The bachelor of arts in history looks at the range of human experience: how people have lived in the past, how they live and coexist in the present, and the links between the two. Students learn to interpret the past by examining a variety of original sources: newspapers, letters and diaries, literature, government records, images, films, oral interviews, and more. Majors hone their skills in collecting, interpreting, and communicating information. Majors move on to careers in government, law, and management, as well as teaching and graduate study.
The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on program requirements and courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes. Requirements may be different for earlier catalog years. See the University Catalog archives.
History majors who have completed 75 credits (a minimum of 15 in history, 6 of which must have been taken at Mason) with an overall GPA of 3.50 and a GPA of 3.50 in history courses are eligible to apply to graduate with honors in history. Applicants must have completed or be enrolled in HIST 300 Introduction to Historical Method (Mason Core). The statement of application should include references from at least one Mason history faculty member. If a major part of the student’s work includes transfer credit, transcripts may be required. Not all applicants who meet the minimum requirements are guaranteed acceptance into honors in the major.
Students pursuing honors in the major will take a two-semester course sequence: HIST 490 Honors Directed Readings and HIST 491 Honors Directed Research. HIST 490 Honors Directed Readings will focus on the design of a major research project and HIST 491 Honors Directed Research will focus on completing that project. To graduate with honors in the major, students must earn a minimum GPA of 3.50 in the honors courses and a minimum GPA of 3.50 in history courses applied to the degree. A grade of B or higher in HIST 490 Honors Directed Readings is required to proceed to HIST 491 Honors Directed Research. The two honors courses (6 credits) may be applied to the requirement of 36 credits in history and successful completion of HIST 491 Honors Directed Research satisfies the seminar course requirement in place of HIST 499 RS: Senior Seminar in History (Mason Core).
Total credits: minimum 120
Students should be aware of the specific policies associated with this program, located on the Admissions & Policies tab.
Before registering, students should see an advisor to help plan their history program to meet Mason Core and college-level requirements. The advisor also can help students choose electives or a minor.
In this concentration, students explore a variety of issues related to preserving historical materials and presenting historical information to a broader public. Students interested in graduate education in public history or in working in public history institutions such as museums, libraries, archives, and historic sites should consider this concentration.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| HIST 300 | Introduction to Historical Method (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 499 | RS: Senior Seminar in History (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 396 | Introduction to Public History | 3 |
| HIST 390 | The Digital Past (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 399 | Internship 1 | 3 |
| Select one elective from the following: | 3 | |
|
HIST 397
|
Topics in Public History | |
| Uncovering the U.S. Past Through Film | ||
| The Museum (Mason Core) | ||
| Introduction to Documentary (Mason Core) | ||
|
other coursework, not including internships, approved by the program director
|
||
| Total Credits | 18 | |
| 1 |
Students work individually with the department's internship coordinator to find appropriate internships. HIST 399 may be repeated up to a maximum of 9 credits, and students in the public history concentration are encouraged to take more than 3 credits of internships, with additional credits beyond the first 3 counting as general electives. |
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select two courses from the following: | 6 | |
| Formation of the American Republic (Mason Core) | ||
| Development of Modern America (Mason Core) | ||
|
HIST 331
|
Postwar United States, 1945-1973 | |
|
HIST 332
|
United States since 1973 | |
|
HIST 333
|
The Automobile in the United States | |
