History B.A.

Information and Policies

Introduction

History is about the past, but it is also about understanding the world we live in today. Our faculty seek to understand and help you understand how the challenges that confront us today like economic inequality, environmental degradation, and racism developed and changed over time. We also explore the patterns of social movements and political transformation that help us understand how people change the world.

Students often think of studying history as a matter of memorizing names and dates. While having a command of basic facts is important, college-level study of history shifts the focus to learning how to ask illuminating questions about the past. History majors at the University of California, Santa Cruz, cultivate a broad understanding of human history across time and space and develop deep knowledge of a particular region of the world. At the same time, they learn how to ask transformative questions, develop their ability to answer them through effective research, and convey their ideas clearly and persuasively through strong communication skills.

Students and their parents alike often express the sentiment that history is fascinating, but sometimes raise questions about its practicality as a college major. However, substantial research demonstrates that history majors thrive in their careers, and employers often express a need for the skills that studying history instills. A history major isn’t just fascinating; it’s a path to success. History majors develop skills in critical reading, effective research, analytical thinking, and clear, persuasive communication. Such skills are the essential foundation for jobs directly connected with the field, like teaching, research, and working in public history venues such as museums, archives, and libraries. These skills are also invaluable to careers in law, business, government, foreign service, management, publishing, journalism, social media, and many other areas. The ability to identify and access salient information, evaluate it critically, and use it to engage in constructive debate is essential for navigating a complex, dynamic, and global world. Visit our website for selected reports on the value of the history major.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students who complete the history major graduate with the following:

History

• Understanding of a basic narrative of historical events in a specific region of the world.

Critical Reading

• The ability to distinguish primary and secondary sources.
• The ability to evaluate historical ideas, arguments, and points of view.
• The ability to evaluate competing interpretations and multiple narratives of the past.

Research and Evidence

• The ability to gather and assess primary historical evidence.
• The ability to compile a bibliography.

Communication

• The ability to present clear and compelling arguments, based on critical analysis of diverse historical sources, and effectively communicate your interpretations in written essays and/or other media.
• The ability to develop a research question and complete a well-supported piece of historical writing about it.

Scope and Thematics

• Through completion of a combination of courses, become familiar with the history of:
  • The pre-modern world
  • The modern world
  • Transnational or transcultural circulations of ideas, people, and material goods
  • One or more national histories
  • Regional comparisons

Academic Advising for the Program

Academic advising is an important part of your undergraduate education. The History Department undergraduate program coordinator can help you clarify your educational goals, select classes that complement your academic interests and develop an individualized plan of study. The undergraduate program coordinator can also help you identify faculty mentors and enrichment opportunities within and related to your major.

Advising is held in Humanities 1, room 201. Undergraduate advising email contact: historyundergrad@ucsc.edu

Transfer students are encouraged to additionally consult the "Transfer Information and Policy" information included below.

Getting Started in the Major: Frosh

This major is not highly sequential or course intensive. Although it is advisable to begin taking courses toward the major in the first year, it is not required. Four-year students considering the history major are encouraged to enroll in at least one lower-division history course during their first year. These offer a broad sweep of a historical period and give students a sense of how studying history in college differs from studying it in high school. Students are encouraged but not required to take three lower-division history courses, one from each of the three regions of concentration, during the first year. Taking courses from each of the three regions of concentration during the first year helps students decide on a concentration as their area of focus and clarify their educational goals (see the Regions of Concentration section below for more information).

Transfer Information and Policy

Transfer Admission Screening Policy

Students planning to apply in this major are not required to complete specific major preparation courses for consideration of admission to UC Santa Cruz.

Transfer students are advised to complete the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) or UC Santa Cruz general education requirements in preparation for transfer to UCSC. Transfer course agreements and articulation between the University of California and California community colleges can be found on the ASSIST.ORG website. Prospective transfer students may also wish to consult the UC Transfer Pathway for History.

