How to Successfully Complete Your History BA

• Take ENGH 101 and a Mason Core literature course as soon as possible. These are both important pre-requisites.
• You should plan on taking HIST 300: Introduction to Historical Methods as soon as you reach 30 credits (or shortly after you transfer into Mason). You must receive a C or better before you take the history capstone course, HIST 499. HIST 300 is writing intensive, so plan your schedule accordingly.
• You also need a C or better in ENGH 302 (humanities or social sciences section) BEFORE you can enroll in HIST 499.
• HIST 499: Senior Seminar in History should be taken in one of your last semesters at Mason (after you have received 90+ credits). Successful completion of ENGH 302 and HIST 300 are required prior to taking HIST 499. You CANNOT take these requirements concurrently.

• You will take courses at the 100, 200, 300, and 400 level at Mason. Those at the 100 and 200 level are lower-division and easier in terms of difficulty.
• You need to take a portion of your overall credits, as well as credits in the major, at the upper-level, meaning courses that are 300 or 400 level (not to be confused with HIST 300, which is a particular course – see note above). These upper-level courses are generally more challenging.
• Transfer students in particular need to check that they are primarily taking upper-level courses after they enroll at Mason.
• Electives are simply any courses that do not fulfill a college, university, or major requirement. You will also take history electives – these are history courses on any topic that interests you. Just make sure you take enough upper-level courses!

You should check your academic transcript carefully when you first arrive at Mason to ensure your transfer or AP/IB credits have transferred in correctly. If not, you have a calendar year after you first enroll at Mason to appeal any errors. If you’re a transfer student, make sure your most recent transcript was sent to Mason from your previous institution!

• To view your online transfer credit evaluation: Log on to Patriot Web, then Student Records>>View Your Unofficial Transcript>>Display Transfer Credit Evaluation
• To have your transfer credits re-evaluated, use the re-evaluation form posted on the Admissions website. Go to www.gmu.edu/transfer/credits and scroll down to Transfer Credit Re-Evaluation Appeal Form. 
• If you’re interested in taking courses outside of Mason, you need to take certain steps to ensure these courses will be credited toward your Mason degree. For more information, look over the College’s Course Elsewhere policies carefully.

Look carefully at your degree evaluation for information about what courses you may need. Then you can look at the lists of courses approved for university and college requirements. Keep in mind that many history courses count toward these requirements, enabling you to take courses that will also count toward your major requirements. Also, one of your History electives can be met by an upper-division Art History class.

• Go here for general information on minors. You can minor in almost anything, but given your major, you might be interested in other CHSS minors. Some minors are interdisciplinary, so you might be able to use some of your History courses for them. Find a list of related interdisciplinary minors here.
• For information about the concentrations in history, look over the information on our concentrations page. 

Yes. You need to take one course at the 202-level or above. Most students achieve this by taking three semesters of a foreign language (110 for 6 credits, 201 and 202 for 3 credits each). The requirements for Latin and American Sign Language are slightly different (see: https://chss.gmu.edu/general-education/foreign-language-requirement). See our general tips for completing the foreign language requirement. If you have already taken a foreign language, or speak one outside of school, you can test out of some (or all) of the language requirement. See also information about requesting an exemption. 

Find more information about these opportunities on our website under “Advising for History Majors.” 

Your degree evaluation in Patriot Web! And then your advisor! The best way to track your degree is to use Patriot Web's "Degree Evaluation," which gives you a real-time view of how the University understands your progress. If you're a transfer student, you should also use the Patriot Web academic transcript and transfer credit evaluation to make sure that all of your courses transferred correctly.

It's never too early to start thinking about life after college. Visit our Careers and Internship pages. Make contact with Career Services early and often. Talk to your professors and advisors. Consider enrolling in HIST 385: Humanities College to Career, a 1 credit course that helps students be successful post-graduation.