History (BA)

This program is offered by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences/History, Politics and International Relations Department and is only available at the St. Louis main campus.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the history major, students will:

• Be familiar with the outlines of the history of the modern world, i.e. since 1500.
• Be familiar in some depth with the history of one geographic area or historical epoch.
• Be able to make historical arguments using concrete illustrations and examples.

Degree Requirements

For information on the general requirements for a degree, see Baccalaureate Degree Requirements under the Academic Policies and Information section of this catalog.

• 36 required credit hours within the History, Politics and International Relations Department
• 27 of the required credit hours must be in history courses
• 3 international language requirement credit hours
• Applicable University Global Citizenship Program hours
• Electives

All courses fulfilling the history major requirements must be completed with a grade of C- or better. 

At least 18 credit hours within the major must be completed at Webster University.

International Language Requirement

• A minimum of 3 credit hours in a foreign language is required. Courses used toward the international language requirement may also be used to fulfill global citizenship requirements or a major/minor in a foreign language.
• Transfer students who have completed their 3 credit hours at an institution of higher education are considered to have fulfilled the requirement, as are students who have scored a "3" or higher on an Advanced Placement exam in a non-native language.
• For students whose native language is not English, a passing grade on the TOEFL will count as their foreign language requirement. Students who are from bilingual families but have no evidence of academic study of the second language on a transcript will need to take one course.

Curriculum

The 36 credit hours required for history majors include:

• HIST 1000 The World System since 1500 (3 hours)
• U.S. history (3 hours)
• European history (3 hours)
• History of Asia, Africa or Latin America (3 hours)
• HIST 2600 The Craft of History (3 hours)
• HIST 4000 Research Requirement (0 hours)
  (writing of a substantial research paper in accordance with department guidelines and taken in conjunction with a designated upper-level course)
• HIST 4620 Overview (0 hours)
• POLT or INTL electives (6 hours)
• HIST electives (6 hours)
• Upper-level HIST electives (6 hours)
• Upper-level elective in HIST, POLT or INTL (3 hours)