History Program

The history major allows students to explore the richness and diversity of human experience in the past while building skills of analysis, interpretation, research, and communication. All history majors gain knowledge of significant historical transformations that have shaped the world. History majors learn to think critically, to conduct historical research, and to present the results of their research in clear and coherent writing.

First- and Second-Year Preparation

Prospective majors are encouraged to enroll in 1 or 2 introductory courses at the 100 or 300 level in the first 2 years. Many introductory history courses fulfill the College’s HT or NW principal course requirements, and prospective majors might choose one of them to explore their interests in history. Students who come to KU with AP or transfer credit should be aware that only 6 hours of history course work numbered 100-299 may be counted toward the major. Students interested in history as a major are encouraged to meet with a department adviser early in their careers at KU to discuss their academic goals and interests. Contact the undergraduate secretary to schedule an advising appointment.

Requirements for the B.A. or B.G.S. Major

History Major Core Knowledge and Skills

Majors must complete a course in the following area:

• The Historian’s Craft. Satisfied by:
  HIST 301 The Historian's Craft (3) or
  HIST 302 The Historian's Craft, Honors (3)

History Required Electives
Majors must complete 5 courses (15 hours) in either category below; 3 courses (9 hours) are required from the other category below:

• History Category I: Western Orientation. Satisfied by courses in Ancient, Medieval, Modern Western Europe, History of Science, Russia/Eastern Europe, United States:

