History, B.A.

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Knowing history tells you as much about today and tomorrow as it does about yesterday.

What causes economic growth in a society over time? What are the conditions that foster social tolerance and cohesion? The History B.A. at Columbia College teaches such things. It offers a vibrant course of study that allows students to become resourceful and skillful thinkers, researchers, writers, and communicators. Students engage with the world’s peoples while developing cultural literacy and problem-solving skills.

They explore history of the U.S. and of the world, while creating their own individual focus. As they work with a variety of evidential sources, including technological and web-based resources, they build an important skill-set that will serve them well after earning their degree. Since history students take responsibility for much of their learning and research, they develop the confidence of genuine independence.

Career opportunities with a History degree include the following:

Appointive or elective political office
Business careers, from insurance analysts, to project managers and public relations, to banking
Congressional staffing, including legislative-assistant work
Historical society archivists and preservationists
Law and legal affairs, whether law school, paralegal work, or litigation support
Library science careers
Media careers, ranging from documentary and scholarly editing to journalism, to television
Museum curating and educating
Teaching, through certification in social studies education

There are many more: readers may wish to see the series “What to do with a B.A. in History,” published regularly by the American Historical Association at https://tinyurl.com/ya5rtesa.

General Education Requirements (39-42 sem. hrs)

For a complete list of general education courses click here . For additional information on general education requirements click here .

Ethics Course Requirement (3 sem. hrs)

PHIL 330 - Ethics 3 hours

Foreign Language Requirement (6 sem. hrs)

For information on how to fulfill the foreign language requirement click here .

Core Requirements (15 sem. hrs)

All must be completed with a grade of C or higher. Courses in the major cannot be taken Pass/Fail.

History Electives (27 sem. hrs)

Global History Emphasis (9 sem. hrs)

Students will take 9 credit hours of courses in the Global History emphasis:

United States History Emphasis (9 sem. hrs)

Additional Major Area Electives (9 sem. hrs)

Students will create a focus on Global or U.S. History by taking three additional 300-level history electives of their choosing. For this category, History majors are especially encouraged to explore History Internships, HIST 399 or HIST 499 .

Other Electives (30-33 sem. hrs)

Total: 120 (sem. hrs)

The total reflects the minimum number of hours to obtain a bachelor's degree. Some courses listed above may fulfill more than one requirement block. Please speak to your academic advisor to plan your specific degree path.

Note (s):

HIST 494 - Senior Seminar in History 3 hours is the culminating evaluative course that assesses the outcomes of the major. Students (majors) must pass the course with a grade of C or higher prior to graduation.