Bachelor of Arts Degree in History

Director of Undergraduate Studies: Roberta Magnusson (rmagnusson@ou.edu)
For an application for admission to the University of Oklahoma, see: http://www.ou.edu/admrec/undergrad.htm

General Information

The Department of History at the University of Oklahoma offers a wide range of courses covering virtually every major epoch in history. The needs and interests of the students have been taken into account in an effort to create programs that are flexible and look to the student's future career.

The type of history courses required of undergraduate majors has been determined according to two general assumptions: a history major ought to have a general reservoir of knowledge about different areas of the world, to be obtained by lower-division historical surveys; and a history major should also be introduced to more specialized knowledge about specific areas or eras of the world, this second requirement being met by upper-division courses in the specialized fields.

Career Opportunities

The career opportunities for undergraduate history majors are many and varied. A number of history majors find their training is ideally suited for a career in law. The history major may also plan a career in education, either in teaching or administration.

In the past several decades, businesses have found graduates with liberal arts backgrounds to be prime candidates for executive training programs and, as a result, many history majors have developed rewarding business careers. The Federal Government also hires history majors for all facets of its operation. For example, the Foreign Service has utilized the skills of many with history backgrounds in the diplomatic corps. Also, the National Park Service, responding to the increased interest in historical preservation, needs graduates with degrees in history. History majors may find that opportunities await them in museum and archival work because Americans have become more interested in their past.

Aside from the many career benefits, history majors will discover that their studies will give them the perspective to participate more fully in the world around them.

Scholarships and Financial Aid

For a number of years, the Department of History has offered several undergraduate scholarships carrying cash stipends to outstanding students, both history and non-history majors.
The Horace C. Peterson Memorial Scholarship Award is presented to the outstanding undergraduate student majoring in history, preferably to a person who intends to continue the study of history in graduate school.

The Donnell M. Owings Scholarship is awarded to undergraduate students in American history. Professor Owings taught at OU from 1946 to 1966 and was recognized as a distinguished scholar in American genealogy and Colonial History.

The Alfred B. Sears Award for the outstanding student in British history, was awarded for the first time in 1979. Any student, major or nonmajor, undergraduate or graduate, who has taken a minimum of nine semester hours in courses designated as English history, is eligible for this award.

Undergraduate Study

History majors must complete the General Education requirements for both the University and the College of Arts and Sciences. In addition, majors must complete 36 hours of major work in history including 1483 or 1493 and one course from three of the following groups:

1. Ancient/Medieval – 1113, 1613, 1913, 2013, 2023;
2. European – 1223, 1233, 1623, 1923;
3. Near/Far Eastern – 1703, 2013, 2683;
4. Latin American/African – 1923, 2613, 2623, 2713.

The remaining 24 hours must be at the 2000 level or above and are to be distributed among three fields:

1. United States
2. African/Asian/Latin American/Russian/Near East
3. European.

At least nine hours in one field and six in each of the other two fields must be completed. A senior seminar (4973) must be included in the 24 hours. Fifteen of the 24 hours must be completed at the 3000 level or above. A 2000-level course that has been used to fulfill a survey requirement cannot be used toward the 24 elective hours.

Many pre-law students choose history for a major. Students pursuing the history major with a pre-law interest must fulfill all the normal requirements for the major, including at least 36 credit hours distributed among the American, European, and African/Asian/Latin American/Russian areas. Within the 36 credit hours, 3513 and 3363 should be completed. For additional courses needed to complete the history major the department recommends the following: 2043, 3093, 3343, 3373, 3393, 3430, 3573, 3673, and at least one course from both the American and European fields to be chosen from 3120, 3213, 3223, 3463, 3473, and 3483.

The selection of a seminar (4973) to fulfill the senior seminar requirement should, where possible, reflect the pre-law interests of the student and should be made in consultation with the pre-law adviser. In recent semesters the department has offered seminars of interest to pre-law students on topics such as American environmental history, and modern American social problems.

Students majoring in history may also work for the standard secondary teaching certificate in social studies. For information consult an academic counselor in the College of Arts and Sciences office.

Download this degree checklist for history majors. (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Requirements for a History Minor

A minor in History may be obtained by taking fifteen hours of History courses, nine hours of which must be upper-division. In order to have the minor recorded on his/her transcript, a student must pick up the appropriate form from the College of Arts and Sciences office, have it endorsed by the Department of History and then return it to the College office. This procedure should be done after completion of the required History minor course work.

Advisors and Advisement

A student in the College of Arts and Sciences must be advised prior to enrollment each semester. Each student will be assigned a permanent adviser by the department, and will need to contact their adviser each semester to arrange to be advised.

Note: even though students now enroll online, they still must be advised. The majority of faculty members participate in the advising process and post a signup sheet on their office doors for the convenience of their respective advisees. Most advisors are not available during the summer or intersession periods, so students are advised to make appointments with their advisors during the fall and spring semesters.

Immediately prior to being advised in the History Department, the student should pick up his/her academic records and an advisement form in the main History office 403A Dale Hall Tower. If you are a new major, please be sure your records have been sent to the History Department before the advisement period begins.

Phi Alpha Theta

Phi Alpha Theta is an international honor society in History organized at the University of Arkansas in 1921. It now has almost five-hundred chapters with more than 80,000 initiates since organization. The Department of History of the University of Oklahoma maintains Zeta Theta Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta and encourages its majors to join.

To be a member a student must have an overall grade point average of 3.0. Cost for Phi Alpha Theta membership is $45.00 which covers a one year subscription to The Historian, one year chapter dues, and a lifetime membership. Various chapter activities including monthly brown bag luncheons featuring informal talks by History Department faculty and the annual Phi Alpha Theta awards banquet, are held each year.

The membership of Phi Alpha Theta is composed of students and professors who have been elected to membership upon the basis of excellence in the study of History. It is highly democratic. Any student of History may become a member simply by maintaining a high standard of work in his/her studies. All members participate in the work and in the direction of the society.

Phi Alpha Theta is also a professional society, designed to promote the study of History through the encouragement of research, good teaching, publication, and the exchange of learning and thought among historians. It seeks to bring students, teachers, and writers of History together both intellectually and socially, and it encourages and assists, in a variety of ways, historical research and publication among its members.

Transfer Evaluations

For general information on transfer evaluations, see: http://www.ou.edu/admrec/transadm.html

The application of transfer work toward General Education requirements is usually done through the Office of Admissions and Office of Student Academic Services. If you are transferring to OU as a history major, you should contact academic counselor Anthony Barrens in the College of Arts and Sciences Office of Student Services (PHSC 429, phone: (405) 325-4411).

For individual transfer evaluations of history courses:

- If you have completed a history course at another 2 or 4 year college, you may apply for an OU transfer equivalency evaluation.

- If the class was taken at a college in Oklahoma, check the Course Equivalency Tables, to see if it has been equated to an OU course. See http://www.ou.edu/admrec/tetables.htm

- If the class was taken at a college outside Oklahoma, and you would like me to evaluate it for an OU equivalency, I will need a copy of the course syllabus and/or catalogue description, and a copy of your A/DA. History courses which do not have an exact OU equivalent may not be used to satisfy Gen Ed requirements, but they may still transfer as elective credit. In some cases they may also be used to satisfy the history major requirements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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