| The African American Experience in the United States: African Background to 1885 | ||
| The African American Experience in the United States: Reconstruction to the Present | ||
|
HIST 337
|
Race and Gender in American Sports | |
| History of College Athletics | ||
| History of Baseball | ||
| Basketball and the American Experience | ||
| History of Sport in the United States | ||
| History of the Olympics and the United States | ||
| U.S. Women's History | ||
| History of the Old South | ||
| The South since 1865 | ||
| War and American Society | ||
| The Civil War and Reconstruction | ||
| The Vietnam War | ||
| History of Aviation | ||
| Uncovering the U.S. Past Through Film | ||
| Topics in U.S. History | ||
| History of Virginia to 1800 | ||
| History of Virginia Since 1800 | ||
| Colonial America | ||
| Revolutionary Era in American History, 1763-1812 | ||
| Jacksonian America, 1812-1854 | ||
| Total Credits | 6 | |
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select two courses from the following: | 6 | |
| History of Western Civilization (Mason Core) 1 | ||
| Foundations of Western Civilization | ||
| Development of Western Civilization | ||
| Classical Greece | ||
| Classical Rome | ||
| Western Europe in the Middle Ages | ||
| The Renaissance | ||
| The Reformation | ||
| Old Regime and Revolutionary Europe | ||
| Nineteenth-Century Europe | ||
| Europe in Crisis: 1914-1948 | ||
| Nationalism in Eastern Europe | ||
| History of Germany | ||
| Modern Britain | ||
| Stalinism | ||
| The Soviet Union and Russia Since World War II | ||
| Rise of Russia (Mason Core) | ||
| Modern Russia and the Soviet Union (Mason Core) | ||
| Topics in European History | ||
| The Russian Revolution | ||
| European Society and Culture: 19th and 20th Centuries | ||
|
HIST 480
|
Alexander the Great | |
| Total Credits | 6 | |
| 1 |
Used to fulfill the Mason Core requirement in Western civilization may also fulfill 3 credits of this requirement |
Approved courses in history used to fulfill the Mason Core requirement in global understanding and the college-level requirement in non-Western culture may be used to fulfill this requirement.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select two courses from the following: | 6 | |
| Introduction to World History (Mason Core) | ||
| Freshman/Sophomore Seminar in Global History | ||
| Survey of East Asian History (Mason Core) | ||
| Survey of East Asian History (Mason Core) | ||
| Survey of African History (Mason Core) | ||
| Survey of African History (Mason Core) | ||
| Survey of Latin American History (Mason Core) | ||
| Survey of Latin American History (Mason Core) | ||
| Survey of Middle Eastern Civilization (Mason Core) | ||
| Survey of Middle Eastern Civilization (Mason Core) | ||
| History of Traditional China | ||
| Modern China | ||
| Modern Japan (Mason Core) | ||
| Postwar Japan (Mason Core) | ||
| Post-1949 China (Mason Core) | ||
| Modern Iraq | ||
| History of South Africa (Mason Core) | ||
| Revolution and Radical Politics in Latin America (Mason Core) | ||
| Conquest and Colonization in Latin America (Mason Core) | ||
| Comparative Slavery | ||
| History, Fiction, and Film in Latin America | ||
| Global History of Christianity (Mason Core) | ||
| Topics in Global History (Mason Core) | ||
|
HIST 394
|
Globalization and History | |
| Modern Iran (Mason Core) | ||
| Arab-Israeli Conflict | ||
| Women in Islamic Society (Mason Core) | ||
| The Middle East in the 20th Century | ||
| Total Credits | 6 | |
The university requires all students to complete at least one course designated as "writing intensive" in their majors at the 300 level or above. Students majoring in history may fulfill this requirement by successfully completing:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| HIST 300 | Introduction to Historical Method (Mason Core) | 3 |
| or HIST 499 | RS: Senior Seminar in History (Mason Core) | |
| Total Credits | 3 | |
Students seeking a bachelor’s degree must apply at least 45 credits of upper-level courses (numbered 300 or above) toward graduation requirements.
Any remaining credits may be completed with elective courses to bring the degree total to 120.
In addition to the Mason Core program, students pursuing a BA degree must complete the coursework below. Except where expressly prohibited, a course used to fulfill a college level requirement may also be used simultaneously to satisfy other requirements (Mason Core requirements or requirements for the major).
