Degree Requirements

All students are required to complete overall degree requirements in addition to their major.  Please see Degree Completion Requirements for full details for students entering in the 2024-2025 catalog year. 

Those students who started at Hiram prior to the 2024-2025 academic year will follow the Degree Requirements outlined in your catalog of record.

Major Requirements

The history major requires a minimum of 12 courses or 38 hours. We advise students who wish to pursue graduate work to take more than the minimum number of courses. All history majors must take a minimum total of eight courses in any 3-3-2 combination in the three geographic regions: U.S., Europe, the World outside of Europe and North America. For example, a student may take three U.S. history courses, three European history courses, and two courses in the history of the rest of the world. Through these courses, students will learn civic knowledge and engagement as well as intercultural knowledge and competence.

Moreover, history students are strongly encouraged to take two courses of a foreign language, but they may substitute two additional history courses instead.

History majors are also required to take HIST 38000 JUNIOR SEMINAR, a junior research seminar, the topic of which varies from year to year, and the senior seminar, HIST 48000 SENIOR SEMINAR. Before a student can progress to the senior seminar, they must have earned at least a 2.5 grade-point average in the major or alternatively to have earned at least a B (3.0) in HIST 38000 JUNIOR SEMINAR.

History majors have the option of concentrating in a particular field of history. The concentrations we offer are history and law, gender history, and a regional area of history, such as Asian history. Students should discuss choosing a concentration with a faculty member in the history program. Students who are majoring in integrated social studies for the purpose of obtaining a license to teach will have different requirements and should consult with faculty in the education program in conjunction with the history program. The history program counts all Hiram history courses when calculating grade-point averages.

The History Senior Seminar

History majors are required to complete a professional-quality research paper in the senior year and to present their papers to the community in a public forum. The seminar paper should demonstrate thorough research using both primary and secondary historical sources, and the program encourages students to make an original argument supported by credible historical evidence. Students work with individual faculty members to research and write the seminar paper. With the completion of their papers, students present their work orally to the Hiram College community. Students with majors other than history sometimes choose to do the senior seminar with the history program. Students interested in doing this should consult with history faculty members before the senior year.

Requirements (12 courses or 38 credits)

Total of eight (8) courses in any 3-3-2 combination in the three geographic regions: U.S., Europe, and the World outside of Europe and North America.
3 courses in one region9-12
3 courses in one region9-12
2 courses in remaining region6-8
Junior and Senior Seminar
HIST 38000JUNIOR SEMINAR4
HIST 48000SENIOR SEMINAR 14
Two Additional Courses
2 Courses in FREN or SPAN STRONGLY RECOMMENDED6-8
or 2 additional HIST Courses
Total Hours38-48
1

Before a student can progress to the senior seminar, they must have earned at least a 2.5 grade-point average in the major or alternatively to have earned at least a B (3.0) in HIST 38000 JUNIOR SEMINAR.

Pathway

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
Fall 12 WeekHours
Select one 10000-level History elective 4
UCS 10101 FIRST-YEAR ENDURING QUESTIONS 4
Foreign Language Elective 1 4
 Hours12
Fall 3 Week
Foreign Language Elective 1 3-4
 Hours3-4
Spring 12 Week
Select one 10000-level History elective 4
UCS 20201 ADDRESSING URGENT QUESTIONS 4
Select one 20000-level History elective 4
 Hours12
Spring 3 Week
Hiram Core Requirement 3-4
 Hours3-4
Second Year
Fall 12 Week
Select one 20000-level History elective 4
Hiram Core Requirement 4
Hiram Core Requirement 4
 Hours12
Fall 3 Week
Select one 20000-level History elective 3-4
 Hours3-4
Spring 12 Week
Select one 20000-level History elective 4
Hiram Core Requirement 4
Hiram Core Requirement 4
 Hours12
Spring 3 Week
Select 20000-level History elective 3-4
 Hours3-4
Third Year
Fall 12 Week
UCS 30301 URGENT CHALLENGE SEMINAR:TT 4
Select one 20000-level History elective 4
Additional HIST, Elective, Minor, 2nd Major Course 1 4
 Hours12
Fall 3 Week
Select one 20000-level History elective 3-4
 Hours3-4
Spring 12 Week
HIST 38000 JUNIOR SEMINAR 4
Hiram Core Requirement 4
Additional HIST, Elective, Minor, 2nd Major Course 1 4
 Hours12
Spring 3 Week
Additional HIST, Elective, Minor, 2nd Major Course 1 3-4
 Hours3-4
Fourth Year
Fall 12 Week
HIST 48000 SENIOR SEMINAR 4
Additional HIST, Elective, Minor, 2nd Major course 1 4
Additional HIST, Elective, Minor, 2nd Major course 1 4
 Hours12
Fall 3 Week
Additional HIST, elective, minor, 2nd major course 1 3-4
 Hours3-4
Spring 12 Week
Additional HIST, elective, minor, 2nd major course 1 4
Additional HIST, elective, minor, 2nd major course 1 4
Additional HIST, elective, minor, 2nd major course 1 4
 Hours12
Spring 3 Week
Additional HIST, Elective, Minor, 2nd Major Course 1 3-4
 Hours3-4
 Total Hours120-128
1

History students are strongly encouraged to take two courses of a foreign language, but they may substitute two additional history courses instead. 

History Elective

Choose 8 courses in any 3-3-2 combination. Below is a sample of applicable courses. Please refer to the catalog and speak with a member of the program to get a complete list.

US
HIST 14000US HISTORY TO 1865:CA,UD4
HIST 14100US HIST 1865 TO PRESENT:CA,UD4
HIST 24000AMERICN ENVRONMNTAL HIST:CA,UD4
HIST 24300THE US WAR IN VIETNAM:CA,EW3
European
HIST 12100EUROPE 500-1450:CA,EW4
HIST 12200MDRN EUROPE: 1450-PRESNT:CA,EW4
HIST 22200KINGS AND VIKINGS:CA,EW3
HIST 25600EUROPEAN SOCIETY & WAR:CA,EW4
World, Asia, Non-West
HIST 12800WORLD HISTORY 1000-1800:CA,EW4
HIST 13800WORLD HIST 1750-PRESENT:CA,EW4
HIST 25650GENDER&SEXUALITY E ASIA:CA,EW3
HIST 27800CANNIBALS HEADHUNTER:CA,EW3