General Education Requirements (48 Hours)
Area I - Written Composition (2 Courses, 6 Hours)
Area II - Humanities & Fine Arts (5 Courses, 15 Hours)
No more than six hours from any one discipline.
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3 hours: CA 110
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3 hours from: EH 215, EH 216, EH 225, EH 226, EH 235, EH 236
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3 hours from: ARH 100, ARH 103, ARH 123, ARS 101, DRA 110, MUL 101
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6 hours from: AFR 101, ARH 100, ARH 103, ARH 123, ARH 203, ARS 101, ARS 121, ARS 123, ARS 124, CLA 110, DRA 110, EH 215, EH 216, EH 225, EH 226, EH 235, EH 236, JHS 101, JOU 252, LG 101, LG 102, LG 111, LG 112, LG 121, LG 122, LG 131, LG 132, LG 141, LG 142, LG 151, LG 152, LG 153, LG 171, LG 172, LG 173, LG 201, LG 202, LG 211, LG 212, LG 213, LG 221, LG 222, LG 231, LG 232, LG 234, LG 241, LG 242, LG 251, LG 252, LG 271, LG 272, LG 273, LGS 101, LGS 102, LGS 106, LGS 107, LGS 110, LGS 111, LGS 171, LGS 172, LGS 201, LGS 202, LGS 206, LGS 207, LGS 210, LGS 211, LGS 271, LGS 272, MUL 101, PHL 110, PHL 120, PHL 121, PHL 131, PHL 220, PHL 231, PHL 240, REL 100, REL 200, REL 201
Area III – Natural Sciences & Mathematics (3 Courses & Labs, 11-14 Hours)
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3-4 hours from: MA 110, MA 112, MA 113, MA 115, MA 120, MA 125, MA 126, MA 227, MA 237, MA 238
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8-10 hours from: AN 121 & AN 121L, BLY 101 & BLY 101L or BLY 121 & BLY 121L, BLY 102 & BLY 102L or BLY 122 & BLY 122L, BMD 110, BMD 111, CH 101 & CH 101L, CH 103 & CH 103L, CH 131 & CH 131L, CH 132 & CH 132L, GEO 101 & GEO 101L, GEO 102 & GEO 102L, GY 111 & GY 111L, GY 112 & GY 112L, MAS 134 & MAS 134L, PH 101 & PH 101L, PH 104 & PH 104L, PH 114 & PH 114L, PH 115 & PH 115L, PH 201 & PH 201L, PH 202 & PH 202L. Note: BLY 121 and BLY 122 are restricted to Arts and Sciences science majors, Allied Health science majors, Engineering majors, and Computer Science majors. Students cannot receive credit for both BLY 101 and BLY 121 or for both BLY 122 and BLY 102.
Area IV – History, Social & Behavioral Sciences (4 Courses, 12 Hours)
No more than six hours from any one discipline.
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3 hours from: HY 101, HY 102, HY 121, HY 122, HY 135, HY 136
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9 hours from: AN 100, AN 101, CA 100, CA 211, CJ 105, ECO 215, ECO 216, GEO 114, GEO 115, GS 101, HY 101, HY 102, HY 121, HY 122, HY 135, HY 136, IS 100, IST 201, NAS 101, PSC 130, PSY 120, PSY 250, SY 109, SY 112
Area V – (3 courses, 9-10 Hours)
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Foreign Language. 6 hours from any one group:
LG 101 & LG 102, LGS 106 & LGS 107, LGS 110 & LGS 111, LG 111 & LG 112 or proficiency test or LG 113, LG 121 & LG 122, LG 131 & LG 132 or proficiency test or LG 134, LG 141 & LG 142, LG 151 & LG 152 or proficiency test or LG 153, LG 171 & LG 172 or LG 173, LGS 171 & LGS 172, LG 101 and LG 102
Students may fulfill the foreign language requirement by passing a proficiency test offered by the Department of Modern and Classical Languages at the level equivalent to the second semester of the foreign language sequence, or by passing another test (e.g., AP (Advanced Placement) or CLEP (College Level Examination Program) at the equivalent level). Students who pass a proficiency test at the level equivalent to first semester of the foreign language sequence are required to complete only the second semester and will fulfill the foreign language requirement with 3 credit hours of course work.
