST-G 369 Modern Japan 
• HIST-G 410 China, Japan, and the United States in the 20th and 21st Century
• HIST-G 465 Chinese Revolution/Communist Regime 
• HIST-G 485 Modern China 
• HIST-H 207 Modern East Asian Civilization 
• HIST-H 211 Latin American Culture and Civilization 1 
• HIST-H 212 Latin American Culture and Civilization 2 
• HIST-H 219 Origins and History of the Second World War 
• HIST-H 234 Exploration and Discoveries 
• HIST-H 235 Discoveries and Settlement 
• HIST-H 237 Traditional East Asian Civilization 
• HIST-H 250 The Holocaust and Genocide in the Modern World 
• HIST-H 333 Epidemics in History 
• HIST-H 425 Topics in History
  VT: History of the Modern Middle East
  As approved by the department chair
• HIST-H 495 Undergraduate Readings in History
  As approved by the department chair
• HIST-H 496 Internship in History
  As approved by the department chair
• HIST-T 390 Literary and Intellectual Traditions
  VT: Conquest of the Americas
  VT: World Biography and Gender
  VT: Mexico—History, Society, and Culture
• HIST-W 300 Issues in World History

World Languages

Students are encouraged to continue their world languages study beyond the two years required by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Graduate schools generally require mastery of one world language for the study of American history and of two or more world languages for study of other fields of history. Students with appropriate language competence are encouraged to participate in the university’s various programs of international study.