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select 3 credits from the following: | 3 | |
|
PHIL 1
|
||
| 1 |
Note that the following courses may not be used to fulfill this requirement:
|
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select 3 credits of social and behavioral sciences from the following (additional to the Mason Core social and behavioral sciences requirement) 1 | 3 | |
| ANTH | ||
| CRIM | ||
| ECON | ||
| GOVT | ||
| HIST 2 | ||
| LING | ||
| PSYC | ||
| SOCI | ||
| Or choose from the following GGS courses: | ||
|
GGS 101
|
Major World Regions (Mason Core) | |
|
GGS 103
|
Human Geography (Mason Core) | |
|
GGS 110
|
Introduction to Geoinformation Technologies | |
|
GGS 301
|
Political Geography | |
|
GGS 303
|
Geography of Resource Conservation (Mason Core) | |
|
GGS 304
|
Population Geography (Mason Core) | |
|
GGS 305
|
Economic Geography | |
|
GGS 306
|
Urban Geography | |
|
GGS 315
|
Geography of the United States | |
|
GGS 316
|
Geography of Latin America | |
|
GGS 320
|
Geography of Europe | |
|
GGS 325
|
Geography of North Africa and the Middle East | |
|
GGS 330
|
Geography of the Soviet Succession States | |
|
GGS 357
|
Urban Planning | |
|
GGS 380
|
Geography of Virginia | |
| 1 |
The two courses used to fulfill the combined college and Mason Core requirements must be from different disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. |
| 2 |
HIST 100 History of Western Civilization (Mason Core) and HIST 125 Introduction to World History (Mason Core) may not be used to fulfill this requirement. |
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Intermediate-level proficiency in one foreign language, fulfilled by: 1 | ||
|
Or achieving a satisfactory score on an approved proficiency test
|
||
|
Or completing the following ASL three course sequence:
|
||
|
EDSE 115
|
American Sign Language (ASL) I | |
|
EDSE 116
|
American Sign Language (ASL) II | |
|
EDSE 219
|
American Sign Language (ASL) III | |
| 1 |
Students who are already proficient in a second language may be eligible for a waiver of this requirement. Additional information on waivers can be found at the Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs. |
Select 3 credits of an approved course in the study of a non-Western culture (additional to the Mason Core requirement in global understanding)
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select 3 credits (additional to Mason Core Global Understanding requirement) 1 | ||
| ANTH 114 | Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ANTH 300 | Civilizations | 3 |
| ANTH 301 | Native North Americans | 3 |
| ANTH 302 | Peoples and Cultures of Latin America (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ANTH 303 | Peoples and Cultures of the Andes | 3 |
| ANTH 306 | Peoples and Cultures of Island Asia (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ANTH 307 | Ancient Mesoamerica (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ANTH 308 | Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ANTH 309 | Peoples and Cultures of India (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ANTH 313 | Myth, Magic, and Mind (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ANTH 314 | Zombies | 3 |
| ANTH 316 | Peoples and Cultures of the Caribbean (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ANTH 323 | Digging and Dealing in the Dead: Ethics in Archaeology | 3 |
| ANTH 330 | Peoples and Cultures of Selected Regions: Non-Western | 3 |
| ANTH 332 | Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Globalization (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ANTH 381 | Medical Anthropology | 3 |
| ANTH 383 | Cities of the Global South | 3 |
| ANTH 396 | Issues in Anthropology: Social Sciences (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ARAB 360 | Topics in Arabic Cultural Production | 3 |
| ARAB 420 | Survey of Arabic Literature | 3 |
| ARAB 440 | Topics in Arabic Religious Thought and Texts (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ARTH 203 | Survey of Asian Art (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ARTH 204 | Survey of Latin American Art (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ARTH 206 | Survey of African Art (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ARTH 318 | Art and Archaeology of Ancient Egypt | 3 |
| ARTH 319 | Art and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ARTH 320 | Art of the Islamic World (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ARTH 382 | Arts of India (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ARTH 383 | Arts of Southeast Asia (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ARTH 384 | Arts of China (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ARTH 385 | Arts of Japan (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ARTH 386 | The Silk Road (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ARTH 482 | RS: Advanced Studies in Asian Art | 3 |
| CHIN 318 | Introduction to Classical Chinese (Mason Core) | 3 |
| CHIN 320 | Contemporary Chinese Film | 3 |
| CHIN 325 | Major Chinese Writers (Mason Core) | 3 |
| DANC 118 | World Dance (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ECON 361 | Economic Development of Latin America (Mason Core) | 3 |
| ECON 362 | African Economic Development (Mason Core) | 3 |
| FREN 451 | Topics in Sub-Saharan Francophone Literature and Culture | 3 |