Transfer students are enthusiastically encouraged to study history at UC Santa Cruz. Transfer students can finish all of the UC Santa Cruz history major requirements within two years, even if they haven’t completed any preparatory history coursework prior to transferring. For additional information for transfer history majors please visit this transfer student information page.

Getting Started in the Major: Transfer Students

Transfer students are expected to complete HIS 100 within the first two quarters after transferring to UC Santa Cruz.

Transfer students are strongly encouraged to meet with the History Department undergraduate program coordinator before the end of their first quarter at UCSC. Transfer students are encouraged to declare their major during Slug Orientation!

Major Qualification Policy and Declaration Process

Major Qualification

The history major has no qualification. All students, including transfers, are eligible to pursue this major, even if they did not list history on their UC Santa Cruz application. It is advisable to complete at least one lower-division history course (1–99) before declaring, but it is not required. Students who plan on majoring in history are encouraged to declare as soon as possible (see information about declaring below). Students should submit a petition to declare before or by their declaration deadline quarter.

How to Declare a Major

To declare the history major students should create a history major academic plan and meet with the History Department undergraduate program coordinator. For planning documents and detailed major declaration instructions visit the declaring the history major webpage.

Letter Grade Policy

History majors may take up to two of their history major courses Pass/No Pass, with the exception of the Senior Comprehensive Requirement, provided students are in compliance with the university’s Pass/No Pass regulation. 

History Senior Check-in

In addition to all coursework, history majors must complete a senior check-in during the first quarter of their senior year. Students who do not submit their senior check-in for review may have their graduation date delayed. Please consult the department website for a more detailed description.

Course Substitution Policy

History majors must complete a minimum of five regularly scheduled history courses plus the comprehensive requirement taught by members of the UC Santa Cruz history faculty. Intensive history majors must complete a minimum of eight. Subject to the limits indicated in parentheses, courses from the following categories may also be applied to the history major:

• Courses completed at a California community college or other domestic university (limit of three)
• Education Abroad Program (limit of three)
• UCDC (limit of two)
• UC in Sacramento (limit of two)
• Interdisciplinary Coursework/upper-division courses taken in another UC Santa Cruz department (limit of one)
• Independent and field studies (limit of one)

For information and instructions on how to petition courses from the above categories, visit the History Department webpage on course substitutions.

Study Abroad

All history students are encouraged to consider studying abroad. UC Education Abroad Program (EAP) offers students an opportunity to study abroad in more than 40 countries with more than 150 program options. A variety of academic programs are available: language and culture programs facilitate language acquisition; "focus" programs allow students to concentrate on a plan of study applicable to their major. More than half of all EAP programs are in English, and there are traditional semester and yearlong program options. Subject to the limitations described above under "Course Substitution Policy," up to three courses in history completed through EAP may be applied toward major requirements. Consult the History Department website and speak with the undergraduate program coordinator for further details.

Honors

Honors are awarded to the top 10-15 percent of graduating students per quarter; highest honors may be granted to approximately the top five percent. Honors are determined by the Undergraduate Education Committee in consultation with the History Department faculty. The department considers each student’s GPA in the history major, supplemented when appropriate by an assessment of work in the senior capstone course or honors thesis preparation. The history major GPA is calculated based upon all history courses attempted at UC Santa Cruz; grades from courses taken outside of the department will not be calculated into a student’s history major GPA, even in cases when the student is allowed to use said courses toward their history major degree requirements. Summer, fall, and winter graduates will be reviewed at the end of each of their respective quarters. Spring graduates will be reviewed using their earned history major GPAs as of the spring announcement of candidacy deadline.

Interdisciplinary Coursework

The History Department encourages its majors to take upper-division courses in disciplines related to history, including sociology, literature, community studies, politics, Latin American and Latino studies, and others. Students may petition to substitute one such appropriate upper-division course for a history elective. At least 50 percent of the readings and written work in these courses must be historical in nature. Consult the History Department website and speak with the undergraduate program coordinator for further details.

