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)
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 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 region | 9-12 | |
| 3 courses in one region | 9-12 | |
| 2 courses in remaining region | 6-8 | |
| Junior and Senior Seminar | ||
| HIST 38000 | JUNIOR SEMINAR | 4 |
| HIST 48000 | SENIOR SEMINAR 1 | 4 |
| Two Additional Courses | ||
| 2 Courses in FREN or SPAN STRONGLY RECOMMENDED | 6-8 | |
| or 2 additional HIST Courses | ||
| Total Hours | 38-48 | |
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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
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall 12 Week | Hours | |
| Select one 10000-level History elective | 4 | |
| UCS 10101 | FIRST-YEAR ENDURING QUESTIONS | 4 |
| Foreign Language Elective 1 | 4 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Fall 3 Week | ||
| Foreign Language Elective 1 | 3-4 | |
| Hours | 3-4 | |
| Spring 12 Week | ||
| Select one 10000-level History elective | 4 | |
| UCS 20201 | ADDRESSING URGENT QUESTIONS | 4 |
| Select one 20000-level History elective | 4 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Spring 3 Week | ||
| Hiram Core Requirement | 3-4 | |
| Hours | 3-4 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall 12 Week | ||
| Select one 20000-level History elective | 4 | |
| Hiram Core Requirement | 4 | |
| Hiram Core Requirement | 4 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Fall 3 Week | ||
| Select one 20000-level History elective | 3-4 | |
| Hours | 3-4 | |
| Spring 12 Week | ||
| Select one 20000-level History elective | 4 | |
| Hiram Core Requirement | 4 | |
| Hiram Core Requirement | 4 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Spring 3 Week | ||
| Select 20000-level History elective | 3-4 | |
| Hours | 3-4 | |
| 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 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Fall 3 Week | ||
| Select one 20000-level History elective | 3-4 | |
| Hours | 3-4 | |
| Spring 12 Week | ||
| HIST 38000 | JUNIOR SEMINAR | 4 |
| Hiram Core Requirement | 4 | |
| Additional HIST, Elective, Minor, 2nd Major Course 1 | 4 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Spring 3 Week | ||
| Additional HIST, Elective, Minor, 2nd Major Course 1 | 3-4 | |
| Hours | 3-4 | |
| 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 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Fall 3 Week | ||
| Additional HIST, elective, minor, 2nd major course 1 | 3-4 | |
| Hours | 3-4 | |
| 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 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Spring 3 Week | ||
| Additional HIST, Elective, Minor, 2nd Major Course 1 | 3-4 | |
| Hours | 3-4 | |
| Total Hours | 120-128 | |
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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.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| US | ||
| HIST 14000 | US HISTORY TO 1865:CA,UD | 4 |
| HIST 14100 | US HIST 1865 TO PRESENT:CA,UD | 4 |
| HIST 24000 | AMERICN ENVRONMNTAL HIST:CA,UD | 4 |
| HIST 24300 | THE US WAR IN VIETNAM:CA,EW | 3 |
| European | ||
| HIST 12100 | EUROPE 500-1450:CA,EW | 4 |
| HIST 12200 | MDRN EUROPE: 1450-PRESNT:CA,EW | 4 |
| HIST 22200 | KINGS AND VIKINGS:CA,EW | 3 |
| HIST 25600 | EUROPEAN SOCIETY & WAR:CA,EW | 4 |
| World, Asia, Non-West | ||
| HIST 12800 | WORLD HISTORY 1000-1800:CA,EW | 4 |
| HIST 13800 | WORLD HIST 1750-PRESENT:CA,EW | 4 |
| HIST 25650 | GENDER&SEXUALITY E ASIA:CA,EW | 3 |
| HIST 27800 | CANNIBALS HEADHUNTER:CA,EW | 3 |