Bachelors

The Bachelor’s Degree

The baccalaureate curriculum is organized for students who hope to place their world in historical perspective. Education in history at the University of Illinois at Springfield is broad-based humanities training, providing students with research capabilities, analytical methods, and communication skills that are useful in many fields. The curriculum prepares students for careers in fields such as history, politics, government, business, law, journalism, writing, and administration. Through internships, students are able to test career possibilities where the research and analytical skills of the historian are appropriate.

Advising (All HIS Majors)

Each student is assigned both an academic advisor and a faculty advisor to assist in planning an individual program of study responsive to the student’s interests and goals and designed to meet the requirements of the History Department. Students are strongly encouraged to consult with their advisors regularly, especially before enrolling for their first and last semesters. Questions about advising may be directed to the History Department by email (his@uis.edu), or phone at (217) 206-6779. Students who are enrolled in the Teacher Education Program (TEP) must consult regularly with their TEP advisor.

Grading Policy (All HIS Majors)

History courses for which the student has attained a grade of C or better will be applied toward the B.A. degree (grades of C- or lower will not be accepted). History courses taken as CR/NC will be applied toward the degree if a grade of CR is attained. History majors may repeat program courses for grade improvement only once without seeking department approval.

Degree Requirements for All HIS Students

Lower-division Requirements

To pursue a major in history, students must complete two courses from the following list of classes on historical regions and themes (six hours total). The two courses must be from different categories of historical regions and themes. Alternatively, students can transfer equivalent courses from an accredited institution. Comparative Societies courses with an HIS prefix can be used to fulfill both the Comparative Societies requirements and history lower-division requirements provided students graduate with sufficient total credits.

Categories of Historical Regions and Themes (6 Hours)

World History
HIS 118	Making of the West	3
HIS 119	Gods & Heroes of Early Europe	3
Comparative Religion
HIS 150	Topics in Comparative Religion	3
Europe
HIS 202	European History	3
HIS 212	History of Russia: Peter I to Putin	3
United States
HIS 204	U.S. History to 1877	3
or HIS 205	U.S. History Since 1877
Middle East
HIS 160	Topics in Middle Eastern History	3
HIS 161	Introduction to the Modern Middle East	3
HIS 211	Women in the Middle East	3
East Asia
HIS 176	History of Premodern East Asia	3
or HIS 177	History of Modern East Asia

Graduation Requirements

Upper-division Core Requirements
HIS 301	The Historian’s Craft ¹	3
HIS 401	Senior Seminar ¹	3
Eight hours of non-U.S. History Courses from the following:		8
HIS 360	Topics in Warfare
HIS 365	ECCE: Culture Wars/Europe
HIS 371	Islamic Civilization
HIS 373	ECCE: Reading Arab Pasts
HIS 375	ECCE: Conflict in the Middle East
HIS 378	ECCE: Christian-Muslim Encounters
HIS 411	ECCE: Democracy and Democratic Theory
HIS 412	Alexander the Great
HIS 414	ECCE: Cleopatra’s Egypt
HIS 416	Rise of Rome
HIS 417	Caesar to Charlemagne
HIS 419	Egyptology
HIS 422	ECCE: Politics and Religion: Culture Wars
HIS 424	Ancient Sport and Spectacle
HIS 459/ENS 412	World Environmental Thought
HIS 461/PHI 459	Europe in the 18th Century: The Enlightenment
HIS 462	ECCE: Conflict in 19th Century Europe
HIS 463	Europe In The 20th Century
HIS 467	Renaissance and Reformation Europe
HIS 470	Topics in 20th Century World History
HIS 471	ECCE: The Pacific War: World War II in East Asia
HIS 472	Imperial Russia
HIS 473	History of the Soviet Union
HIS 475	ECCE: Nationalism and Imperialism
HIS 476	Modern China
HIS 477	Premodern Japan
HIS 478	Modern Japan
HIS 479	ECCE: From Vikings to Hackers: A Pirate’s World History
HIS 480	Topics in Pre-Modern World History
HIS/WGS 481	Women in Chinese and Japanese History
HIS 482	Samurai in History and Romance
HIS 483	Anime, History, and Memory
HIS 485	Cold War and the Middle East
HIS 487	History of Christmas
HIS 488	Eastern Christianity
Upper Division Elective History Courses
Options: any 300-level or 400-level HIS course not used to fulfill another HIS degree requirement.		19
Total Hours		33

¹	Students must earn no less than a C in HIS 301 as a prerequisite for HIS 401. HIS 301 and HIS 401 may not be taken during the same semester.

Students should consult with academic advisors in the major for specific guidance regarding completion of general education requirements.

Courses from other departments may count for history credit when they support the student’s degree plan and are approved in advance.