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History Major

Effective Fall 2022

Advising

Appointments with History advisors are scheduled online from the department's webpage: www.lsa.umich.edu/history/undergraduates. Students should see an advisor as soon as they decide on their major or minor.

 

Prerequisites

None.

Requirements

Minimum Credits: 30

A major in History requires a total of ten history courses. Five of these courses must be taken in residence at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. At least five of the ten courses must be at the upper-level (300-level or above) and none can be numbered below 200. Three- and four-credit courses count as one course with the exception of HISTORY 294 when taken for two credits. 

  • Required course. Every History Major must take HISTORY 202: Doing History, during the first semester after they declare. If scheduling problems make it absolutely impossible to take the class immediately, it can be delayed with the approval of a department advisor. This course will introduce students to historical research and writing by engaging directly with a wide range of primary sources and considering the various ways they can be interpreted.
  • The Survey Sequence. The foundation of the history major is a two-part survey sequence. The Department offers a range of pre-approved sequences in various geographical, chronological, and thematic areas, but students can also develop their own pairings in consultation with a faculty mentor and with the approval of the Department's Director of Undergraduate Studies. A frequently updated list of possible pairings will be available on the History Department website. For a sequence to be approved, the two classes must have a clear and well-conceptualized link, and they must fit within a broader theme.
  • Regional Distribution

    • Students have to take at least one course in four of the following areas: North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East/Central Asia, Africa, Asia, and Transregional/Global. Courses taken to satisfy the survey sequence requirement can be used to satisfy the regional distribution requirement.

    • Courses will count in the Transregional/Global category if they cut across significant geographical boundaries (i.e., continents or oceans) as well as major political boundaries. Included are courses dealing with one oceanic basin, but excluded are courses dealing with multiple sites within one continent.
  • Pre-1800 Distribution. Students must take at least one course that focuses on a period prior to the year 1800. To meet this requirement, at least 75% of the course material must deal with the pre-modern era. This course can also count as one of the regional courses. Courses taken to satisfy the survey sequence requirement cannot be used to satisfy the pre-1800 requirement.

  • Junior-Senior Colloquium Requirement. Take one of the following three courses:  HISTORY 491, HISTORY 496 or HISTORY 497. Honors students fulfill this requirement by completing HISTORY 499.

    A list of pre-approved regional distribution courses and pre-1800 courses will be maintained on the History Department website.

    These requirements can overlap and fulfill more than one requirement. For example, a colloquium about ancient Greece satisfies the pre-1800, European, and colloquium requirements and also counts as one of the upper-level history courses.

    Beyond these basic requirements, each student works with an individual faculty mentor to customize his or her program. Prior to declaring a History major, students meet with a general department advisor to discuss the program requirements. Upon declaring, each student may select a faculty mentor who will serve as his or her personal advisor. Department advisors will help students select a mentor based on each individual's interests and needs. The mentor helps the student pick an appropriate survey sequence and select additional courses that will give coherence to the degree program. What form that coherence will take is up to the student (with the mentor's guidance). Some opt for a geographical focus (the United States, Africa, Europe, etc.), while others might prefer a more thematic approach (women's history, international or transnational history, cultural history, etc.). Still others might want to emphasize global or chronological breadth within a more diversified set of classes.

Constraints

  • No more than eight credits may be elected from HISTORY 395 (Independent Study).
  • Two one- to two-credit mini-courses may be combined to equal one course.
  • HISTORY 294, Explorations in History (when taken for two-credits) will count as one course.

Residency

Five of the ten History courses must be taken in residence at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Distribution Policy

No course used to fulfill a major requirement may be used toward the LSA Distribution Requirement. In addition, courses in the HISTORY subject area may not be used toward the Distribution Requirement.