HIST 103 Environment and History (3) 
HIST 105 Introduction to Ancient Near Eastern and Greek History (3)
HIST 106 Introduction to Roman History (3)
HIST 107 Introduction to the Ancient World (3)
HIST 108 Medieval History (3)
HIST 112 Introduction to British History (3) 
HIST 114 Renaissance to Revolution: Europe 1500-1789 (3) 
HIST 115 French Revolution to the Present: Europe 1789-Present (3)
HIST 116 French Revolution to the Present: Europe 1789 to Present, Honors (3)
HIST 117 Russia, an Introductory History (3)
HIST 128 History of the United States Through the Civil War (3)
HIST 129 History of the United States After the Civil War (3)
HIST 130 History of the United States Through the Civil War, Honors (3)
HIST 131 History of the United States After the Civil War, Honors (3) 
HIST 136 Early Science to 1700 (3) 
HIST 140 Global Environment I: The Discovery of Environmental Change (3)
HIST 141 Global Environment I: Interdisciplinary Laboratory (2)
HIST 142 Global Environment II: The Ecology of Human Civilization (3) 
HIST 143 Global Environment II: Interdisciplinary Laboratory (2)
HIST 303 Sin Cities (3) 
HIST 304 1642, 1688, 1776: Three British Revolutions (3) 
HIST 305 The Scientific Revolution (3) 
HIST 306 Science and Western Culture (3)
HIST 308 Key Themes in Modern Global History (3) 
HIST 309 History of Chemistry (3) 
HIST 310 American Culture, 1600-1876 (3) 
HIST 311 Great Lives in Science (3) 
HIST 312 American Culture, 1877 to the Present (3) 
HIST 313 Conspiracies and Paranoia in American History (3) 
HIST 314 Globalization: History and Theory (3)
HIST 315 Globalization: History and Theory Honors (3) 
HIST 319 History, Women, and Diversity in the U.S. (3) 
HIST 320 From Goddesses to Witches: Women in Premodern Europe (3) 
HIST 321 From Mystics to Feminists: Women's History in Europe 1600 to the Present (3)
HIST 322 The World of the Middle Ages (2)
HIST 324 History of Women and the Body (3) 
HIST 325 The Spanish Inquisition (3) 
HIST 329 History of War and Peace (3)
HIST 330 Revolt and Revolution in Early Modern Europe (3) 
HIST 331 Atlantic Societies, 1450-1800: A Comparative History of European Colonization (3)
HIST 333 Eurometro: Visions of the European Metropolis, 1849-1939 (3)
HIST 334 The Great War: The History of World War I (3) 
HIST 340 The History of the Second World War (3)
HIST 341 Hitler and Nazi Germany (3) 
HIST 342 The Rise and Fall of Communist Nations since 1917 (3) 
HIST 343 The Holocaust in History (3) 
HIST 344 The Great Irish Famine (3) 
HIST 345 Hard Times: The Depression Years in America, 1929-1941 (3)
HIST 346 Law and Society in America (3)
HIST 347 Environmental History of North America (3) 
HIST 348 History of the Peoples of Kansas (3)
HIST 350 The Korean War, 1950-1953 (3)
HIST 360 Science and Religion (3) 
HIST 365 Invention of the Tropics (3) 
HIST 366 Old Regime and Revolution in France, 1648-1799 (3) 
HIST 373 The Supreme Court and Religious Issues in the United States (3) 
HIST 375 The Supreme Court and Religious Issues in the United States, Honors (3) 
HIST 377 Everyday Communism in Eastern Europe (3) 
HIST 380 Revolutionary Europe: The People in Arms (3) 
HIST 385 Themes in British History (3) 
HIST 402 Roman Military History (3) 
HIST 404 Technology: Its Past and Its Future (3)
HIST 407 History of Science in the United States (3) 
HIST 410 The American Revolution (3) 
HIST 411 The New Republic: U.S. History 1787-1848 (3) 
HIST 412 The Civil War in America, 1828-1877 (3)
HIST 413 The Rise of Industrial America, 1877-1920 (3) 
HIST 420 Dante's Comedy (3)
HIST 421 Economic and Social History of Later Medieval Europe, 1000-1500 (3) 
HIST 424 Venice and Florence in the Renaissance (3) 
HIST 425 History of the Mediterranean World, 1099-1571 (3) 
HIST 440 War and United States Society (3) 
HIST 444 Frozen in Time: Politics and Culture in the Cold War, 1945-75 (3)
HIST 451 Suburbia (1.5)
HIST 452 Chicago (1.5) 
HIST 453 Anarchism: A Global History (1.5) 
HIST 500 History of the Book (3) 
HIST 502 Development of Ancient Greece, ca. 1000-300 B.C. (3) 
HIST 503 The Ancient History of the Near East (3)
HIST 506 Roman Republic (3)
HIST 507 Early Roman Empire (3) 
HIST 508 Late Roman Empire (284-527) (3) 