These courses are subject to the limitations described above under the "Course Substitution Policy" section.

Regions of Concentration

The History Department curriculum and major is broadly organized along three regions of concentration. Each history major identifies one of three geographic regions of concentration as their primary area of focus:

The Americas and Africa

The Americas and Africa caucus invites students to explore the complex history of intercultural encounter, exchange, and conflict that connects South, Central, and North America and the diverse nations of Africa. Courses in this concentration locate these regions within larger global movements of people, goods, and ideas. Major topical themes in the concentration include Indigenous history, African diaspora, immigration, gender, labor, religion, social movements, politics, and critical history of race. Courses in this concentration extend from the colonial era to the modern day and reflect interdisciplinary approaches to historical practice.

Asia and the Pacific

The Asia and Pacific concentration—which encompasses East, South, and Central Asia along with the Pacific and the Indian Ocean—offers students the opportunity to explore gender, class, race, and ethnicity through the examination of premodern and modern empires and nations, their borders and peripheries, and their flows of people, materials, and ideas. Major topics of focus include the early modern and modern eras, Western and Japanese imperialisms, labor and other major social movements, socialist transformations, and cultural, intellectual, and science history.

Europe and the Mediterranean World

The Europe and the Mediterranean World concentration offers students the opportunity to explore the histories of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, and connections between these places and the larger world. We look at the continual flow of ideas, people, and material goods across this region, from the earliest states in the ancient world until today. We examine how empires, colonialism, religion, culture, the environment, and social and economic forces, including the development of capitalism and of the nation-state, shaped these interactions in profound ways. Collectively, we trace more than 5,000 years of intersecting histories, examining linkages and conflicts forged by geography, trade, war, migration, imperial aspirations, colonial violence, religious and ethnic minorities, and struggles for liberation.

The caucus includes intensive study of the histories of Europe, Russia, North Africa and the Middle East, as well as imperial, colonial, and transnational histories that trace the changing relations among these places. Major periods and areas of focus include the ancient and medieval worlds, oceanic empires in the early modern period (1450-1800 A.D.), modern imperialism and colonialism, and decolonization and postcolonial states in the 20th century.

General History Major

Course Requirements

A minimum of 12 unique courses are required for the major, of which no more than four may be lower-division. At least eight of the 12 courses must be upper-division, including the comprehensive requirement.

Distribution requirements. Among the 12 courses required for the major, at least three must meet chronological distribution requirements. One must be set before 600 C.E., and two must be set in periods prior to the year 1800 C.E.

Students are encouraged to reference the History Course List to determine how history courses may apply to the different geographic regions of concentration and the chronological distribution requirements. Students can also consult the department’s website for a sortable version of this information.

Region of Concentration (5 Courses, Plus 1 Comprehensive Requirement)

Each history major identifies one of three geographic regions of concentration as their primary area of focus:

• The Americas and Africa
• Asia and the Pacific
• Europe and the Mediterranean World

Lower-Division Survey (1 Course)

At least one lower-division survey course within their chosen region of concentration. The survey course is one of the four allowed lower-divisions.

Americas/Africa

Asia/Pacific

Europe/Mediterranean World

Additional Concentration Courses (4 Courses)

Four additional courses in the region of concentration, at least three of which must be upper-division.

Comprehensive Requirement

One comprehensive requirement: All students must complete either a research seminar (HIS 190 series, HIS 194 series, or HIS 196 series), or a senior thesis (HIS 195A and HIS 195B) in their area of concentration. Detailed information on the comprehensive requirement can be found below.

Breadth Requirements (4 Courses)

Two courses from each of the remaining two regions of concentration.

At least one of the four breadth courses must be upper-division. If two lower-division courses (including the survey) are applied to the region of concentration, then at least two of the four breadth courses must be upper-division.

