Requirements for Majors and Minors in History

The History Department at Lima offers a four-year program in History leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree.  If you wish to major or minor in History, please pay close attention to the requirements listed below.

For more information, please see the OSU History Dept. Undergrad Handbook and other links to the right.

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The Undergraduate Major in History:

The Major Program in History consists of at least 50 credit hours at the 200-level and above. Two courses, 398 and 598, will be required, and at least 40 more hours will be chosen within Geographical and Chronological categories outlined below.

Once a student has earned a grade of C in History 398, the Gateway Course, s/he may then declare a Major in History. The student should go to the Undergraduate History Office (UHO) where the staff will interview the student and assign a regular member of the Faculty to be the student's Major Adviser.

Students should design their Major Program in History in consultation with their Major Adviser, who must sign the Major Program form, and a counselor in the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences. They should choose their History courses to complement the choices they have made in meeting the requirements of the General Education Curriculum (GEC).

Required Courses for Majors:

Two courses will be required of all undergraduate History Majors:

1. History 398 (Introduction to Historical Thought)

398 is the Gateway Course into the Major Program in History. Students must pass History 398 with a minimum grade of a C before being admitted to the Department as a History Major. They should take 398 as soon as possible after completing the GEC history sequence.

History 398 introduces prospective majors to the methods historians use to explore the past.  Because History 398 is intended to emphasize active student participation in class discussion, enrollment in each section is limited to twelve.  Readings help students to develop an understandable and persuasive account of past events.  In addition to acquiring experience in critical methods for the analysis of documents, students improve their expository writing skills through extensive practice.  Written assignments may include digesting and summarizing the views of a particular historian on an important subject of historical controversy, preparing critical book reviews, developing bibliographies, and constructing brief histories by analyzing primary sources.

2. History 598 (Senior Seminar)

History 598 caps the undergraduate study of history by investigating the different ways in which historians have analyzed a particular event or phenomenon.  In a small-group setting emphasizing student discussion under the guidance of a faculty member, seniors compare other historians' analyses of an historical problem with their own. Enrollment is limited to twelve, and the course should be taken in the senior year.

History 598 has two versions (plus a third honors version).  In History 598.01, students compare and try to reconcile the differing interpretations of a particular issue by reviewing what historians have said about it.  Examples of issues investigated in recent years include "Revolution or Counterrevolution: The Struggle over the U.S. Constitution" and "Disaster in May: Responsibilities for the Fall of France in 1940."

History 598.02, recommended for students who plan to go on to graduate work in history, requires each student in the seminar to do research in primary sources to investigate one aspect of the historical problem on which the class is focused.  Students learn how to compile a research bibliography, to confront methodological problems, and to arrive at credible conclusions.  A recent 598.02 drew on the archives of the Ohio Historical Society to investigate "Major Historical Themes in Columbus, Ohio."

Geographical and Chronological Requirements for Majors:

The Department requires that History Majors study the human experience in two or more cultural traditions and in two chronological periods (one before 1750 and one after 1750). Therefore, students must choose their courses within the geographical and chronological parameters noted below. (See the list of Course Offerings for Geographical and Chronological designations.)

Geographical Groups:

The geographical requirement is met by choosing courses representing the two geographical groups (A and B).

These groups are further broken down into areas (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6), and courses must be taken to represent at least three different areas.

Group A: (1) Africa (2) East Asia (3) Latin America (4) Near East, Middle East and South Asia

Group B: (5) Europe (6) North America

Specifically:
 

1. Students may organize their Major around a thematic field, such as Military, Women's or Business History, within the broad categories of Group A and Group B. For thematic courses crossing geographical boundaries, the adviser and the student will decide under which geographical group the course will be counted.

2. The student will choose a minimum of 20 hours from one of the Geographical Areas listed in either Group A or Group B. This will be the student's Primary Geographical Area.

3. The student will also choose a minimum of 15 hours from two or more of the Geographical Fields other than the Primary Geographical Area. At least 10 hours of these 15 hours will be chosen from Geographical Areas in the Group not represented by the Primary Geographical Area.

Example:

If a student wished to study Europe as the Primary Geographical Area, he or she would have to take at least 20 credit hours of European History courses.  Additionally, at least 15 credit hours must be taken from two or more areas.  At least 10 credit hours (from either one or two areas) must represent group A.  The remaining 5 hours could represent area (6), but could not represent area (5).

Chronological Focus:

The student will choose a minimum of 10 hours from courses covering chronological periods falling predominantly before 1750 and a minimum of 10 hours from courses covering chronological periods falling predominantly after 1750.

Note:

History 398 does not apply to either the geographical or chronological requirement.  History 598 will apply to both the geographical and chronological requirements (which area and time period will depend upon the subject of the particular 598 the student takes).

Although a course can meet more than one requirement, in no case does a course count for more than 5 credit hours.  Example: History 533.05, the History of Mexico, would meet the geographical requirement in Group A, Area 3, and would meet either the pre- or post-1750 chronological requirement, but would only count as 5 credit hours toward the 50 credit hour minimum for the major.

For each history course, the Department of History's OSU History Undergrad Handbook will indicate which geographical group the course is in and which chronological requirement it meets.

Additional Options and Limitations:

No more than 10 hours can be at the 200 level, none at the 100level.

No more than 5 hours of 593 may be counted towards the Major Program.

With the Major Adviser's approval, up to 10 hours of courses from other Departments may be designated as part of the Major Program in History.

Courses counted as part of the student's College GEC requirements may not be used as part of the major program, with the exception of History 598, which meet requirement I. C. of the GEC.

Although a grade of C- will be permitted in courses comprising the major program, the minimum overall cumulative grade point average of the major must be 2.0.  (A minimum grade of C is required for History 398 only).

Courses taken Pass/Non-Pass may not be applied to the major.

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The Undergraduate Minor in History:

(Effective September 24, 2008.  If you declared your intention to pursue a history minor before this date, please see your faculty advisor for information on required courses)

 The Minor in History is designed to provide a student with substantial understanding of the human past.  The Minor consists of 25 credit hours taken at the 200-level and above.

 Of the 25 credit hours required for the History Minor:

1. History courses taken at the 100-level do NOT count toward the minor requirements.
2. 5 credit hours may be counted from GEC Historical Studies courses taken at the 200-level and above.
3. A grade of C- is permitted in courses comprising the Minor, except for History 398 which students must pass with a minimum grade of a C to complete a Minor in History.  Students should take History 398 as soon as possible after completing the GEC Historical Studies requirement.
4. Students are encouraged to take courses that focus on a particular theme, time period, or geographic region.  Students are also encouraged to consult with a minor adviser when preparing their minor.
5. On the Lima campus, all proposals for an Undergraduate Minor Program in History must be submitted in writing and approved by a history faculty member.

 General Information on Minors in the Arts & Sciences:

 Minor programs are not required for graduation.

 A student may not take a major and a minor in the same subject. 

 Courses used for the minor may not be used for a major unless prior approval has been given by the Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee. Overlap between the GEC and a minor is permissible unless specifically disallowed for an individual minor. 

 Students need not file their minor programs until they file their graduation applications; that is, two quarters before they plan to graduate.

 Once a minor is on file with Arts and Sciences, any changes must be discussed with the faculty advisor and/or the ASC counselor.

 No more than ten hours of transfer credit may be applied to the minor. 

 Although a grade of C- will be permitted in courses comprising the minor (except for History 398, which requires a grade of C), the minimum overall cumulative grade point average of the minor shall be 2.0.

 Courses taken Pass/Non-pass may not be applied to the minor.