HIST 509 Multinational Corporations: The Role of Money and Power (3)
HIST 513 Early Medieval Culture (3) 
HIST 515 The Crusades in Cross-Cultural Perspective (3) 
HIST 516 Later Medieval Culture (3)
HIST 519 European Intellectual History of the Seventeenth Century (3) 
HIST 520 The Age of the Renaissance (3) 
HIST 521 The Age of the Reformation (3) 
HIST 522 The Age of Religious Wars, 1540-1648 (3) 
HIST 523 Europe between Absolutism and Revolution (3) 
HIST 524 The French Revolution (3) 
HIST 525 Modern France: From Napoleon to de Gaulle (3) 
HIST 526 Nineteenth Century Europe, 1789-1914 (3) 
HIST 527 Recent European History, 1870 to the Present (3) 
HIST 528 Economic History of Europe (3) 
HIST 529 Intellectual History of 19th Century Europe (3) 
HIST 530 History of American Women--Colonial Times to 1870 (3) 
HIST 531 History of American Women--1870 to Present (3) 
HIST 532 History of Women and Work in Comparative Perspective (3) 
HIST 533 The History of Women and the Family in Europe, from 1500 to the Present (3) 
HIST 536 Modern German History-1848 to the Present (3) 
HIST 537 France from the Renaissance to the French Revolution (3) 
HIST 538 European Intellectual History of the Eighteenth Century (3)
HIST 539 Britain and Ireland to 1200 C.E. (3) 
HIST 541 British History, 1500-1660 (3) 
HIST 544 Britain and Ireland from 1200 to 1500 (3) 
HIST 545 British History, 1660-1832 (3) 
HIST 546 History of Cartography (3) 
HIST 547 The Intellectual History of Europe in the Twentieth Century (3)
HIST 548 British History, 1832 to the Present. (3)
HIST 550 The British Empire (3) 
HIST 551 Spain and its Empire, 1450-1700 (3) 
HIST 553 Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Medieval Iberia (3)
HIST 555 Aspects of British Political Thought (3)
HIST 556 Aspects of British Political Thought, Honors (3)
HIST 557 Nationalism and Communism in East Central Europe from 1772 to the Present (3)
HIST 558 Religion in Britain Since the Reformation: A Survey (3)
HIST 559 Religion in Britain Since the Reformation: A Survey, Honors (3) 
HIST 560 The Value of Freedom (4)
HIST 562 United States Environmental History in the 20th Century (3)
HIST 563 U.S. Environmental Thought in the 20th Century (3) 
HIST 564 Medieval Russia (3) 
HIST 565 Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union (3) 
HIST 566 Russia in the 18th Century, 1680-1801 (3) 
HIST 567 Oil, The Great Powers, and the Persian Gulf, 1900 to the Present (3)
HIST 568 Russia in the 20th Century and Beyond (3) 
HIST 571 The Spanish Borderlands in North America (3) 
HIST 572 The United States Borderlands: People, Place, Past (3) 
HIST 574 Slavery in the New World (3)
HIST 591 Food in History: West and East (3) 
HIST 601 Oral History (3) 
HIST 602 Religion in Britain 1785-1925 (3)
HIST 606 Childhood and Youth in America (3) 
HIST 607 The Family in History: Comparative Perspectives (3) 
HIST 608 History of Sexuality (3) 
HIST 609 History of Women and Reform in the United States (3)
HIST 610 American Colonial History (3)
HIST 613 Slavery and Freedom in the Age of Jackson (3) 
HIST 615 Rise of Modern America: Politics, Culture, and Society, 1900-1950 (3) 
HIST 616 Contemporary America, 1941-Present (3) 
HIST 617 America in the 1960's (3) 
HIST 618 History of the American West to 1900 (3) 
HIST 620 History of Kansas (3)
HIST 621 The American West in the 20th Century (3)
HIST 627 Growing Up in America (3) 
HIST 628 American Economic Development (3)
HIST 629 The United States and the World to 1890 (3)
HIST 630 The United States and the World, 1890-2003 (3) 
HIST 631 The Contemporary Afro-American Experience (3) 
HIST 634 The Scientific Revolution in the 16th and 17th Centuries (3) 
HIST 636 Agriculture in World History (3) 
HIST 639 Modern Revolution in Biology and Medicine, Harvey to the Present (3) 
HIST 646 Witches in European History and Historiography (3) 
HIST 649 History of Feminist Theory (3) 
HIST 651 History of American Business (3) 
HIST 653 American Constitutional History to 1887 (3) 
HIST 654 American Constitutional History Since 1887 (3) 
HIST 661 Palestine and Antiquity (3)
HIST 666 Contemporary America, 1941-Present, Honors (3)
HIST 670 Comparative Diasporas (3) 
HIST 699 Philosophy of History (3)