Honors

The Junior-Senior Honors Program in the Department of History is open to juniors majoring in history who have maintained at least a 3.4 grade point average overall and a 3.5 average in history courses. Applications are accepted annually in October. The usual applicant is a first-term junior for this three-term program. Admission decisions will be based on a student's academic performance, background in history, demonstrated ability to write, and recommendations by history faculty. High grade point average alone does not guarantee admission.

Accepted students will be notified in November and will begin their participation in the program the following January in HISTORY 498, the Junior Honors Colloquium. Members of the Honors Program must fulfill all the usual requirements for majoring in History. The two required Honors courses, HISTORY 498 (4 credits) and HISTORY 499 (for a total of 6 credits over the two semesters), count toward the fulfillment of these requirements. Completion of HISTORY 499, the Senior Honors Colloquium, satisfies the Jr./Sr. Colloquium Requirement, described above, as well as the Upper-Level Writing Requirement (ULWR). Students who complete HISTORY 498 but not HISTORY 499 must satisfy this requirement by taking either HISTORY 496 or 497.

Teaching Certificate

Students must consult the Teacher Education Office, located in the School of Education, 610 East University. Their website (www.soe.umich.edu) may be consulted for certification program information and general information meeting schedules.

The teaching major and minor for certification differ from the academic history major and minor. History courses required for a teaching certificate with a major in History must include HISTORY 260 and 261 (The U.S. survey sequence), one course in European history, HISTORY 496 or 497, and specific world and non-Western history courses listed on the SOE website. History electives are chosen to reach the minimum 30 credits of History.

Teaching minor requirements are the same as the teaching major with a minimum of 20 credits of History.

History (Major) (Fall 2014 - Summer 2022)

Effective Fall 2014

Advising

Appointments with History advisors are scheduled online from the department's webpage: www.lsa.umich.edu/history/undergraduates. Students should see an advisor as soon as they decide on their major or minor.

The History Department offers a three-tiered advising structure.

Tier 1: Faculty Advisors from the History Department's Undergraduate Committee

  • declaring a history major - obtaining general advice about the nature, purpose, and utility of a history degree
  • recommending a faculty mentor
  • approving study abroad and transfer credit
  • declaring an academic minor in History

To make an appointment, go to /lsa.umich.edu/history/undergraduates/advising.html.

Tier 2: The Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies

  • obtaining general advice about the requirements for the major
  • checking progress towards the major or minor
  • completing the graduation checklist and release

To make an appointment, go to /lsa.umich.edu/history/undergraduates/advising.html.

Tier 3: Individual Faculty Mentors

  • obtaining approval for a survey sequence and a major theme
  • getting advice about course selection
  • obtaining advice about career planning

Students generally meet with a Tier 2 advisor for help in selecting a mentor, but all subsequent advising will be done by that individual professor.

Faculty who go on leave will designate a substitute, and inform all their mentees of the temporary change.

Students must arrange appointments directly with their mentors, and are expected to do so at least once a term. It is the student's responsibility to take the initiative in setting up these meetings.

Prerequisites

None.

Requirements

Minimum Credits: 30

A major in History requires a total of ten history courses. Five of these courses must be taken in residence at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. At least five of the ten courses must be at the 300-level or above and none can be numbered below 200. Three- and four-credit courses both count as one course. 