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Natural Sciences/Math. 3-4 hour lab science or math/stat course from:
AN 121 & AN 121L, BLY 101 & BLY 101L or BLY 121 & BLY 121L, BLY 102 & BLY 102L or BLY 122 & BLY 122L, BMD 110, BMD 111, CH 101 & CH 101L, CH 103 & CH 103L, CH 131 & CH 131L, CH 132 & CH 132L, GEO 101 & GEO 101L, GEO 102 & GEO 102L, GY 111 & GY 111L, GY 112 & GY 112L, MAS 134 & MAS 134L, PH 101 & PH 101L, PH 104 & PH 104L, PH 114 & PH 114L, PH 115 & PH 115L, PH 201 & PH 201L, PH 202 & PH 202L, ST 210, MA 113 - 299 (except PH 201 and PH 202).
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Students must complete a 6 credit hour sequence either in literature (Area II – EH 215 & EH 216, EH 225 & EH 226, or EH 235 & EH 236) or history (Area IV – HY 101 & HY 102 or HY 135 & HY 136 or HY 121 & HY 122).
All undergraduates must complete two designated writing credit (W) courses, at least one of which must be in the student's major or minor.
Major Requirements (36 Hours)
History Major Core (12 Courses, 36 Hours)
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18 hours: HY 101 and HY 102 OR HY 121 and HY 122, HY 135 and HY 136
Three hours from: African (HY 362), Asian (HY 103, HY 104, HY 283, HY 284, HY 366, HY 367, HY 368, HY 461), Latin American (HY 228, HY 321, HY 323, HY 325, HY 326, HY 429), OR Middle Eastern History (HY 364, HY 365, HY 465).
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18 hours from:
One elective course at the 400 level
Three elective courses at the 300 or 400 level (One designated as W)
Two elective courses at any level
Minor Requirements (0 Hours)
A minor is required for this degree program
Notes:
- W Course & Research Seminar Overview:
- Students should avoid at all costs taking the W course and the Research Seminar in the same semester. The work load is too onerous.
- Ideally, one of these courses will be taken in the student’s junior year; the other will be taken during his or her senior year.
- Ideally, the W course should come before the Research Seminar course.
- W Course:
- The W course should be taken early on in the student’s slate of upper-division history courses, but it should not be the student’s first upper-division history course.
- Research Seminar:
- In the spirit of understanding the Research Seminar as “doing history after learning history,” it should not be the student’s first 400-level course. It should be taken after the student has completed a couple of 400-level courses.
- The Research Seminar ideally should be taken in the first semester of the senior year. (If it is taken during the student’s last semester of the senior year, and the student fails the course, he or she will not be able to graduate on time.)
Additional Information
History (BA): (36 Total Hours)
First Year - Fall Semester
| Course ID | Course Description | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CAS 100 | First Year Experience-College Success | 2 |
| EH 101 | English Composition I (Area I) | 3 |
| HY 101/ HY 121 |
History of Western Civilization I/World Civilization I | 3 |
| Natural Science with Lab | Area III | 4 |
| Foreign Language I | Area V | 3 |
| Total Hours | 15 |
First Year - Spring Semester
| Course ID | Course Description | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| EH 102 or Honors | English Composition II (Area I) | 3 |
| Math Course | MA 110 or higher (Area III) | 3 |
| Foreign Language II | Area V | 3 |
| Social/Behavioral Elective | Area IV | 3 |
| HY 102/HY 122 | History of Western Civilization II/World Civilization II | 3 |
| Total Hours | 15 |
Second Year - Fall Semester
| Course ID | Course Description | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| HY 135 | US History to 1877 | 3 |
| Fine Arts Elective | Area II | 3 |
| Natural Science with Lab | Area III | 4 |
| English Literature | Area III | 3 |
| Humanities Elective | Area II | 3 |
| Total Hours | 16 |
Third Year - Fall Semester
| Course ID | Course Description | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| History Elective | African Asian, Latin America or Middle Eastern History | 3 |
| Natural Science with Lab | Area III | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Minor Course | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 15 |
Third Year - Spring Semester
| Course ID | Course Description | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| History Elective | 300 level or higher (W) | 3 |
| History Elective | 300 level or higher | 3 |
| Minor Course | 3 | |
| Minor Course | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 15 |
Fourth Year - Fall Semester
| Course ID | Course Description | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| HY 441/HY 442/HY 443/HY 444 | History Research Seminar | 3 |
| History Elective | 300 level or higher | 3 |
| Minor Course | 3 | |
| Minor Course | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 15 |
Fourth Year - Spring Semester
| Course ID | Course Description | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| History Elective | 400 level | 3 |
| History Elective | 3 | |
| Minor Course | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 15 |
| Notes |
|---|
| * Recommended Course |
| ** See Degree Requirements |
Department of History website
http://www.southalabama.edu/history
Undergraduate studies
Knowledge and awareness of history and society are important ingredients of a liberal education. The Department of History offers general courses for all students, a major and a minor in history, and preparation for students who plan to continue study at the graduate level, to teach history, or to enter related fields.