Historical Skills and Methods (1 Course)

Students who enter UC Santa Cruz as frosh are expected to complete HIS 100 by the end of their second year. Transfer students are expected to complete HIS 100 no later than their second term at UC Santa Cruz. HIS 100 is a prerequisite for all history research seminars (HIS 190 series, HIS 194 series, and HIS 196 series).

Elective (1 Course)

One upper-division history course from any of the three regions of concentration.

Language Recommendation

Proficiency in a foreign language is strongly recommended for all history students and is essential for those who plan to pursue graduate studies in history. Many Ph.D. programs in history require applicants to read one or two languages besides English. The University of California Education Abroad Program (EAP) is appropriate for history majors as a means to both enhance language skills and take history courses elsewhere.

Disciplinary Communication (DC) Requirement

Students of every major must satisfy that major’s upper-division disciplinary communication (DC) requirement. History students fulfill the upper-division disciplinary communication (DC) requirement by completing a comprehensive requirement in their region of concentration. Students may complete a research seminar (one quarter: HIS 190 series, HIS 194 series, or HIS 196 series) or a thesis (two quarters: courses HIS 195A and HIS 195B). Please consult the department website for a more detailed description of these courses and refer to the updated DC information in the disciplinary communication chart.

Comprehensive Requirement

History majors may satisfy the UC Santa Cruz comprehensive requirement in one of two ways:

Research Seminar (one quarter: 190 series, 194 series, or 196 series)

In courses designated as History 190, 194, or 196, students participate in a small discussion-based senior research seminar, which provides an opportunity to acquire experience in practical research skills while developing a research project culminating in the writing of a substantial research paper. Students must complete HIS 100 before taking a research seminar. Seminars require submission of written work totaling approximately 25 pages and satisfy the disciplinary communication (DC) general education requirement. Seminars must be taken in the student's chosen area of concentration to qualify as their comprehensive requirement.

Thesis (Two Quarters: HIS 195A, Thesis Research and HIS 195B, Thesis Writing)

Before undertaking an independent thesis, students must complete one research seminar in their region of concentration. In extraordinary circumstances, students may petition the History Department for an exception to this requirement. The successful completion of both HIS 195A and HIS 195B will satisfy the comprehensive and disciplinary communication (DC) requirements for students who are granted an exception to the seminar requirement.

Students who want to write a thesis need to begin planning well in advance. Students must first find a faculty thesis adviser and a second reader to sponsor and advise on the thesis project. Once a thesis adviser and a second reader have been secured and a topic defined, students must submit a thesis proposal to the department for consideration. Proposals are due at least one quarter before the start of the research quarter. Completed theses must be at least 40 pages in length and are due on the last day of the writing quarter.

Please consult the department website for more information about the thesis option.

Research Pathways

The history program encourages its students to carve out their own research pathways. Pathways can be straight or meandering, cover one area exhaustively or take a student across broad stretches. Even though you are required to select one of three geographic regions—the Americas and Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Mediterranean World—as your primary area of focus, we encourage you to also think about your degree progress along thematic lines: religion, social movements, science and environment, and gender, to name a few. Faculty and staff advisers will assist students who choose this option with their course selection.

Planners

The tables below are for informational purposes and do not reflect all university, general education, and credit requirements. See Undergraduate Graduation Requirements for more information.

Each of these planners indicate only one of the many possibly pathways through the major. Individual student plans will vary. For assistance developing your history major plan, meet with the history undergraduate program coordinator.

Sample Four Year Plan

Of the 12 courses listed, one must be set before 600 C.E., and two more must be set in periods prior to the year 1800 C.E.

In addition to the courses above, students will need to take courses that satisfy the Math and Formal Reasoning (MF) and Composition (C) general education requirements, along with any other general education requirements that are not satisfied by the classes they have chosen for the major. Most lower-division history courses satisfy the Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) or Ethnicity and Race (ER) general education requirements. HIS 100 satisfies the Textual Analysis and Interpretation (TA) general education requirement.