  1. Required course. Every history concentrator must take HISTORY 202: Doing History, during the first semester after they declare. If scheduling problems make it absolutely impossible to take the class immediately, it can be delayed with the approval of a department advisor. This course will introduce students to historical research and writing by engaging directly with a wide range of primary sources and considering the various ways they can be interpreted.
  2. The Survey Sequence. The foundation of the history major is a two-part survey sequence. The Department offers a range of pre-approved sequences in various geographical, chronological, and thematic areas, but students can also develop their own pairings in consultation with a faculty mentor and with the approval of the Department's Director of Undergraduate Studies. A frequently updated list of possible pairings will be available on the History Department website. For a sequence to be approved, the two classes must have a clear and well-conceptualized link, and they must fit within a broader theme.
  3. Regional Distribution
    • Students have to take at least one course in four of the following areas: North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East/Central Asia, Africa, Asia, and Transregional/Global. Courses taken to satisfy the survey sequence requirement can be used to satisfy the regional distribution requirement.
    • Courses will count in the Transregional/Global category if they cut across significant geographical boundaries (i.e., continents or oceans) as well as major political boundaries. Included are courses dealing with one oceanic basin, but excluded are courses dealing with multiple sites within one continent.
  4. Pre-1800 Distribution. Students must take at least one course that focuses on a period prior to the year 1800. To meet this requirement, at least 75% of the course material must deal with the pre-modern era. This course can also count as one of the regional courses. Courses taken to satisfy the survey sequence requirement cannot be used to satisfy the pre-1800 requirement.
  5. Junior-Senior Colloquium Requirement. Take either HISTORY 496 or HISTORY 497. Honors students fulfill this requirement by taking HISTORY 499.

A list of pre-approved regional distribution courses and pre-1800 courses will be maintained on the History Department website.

These requirements can overlap. For example, a colloquium about ancient Greece satisfies the pre-1800, European, and colloquium requirements and also counts as one of the upper-level history courses.

Beyond these basic requirements, each student works with an individual faculty mentor to customize his or her program. Prior to declaring a History major, students meet with a general department advisor to discuss the program requirements, but upon declaring, each student selects a faculty mentor who will serve as his or her personal advisor. Department advisors will help students select a mentor based on each individual's interests and needs. The mentor helps the student pick an appropriate survey sequence and select additional courses that will give coherence to the degree program. What form that coherence will take is up to the student (with the mentor's guidance). Some opt for a geographical focus (the United States, Africa, Europe, etc.), while others might prefer a more thematic approach (women's history, international or transnational history, cultural history, etc.). Still others might want to emphasize global or chronological breadth within a more diversified set of classes.

Constraints

  • For the purposes of history major credit, no more than eight credits may be elected from HISTORY 395 (Independent Study).
  • Two mini-courses can be combined in order to equal one course.

Residency

Five of the ten History courses must be taken in residence at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Distribution Policy

No course used to fulfill a major requirement may be used toward the LSA Distribution Requirement. In addition, courses in the HISTORY subject area may not be used toward the Distribution Requirement.

Honors

The Junior-Senior Honors Program in the Department of History is open to juniors majoring in history who have maintained at least a 3.4 grade point average overall and a 3.5 average in history courses. Applications are accepted annually in October. The usual applicant is a first-term junior for this three-term program. Admission decisions will be based on a student's academic performance, background in history, demonstrated ability to write, and recommendations by history faculty. High grade point average alone does not guarantee admission.

Accepted students will be notified in November and will begin their participation in the program the following January in HISTORY 498, the Junior Honors Colloquium.
Members of the Honors Program must fulfill all the usual requirements for majoring in History. The two Honors courses they are required to take, HISTORY 498 (4 credits) and HISTORY 499 (for a total of 6 credits over the two semesters), count toward the fulfillment of these requirements. Completion of HISTORY 499, the Senior Honors Colloquium, also satisfies the "colloquium" requirement for history major, described above. Students who complete HISTORY 498 but not HISTORY 499 must satisfy this requirement by taking either HISTORY 496/497.

Teaching Certificate

The general requirements for a teaching certificate are described elsewhere in this Bulletin. Students must consult the School of Education Teacher Education office, 1228 School of Education, and check their website (www.soe.umich.edu) for certification program information and general information meeting schedules.

The teaching major and minor for certification differ from the academic history major and minor. History courses required for a teaching certificate with a major in History must include HISTORY 260 and 261, one course in European history, HISTORY 396 or 397, and specific world and non-Western history courses listed on the SOE website. History electives are chosen to reach the minimum 30 credits of History.

Teaching minor requirements are the same as the teaching major with a minimum of 20 credits of History.