| FREN 454 | Topics in Caribbean Francophone Literature and Culture | 3 |
| GGS 101 | Major World Regions (Mason Core) | 3 |
| GGS 316 | Geography of Latin America | 3 |
| GGS 325 | Geography of North Africa and the Middle East | 3 |
| GGS 330 | Geography of the Soviet Succession States | 3 |
| GGS 399 | Select Topics in GGS | 3 |
| GOVT 328 | Global Political Theory | 3 |
| GOVT 332 | Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa | 3 |
| GOVT 333 | Government and Politics of Asia | 3 |
| GOVT 338 | Government and Politics of Russia | 3 |
| GOVT 340 | Central Asian Politics | 3 |
| GOVT 341 | Chinese Foreign Policy | 3 |
| GOVT 345 | Islam and Politics | 3 |
| GOVT 433 | Political Economy of East Asia | 3 |
| HIST 251 | Survey of East Asian History (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 252 | Survey of East Asian History (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 261 | Survey of African History (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 262 | Survey of African History (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 271 | Survey of Latin American History (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 272 | Survey of Latin American History (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 281 | Survey of Middle Eastern Civilization (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 282 | Survey of Middle Eastern Civilization (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 326 | Stalinism | 3 |
| HIST 327 | The Soviet Union and Russia Since World War II | 3 |
| HIST 328 | Rise of Russia (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 329 | Modern Russia and the Soviet Union (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 353 | History of Traditional China | 3 |
| HIST 354 | Modern China | 3 |
| HIST 356 | Modern Japan (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 357 | Postwar Japan (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 358 | Post-1949 China (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 360 | History of South Africa (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 364 | Revolution and Radical Politics in Latin America (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 365 | Conquest and Colonization in Latin America (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 366 | Comparative Slavery | 3 |
| HIST 367 | History, Fiction, and Film in Latin America | 3 |
| HIST 387 | Topics in Global History (Mason Core) | 3-6 |
| HIST 426 | The Russian Revolution | 3 |
| HIST 460 | Modern Iran (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 461 | Arab-Israeli Conflict | 3 |
| HIST 462 | Women in Islamic Society (Mason Core) | 3 |
| HIST 465 | The Middle East in the 20th Century | 3 |
| JAPA 310 | Japanese Culture in a Global World (Mason Core) | 3 |
| JAPA 340 | Topics in Japanese Literature (Mason Core) | 3 |
| KORE 320 | Korean Popular Culture in a Global World | 3 |
| MUSI 103 | Musics of the World (Mason Core) | 3 |
| RELI 211 | Religions of the West (Mason Core) | 3 |
| RELI 212 | Religions of Asia (Mason Core) | 3 |
| RELI 240 | Death and the Afterlife in World Religions | 3 |
| RELI 272 | Islam | 3 |
| RELI 313 | Hinduism (Mason Core) | 3 |
| RELI 314 | Chinese Philosophies and Religious Traditions | 3 |
| RELI 315 | Buddhism (Mason Core) | 3 |
| RELI 337 | Mysticism: East and West | 3 |
| RELI 365 | Muhammad: Life and Legacy | 3 |
| RELI 374 | Islamic Thought (Mason Core) | 3 |
| RELI 375 | Qur'an and Hadith | 3 |
| RELI 379 | Islamic Law, Society, and Ethics | 3 |
| RELI 387 | Islam, Democracy, and Human Rights | 3 |
| RELI 490 | Comparative Study of Religions (Mason Core) | 3 |
| RUSS 353 | Russian Civilization (Mason Core) | 3 |
| RUSS 354 | Contemporary Post-Soviet Life (Mason Core) | 3 |
| 1 |
A course used to fulfill the Mason Core global understanding requirement may not be simultaneously used to satisfy this college-level requirement. A course used to fulfill this requirement may be used simultaneously to fulfill any other requirements (Mason Core requirements, college-level requirements, or requirements for the major). Additional information on waivers can be found at the Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs. |
Some Mason Core requirements may already be fulfilled by the major requirements listed above. Students are strongly encouraged to consult their advisors to ensure they fulfill all remaining Mason Core requirements.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation Requirements | ||
| Written Communication (ENGH 101) | 3 | |
| Oral Communication | 3 | |
| Quantitative Reasoning | 3 | |
| Information Technology and Computing | 3 | |
| Exploration Requirements | ||
| Arts | 3 | |
| Global Understanding | 3 | |
| Literature | 3 | |
| Natural Science | 7 | |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences | 3 | |
| Western Civilization/World History | 3 | |
| Integration Requirements | ||
| Written Communications (ENGH 302) | 3 | |
| Writing-Intensive 1 | 3 | |
| Synthesis/Capstone 2 | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 40 | |
| 1 |
Most programs include the writing-intensive course designated for the major as part of the major requirements; this course is therefore not counted towards the total required for Mason Core. |
| 2 |
Minimum 3 credits required. |