Sample Three Year Plan

This plan is appropriate for students admitted to UC Santa Cruz as freshman who are considering the Three Year Accelerated Pathways program.

Of the 12 courses listed, one must be set before 600 C.E., and two more must be set in periods prior to the year 1800 C.E.

Sample Transfer Plan

Of the 12 courses listed, one must be set before 600 C.E., and two more must be set in periods prior to the year 1800 C.E.

This planner assumes that a student has completed most of their general education requirements before coming to UC Santa Cruz. Students from California community colleges are advised to complete the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) in preparation for transfer to UC Santa Cruz.

Intensive History Major

The intensive major track offers history majors a pathway to enrich their study of history, refine their skills in writing and research, and receive a designation on their transcripts that signals their ambition and accomplishment to potential employers and graduate schools. All history majors are eligible to declare the intensive track, including junior transfers. If a student attempts but does not complete the intensive track, they may still graduate with a standard history degree, provided the appropriate major coursework has been completed.

Course Requirements

A minimum of 15 unique courses are required for the intensive history major, of which no more than four may be lower-division. At least 11 of the 15 courses must be upper-division, including the comprehensive requirement. The intensive major also requires one year or equivalent of language study (see below).

Distribution requirements. Among the 15 courses required for the intensive major, at least three must meet chronological distribution requirements. One must be set before 600 C.E., and two must be set in periods prior to the year 1800 C.E.

Students are encouraged to reference the History Course List to determine how history courses may apply to the different geographic regions of concentration and the chronological distribution requirements. Students can also consult the department’s website for a sortable version of this information.

Region of Concentration (5 Courses, Plus 1 Comprehensive Requirement)

Each history major identifies one of three geographic regions of concentration as their primary area of focus:

• The Americas and Africa
• Asia and the Pacific
• Europe and the Mediterranean World

Lower-Division Survey (1 Course)

At least one lower-division survey course within their chosen region of concentration. The survey course is one of the four allowed lower-divisions.

Americas Africa

Asia Pacific

Europe Mediterranean

Additional Concentration Courses (4 Courses)

Four additional courses in the region of concentration, at least three of which must be upper-division.

Comprehensive Requirement

One comprehensive requirement: All students must complete either a research seminar (HIS 190 series,  HIS 194 series, or HIS 196 series), or a senior thesis (HIS 195A and HIS 195B) in their area of concentration. Detailed information on the comprehensive requirement can be found below.

Breadth Requirements (4 Courses)

Two courses from each of the remaining two regions of concentration.

At least one of the four breadth courses must be upper-division. If two lower-division courses (including the survey) are applied to the region of concentration, then at least two of the four breadth courses must be upper-division.

Historical Skills and Methods (1 Course)

Students who enter UC Santa Cruz as frosh are expected to complete HIS 100 by the end of their second year. Transfer students are expected to complete HIS 100 no later than their second term at UC Santa Cruz. HIS 100 is a prerequisite for all history research seminars (HIS 190 series, HIS 194 series, and HIS 196 series).

Electives (4 Courses)

Four upper-division history courses from any of the three regions of concentration.

Advanced Research Requirement

Three of the 15 courses required for the intensive major must require advanced historical research. Advanced research seminars (HIS 190 series, HIS 194 series, or HIS 196 series), the senior thesis (HIS 195A and HIS 195B) and/or independent studies (HIS 199) conducted under faculty supervisor may satisfy this requirement. At least one seminar or senior thesis must be completed in the student’s chosen region of concentration to ensure the UC Santa Cruz comprehensive and disciplinary communication (DC) requirements are satisfied.

Language Requirement

Intensive majors must pursue training in a second language by completing three quarters of college-level language study (or equivalent) in a single, non-English modern or ancient language (e.g. SPAN 1–SPAN 3, ITAL 2–ITAL 4, etc.). Students with prior training in a second language are advised to complete a language placement exam to determine the appropriate level of language course instruction. With prior approval by the undergraduate director, the language training requirement may be satisfied by at least one quarter study abroad with foreign language instruction. Students do not necessarily need to pursue a language related to their region of concentration, but are encouraged to do so when possible. After consultation with the undergraduate director, students can petition for alternative ways by which to satisfy this requirement.