All first-time freshmen must successfully complete CAS 100: First Year Experience as a degree requirement. Students must enroll during their first term at USA, except for summer-entry students who must enroll in the fall semester following entry.
Honors in history
To be awarded Honors in History, a student must:
- complete the standard requirements for a major in History
- have a 3.5 overall GPA (University requirement)
- have a 3.5 History GPA (Department requirement)
- receive agreement of a member of the History Department to serve as mentor
- receive permission of the Department Chair to undertake this program
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complete a Senior Honor Paper (HY 499), with a grade of "B" or "A", in addition to the standard History requirements. HY 499: Senior Honors Paper (six semester hours credit) may be counted toward three hours of the 36 required for a major and toward the three hours of 400-level electives required for the major. Thus, the student receiving honors in History will be required to take a total of 39 hours in History instead of 36 (In HY 499, the student will normally take three hours in Fall Semester for research and three in Spring for writing, though occasionally this may be spread out over a longer period. A final committee of three or more faculty, which may include a representative of the University Honors College, will conduct an oral defense)
NOTE: 1) one need not be receiving University Honors to obtain Honors in History; 2) a certificate will be awarded to the student indicating that they have been awarded "Honors in History."
Graduate studies
The Master of Arts degree in History is designed to meet the varied needs of students. There are two study tracks or plans for completion of the degree: thesis, non-thesis.
Normally, those who wish to enter a Ph.D. program, law school, or certain positions in archives, government, and community college teaching positions pursue the thesis option. Other students pursuing positions where a thesis is not needed often study in the non-thesis track.
For further information on the M.A. program, see the Department website under Graduate Academic Programs.
Requirements for admission
Students are admitted each semester. In addition to Graduate School requirements, all applicants must submit a statement of purpose for undertaking graduate work in History, provide three academic letters of recommendation, and a writing sample. These documents must be submitted electronically at http://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/artsandsci/history/gradadmit.html. Please contact the History Department Coordinator of Graduate Studies for more information. The following criteria supplement Graduate School criteria (see Categories of Admission).
Regular Admission
- At least twenty-one semester hours of college work in History approved by the Graduate Committee of the Department of History.
- Applicants to graduate programs in Arts and Sciences typically have a minimum GPA of at least a 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) on all undergraduate work. In exceptional cases, applicants may be considered with at least a 2.5 GPA on all undergraduate work, or at least a 2.75 GPA on the last 60 hours of undergraduate work.
Non-degree students
Students holding baccalaureate degrees from accredited institutions of higher education who are not interested in earning an MA degree, or who are not yet ready to apply for Regular Admission may enroll in a Non-Degree status. A suitable background for the courses to be taken is expected. Non-Degree students may enroll only in courses offered at specific times and places. They may not enroll in directed studies courses.
Graduate assistantships
A limited number of assistantships are awarded to incoming and returning graduate students on a competitive basis. Assistantships include a tuition waiver and a stipend, for which students are asked to work 20 hours a week, usually as teaching assistants, in public history, or assisting in the University Archives. Applications for each academic year are due in the department no later than March 15.