• History Category II: Non-western Orientation. Satisfied by courses in  Africa, East Asia, Latin America, Native America:

HIST 104 Introduction to African History (3) 
HIST 118 History of East Asia (3) 
HIST 119 History of East Asia, Honors (3) 
HIST 120 Colonial Latin America (3)
HIST 121 Modern Latin America (3) 
HIST 122 Colonial Latin America, Honors (3) 
HIST 123 Modern Latin America, Honors (3)
HIST 160 Introduction to West African History (3) 
HIST 300 Modern African History (3) 
HIST 303 Sin Cities (3)
HIST 307 Modern African History, Honors (3) 
HIST 308 Key Themes in Modern Global History (3)
HIST 314 Globalization: History and Theory (3) 
HIST 315 Globalization: History and Theory Honors (3)
HIST 326 Native American Civilizations and their European Conquerors (3) 
HIST 327 The Premodern Middle East (3) 
HIST 328 The Modern Middle East (3) 
HIST 348 History of the Peoples of Kansas (3)
HIST 353 Indigenous Peoples of North America (3) 
HIST 365 Invention of the Tropics (3) 
HIST 369 Colonialism and Revolution in the Third World, Honors (3) 
HIST 370 Violence and Conflict in Latin American History (3) 
HIST 371 The Cultural History of Modern Latin America (3) 
HIST 372 Violence and Conflict in Latin American History, Honors (3) 
HIST 392 Huns, Turks, and Mongols: The Nomad Factor in Asian History (3) 
HIST 393 The Silk Road (3) 
HIST 397 From Mao to Now: China's Red Revolution (3)
HIST 398 Introduction to History of Japan: Anime to Zen (3) 
HIST 399 The Samurai (3) 
HIST 453 Anarchism: A Global History (1.5) 
HIST 470 Popular Culture in Latin America and Africa (3) 
HIST 503 The Ancient History of the Near East (3) 
HIST 543 Modern Iran (3)
HIST 561 Liberation in Southern Africa (3)
HIST 569 The Middle East in the 19th and 20th Centuries (3) 
HIST 570 The Middle East Since World War II (3)
HIST 571 The Spanish Borderlands in North America (3) 
HIST 573 Latin America in the 19th Century (3)
HIST 574 Slavery in the New World (3) 
HIST 575 History of Mexico (3) 
HIST 576 History of Central America (3) 
HIST 577 History of the Caribbean (3) 
HIST 578 Social History of South America (3)
HIST 579 The History of Brazil (3) 
HIST 580 Economic History of Latin America (3)
HIST 581 Topics in Third World History: _____ (3)
HIST 582 Ancient Japan (3) 
HIST 583 Imperial China (3) 
HIST 584 Modern China (3)
HIST 587 Early Modern Japan (3)
HIST 588 Japan, 1853-1945 (3) 
HIST 589 Japan Since 1945 (3)
HIST 590 Cultural History of Korea (3) 
HIST 591 Food in History West and East (3) 
HIST 593 Modern Korea (3) 
HIST 594 Law and Society in Traditional China (3) 
HIST 596 Defining Japan: Marginalized Groups and the Construction of National Identity (3) 
HIST 597 Japanese Theater History (3) 
HIST 598 Sexuality and Gender in African History (3) 
HIST 599 The Rise and Fall of Apartheid (3) 
HIST 600 West African History (3) 
HIST 601 Oral History (3) 
HIST 603 History of Tibet (3)
HIST 604 Contemporary Greater China (3) 
HIST 605 Medieval Japan (3)
HIST 607 The Family in History: Comparative Perspectives (3) 
HIST 612 History of Federal Indian Law and Policy (3) 
HIST 618 History of the American West to 1900 (3) 
HIST 619 History of the American Indian (3) 
HIST 622 History of the Plains Indians (3) 
HIST 636 Agriculture in World History (3) 
HIST 640 Entrepreneurship in East Asia (3)
HIST 670 Comparative Diasporas (3)

History Capstone Seminar

Majors must complete a capstone research experience in which they research and write an original thesis based on primary sources. It normally is taken during the senior year.  Alternatively, majors with a GPA above 3.5 may choose to write a senior honors thesis. Satisfied by HIST 696 Seminar in: _____ (3), or HIST 498 Undergraduate History Honors Seminar (3) and HIST 490: Honors Course in History (1-3).

History Major Hours & Major GPA

While completing all required courses, majors must also meet each of the following hour and grade point average minimum standards:

Major Hours
Satisfied by 30 hours of major courses. No more than 2 HIST 492 Readings in History courses may be applied to the major. Only courses taken in the Department of History or cross-listed in other units are accepted for credit toward the major.

Major Hours in Residence
Satisfied by a minimum of 15 hours of KU resident credit in the major. 

Major Junior/Senior Hours
Satisfied by a minimum of 24 hours from junior/senior courses (300+) in the major.

Major Junior/Senior Graduation (300+) GPA
Satisfied by a minimum of a 2.0 KU GPA in junior/senior courses (300+) in the major. GPA calculations include all junior/senior courses in the field of study including F’s and repeated courses. See the Semester/Cumulative GPA Calculator.

Graduation Plan

With careful planning and commitment to a full-time course load, you can graduate in 4 years. Download a sample 4-year plan for history.

Double Majors

Many history majors choose to pursue a second major. Fulfilling the requirements of 2 majors in a timely fashion requires careful choice of courses. Consult a department adviser.