History Major and Minor Requirements

THE HISTORY MAJOR consists of a minimum of 36 credits in History (with a grade of C or better). There are two broad categories of requirements for the major. The first is the completion of a specific course of study, which is distributed as follows:

COURSE	COURSE TITLE	REQUIRED CREDITS
History 1	The Western Heritage I	3 Credits
History 2	The Western Heritage II	3 Credits
History 20	U.S. History	3 Credits
History 21	U.S. History	3 Credits
	Non-Western History*	6 Credits
	Additional History Courses*	15 Credits
History 302W	Undergraduate Seminar	3 Credits

*At least 12 credits in these combined categories must be at the 400 level. At least 9 of these 400-level credits must be completed at University Park. A student may use 3 credits of History 495 (internship) to count for one 400 level requirement. History 495 and History 496 are regarded as the same as all other 400 level courses.

Click Here for another way to look at the required coursework.

The next broad category of requirements is a set of residency requirements designed to uphold the integrity of degrees offered at University Park. The history major adheres to the College of the Liberal Arts' requirements for competency in the major. Here are the highlights of these requirements:

• Students enrolled in, or hoping to enroll in, majors of the College of the Liberal Arts are expected to attend the University Park Campus once they have earned a total of 60 credits.

• No more than 91 credits earned while enrolled at another Penn State College or at another institution may be applied to degrees granted by the College of the Liberal Arts.

• At least one-half of the credits stipulated under “requirements for the major” must be completed at University Park.

• At least nine credits of upper-division work required in the major must be completed at University Park.

• All course substitution requests, whether for a common-numbered course or any other course, must be accompanied by documentation indicating that the content and evaluated work is comparable to the required course category. In other words, the substitution must have similar or greater scope and depth than the course choices specified in the required category.

• Other requirements as specified by the college.

THE HISTORY MINOR consists of 18 credits in History (with a grade of C or better), of which at least 6 credits are at the 400 level. To enroll, you must be at least in your fifth semester and need to have already declared a major. Students may not enroll in the minor after the end of the 12th week of the student's finals semester prior to graduation. Note: Two year degree students are not eligible for the minor. Students should check with the History Department during their final semester to confirm completion or the requirements.

Like the major, the minor also requires compliance with the College of Liberal Arts' rules for establishing competency. Specifically:

• At least one-half of the credits stipulated under "requirements for the minor" must be completed at University Park.

• At least 3 credits of 400-level work must be completed at University Park.

Please note well: Only courses with the prefix "HIST" or courses cross-listed as "HIST" count toward the history minor.

Students should apply for the minor using this application form. A copy of the information in the application form will be sent to the student's academic advisor.  After two semesters of non-enrollment at Penn State, students' names will be removed from the minor roster. Therefore, students returning to Penn State after two or more semesters of non-enrollment must renew their minor status with the department.

Contact the History Department at 865-1367 or bdw150@psu.edu should you have any questions about major or minor requirements.

Questions: For inquiries , please contact us.

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