Disciplinary Communication (DC) Requirement

Students of every major must satisfy that major’s upper-division disciplinary communication (DC) requirement. History students fulfill the upper-division disciplinary communication (DC) requirement by completing a comprehensive requirement in their region of concentration. Students may complete a research seminar (one quarter: HIS 190 series, HIS 194 series, or HIS 196 series) or a thesis (two quarters: courses HIS 195A and HIS 195B). Please consult the department website for a more detailed description of these courses and refer to the updated DC information in the disciplinary communication chart.

Comprehensive Requirement

History majors may satisfy the UC Santa Cruz comprehensive requirement in one of two ways:

Research Seminar (one quarter: 190 series, 194 series, or 196 series)

In courses designated as History 190, 194, or 196, students participate in a small discussion-based Senior Research Seminar, which provides an opportunity to acquire experience in practical research skills while developing a research project culminating in the writing of a substantial research paper. Students must complete HIS 100 before taking a research seminar. Seminars require submission of written work totaling approximately 25 pages and satisfy the disciplinary communication (DC) general education requirement. Seminars must be taken in the student's chosen area of concentration to qualify as their comprehensive requirement.

Thesis (Two Quarters: HIS 195A, Thesis Research and HIS 195B, Thesis Writing)

Before undertaking an independent thesis students must complete one research seminar in their region of concentration. In extraordinary circumstances, students may petition the History Department for an exception to this requirement. The successful completion of both HIS 195A and HIS 195B will satisfy the comprehensive and disciplinary communication (DC) requirements for students who are granted an exception to the seminar requirement.

Students who want to write a thesis need to begin planning well in advance. Students must find a faculty thesis adviser and a second reader to sponsor and advise on the thesis project. Once a thesis adviser and a second reader have been secured and a topic defined, students must submit a thesis proposal to the department for consideration. Proposals are due at least one quarter before the start of the research quarter. Completed theses must be at least 40 pages in length and are due on the last day of the writing quarter.

Please consult the department website for more information about the thesis option.

Research Pathways

The history program encourages its students to carve out their own research pathways. Pathways can be straight or meandering, cover one area exhaustively or take a student across broad stretches. Even though you are required to select one of three geographic regions—the Americas and Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Mediterranean World—as your primary area of focus, we encourage you to also think about your degree progress along thematic lines: religion, social movements, science and environment, and gender, to name a few. Faculty and staff advisers will assist students who choose this option with their course selection.

Planners

The tables below are for informational purposes and do not reflect all university, general education, and credit requirements. See Undergraduate Graduation Requirements for more information.

Each of these planners indicates only one of the many possibly pathways through the major. Individual student plans will vary. For assistance developing your history major plan, meet with the undergraduate program coordinator.

Sample Intensive Major Four-Year Plan

Of the 12 courses listed, one must be set before 600 C.E., and two more must be set in periods prior to the year 1800 C.E.

In addition to the courses above, students will need to take courses that satisfy the Math and Formal Reasoning (MF) and Composition (C) general education requirements, along with any other general education requirements that are not satisfied by the classes they have chosen for the major. Most lower-division history courses satisfy the Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) or Ethnicity and Race (ER) general education requirements. HIS 100 satisfies the Textual Analysis and Interpretation (TA) general education requirement.

Sample Intensive Major Transfer Plan

Of the 12 courses listed, one must be set before 600 C.E., and two more must be set in periods prior to the year 1800 C.E.

This planner assumes that a student has completed most of their general education requirements before coming to UC Santa Cruz. Students from California community colleges are advised to complete the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) in preparation for transfer to UC Santa Cruz.