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History Major

Bethany Lutheran College | www.blc.edu

History is basically humanistic–it tells the story of humankind. As a student of history you will have the opportunity to study everything from ancient Egypt to the rise and fall of Napoleon to the Civil Rights Movement. In addition to sharpening your critical thinking, research, and communication skills, you will also become an expert in examining change–why change occurs at certain times and places while other things stay the same and how people react to change. History gives us, caught as we are in the present moment, a clearer and wider perspective.

Graduates of the History major possess a well-rounded perspective in which to understand past events in relation to present lives and are well suited for careers in research, government, business, education, communication, and in museums.

While there are many occupations related to a history degree, the study of history by itself has rarely served primarily as an occupational preparation. However, like any liberal arts education, a History major offers students the opportunity to develop important job skills identified by employers as important. Students planning to earn licensure to teach in public schools should refer to the Broad Field Social Studies major.

Opportunities for the History graduate include:

  • Teacher
  • Museum Director/Curator at the local, county, state, and national levels
  • Archivist
  • Living History Interpreter
  • Paralegal
  • Editor

Areas suited to History majors include:

  • Graduate Studies in law, clergy, and higher education
  • Business/Finance
  • Travel Industry
  • Government/Politics
  • Military/Diplomatic Service
  • Law Enforcement
  • Non-profit Organizations

Entry into the Major

Students should declare history as their intended major as early in their college career as possible by filing a Declaration of Major and Change of Advisor form with the registrar. The student's advisor should be from the history department. Formal acceptance into the major, however, occurs at the end of the sophomore year. At least of the required lower division history courses should be completed with no less than a C+ in each course. Students must also have a GPA of 2.0 or above. An application for acceptance into the major must then be filed with the chair of the history department at the beginning of the student's second semester of the sophomore year. Students will be notified of formal acceptance into the major by the chair of the history department, who will also notify the registrar.

Core Requirements

Required lower division courses:

Major Electives

World History (choose three of the following, at least two of which must be HIST courses):

Eighteen additional credits in upper division history courses with at least three credits from American History, three credits from European History and three credits from a course dealing mostly with matters after 1815 (which may simultaneously fulfill either the American or European requirement).

American History (choose at least one of the following):

European History (choose at least one of the following):

Post-1815 courses (choose at least one of the following which may simultaneously fulfill either the American or European requirement):

Additional upper division electives:

Recommended religious studies electives to complement the history major:

Capstone

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