This page will inform you about the Department of History Undergraduate program at Cleveland State University.

Minimum hours required for the major:

32 distributed in three fields.

Minimum hours required for the minor:

20 hours.

Areas of Specialization:

Europe, including England; United States; Non-Western, including Africa, Latin America and East Asia, African Diaspora, and Social History.

Student Honor Society:

Phi Alpha Theta
Advisor: Dr. Mary Wren Bivins - 687-3940

Awards:

Senior History prize, Phi Alpha Theta Award

Advising:

Individual faculty advisors, Internet Web page, http://www.csuohio.edu/history

The Program:

History is the essential foundation of knowledge. It provides the context for a liberal education, the tools to understand ourselves and our contemporary world, and the skills for an educated person to live a more fulfilled and gratifying life in a wide range of careers. Because of these various functions, we study history for many reasons:

• to better understand our society and the times in which we live
• to better understand ourselves
• to place our own society in historical perspective
• to balance "present-mindedness" with "historical memory"
• to understand the roles which individuals and groups have played in shaping their worlds.
• for the enjoyment of examining societies very different or very similar to our own
• to acquire skills such as conducting research, communicating effectively through writing or oral communication, critical thinking, evaluating evidence, and problem-solving

This is possible because history at the university-level is far more than a collection of facts, names, and dates. The emphasis is on accessing and analyzing information, the critical use of historical sources, learning to communicate the results, and the excitement which comes from exploring important ideas. To study history is to enter a time machine which we use to explore the far reaches of the human experience -- from classical times to the present; from the lives of great thinkers and kings to that of average people; from dramatic moments such as the Civil War to the routine. The past becomes the universe, all of whose corners can be explored.

The department offers coursework in European, U.S., African, Latin American, and East Asian history and thematic foci on social and urban history and the History of the African Diaspora. The major program not only prepares students for teaching and for graduate study in history but many students have found history an appropriate preparatory foundation for careers in law, library science, international work, the foreign service, the ministry, business, government, archival and museum work.

History can be of inestimable value to nonmajors. This can be done through the minor, the certificate programs, or by taking appropriate courses. Thus literature majors could benefit from taking history courses in the areas they are studying. Business students could take HIS 328 (History of American Business), Social Work or Sociology majors could gain historical perspective on contemporary issues by taking HIS 318 (History of the Family in America) or HIS 305 (Social Thought of African-Americans) or HIS 309 (American Immigration History).

Major Field Requirements:

Thirty-two semester hours of history are required to complete a major. All students must include the history of different parts of the world and different chronological periods.
These credits are to be distributed as follows:

First College and transfer students must complete at least 20 credits in history courses taken within the Department of History at Cleveland State University in order to major in history.

History Minor:

A minor in history consists of 20 credits in history, of which at least 12 must be earned at the 300-level or above. No more than one course may be taken on an S/U basis. Transfer students must earn at least 12 credits in the Department of History at Cleveland State University to complete a minor in history.

Evening Program:

The requirements for the both the major and minor program apply to evening students. The History Department makes every effort to schedule courses in such a way as to make it possible for evening students to fulfill these requirements.

Honors Program:

The honors program is designed for the history major completing the last two years of study for an undergraduate degree who at the time of application has a 3.00 cumulative GPA and a 3.25 average in history. Application for admission to the program must be made 30 days before the semester in which the applicant wishes to enter.

The successful completion of the requirements for the program leads to a recommendation by the Departmental Honors Committee for graduation with Honors in History. For further information and application forms contact the Department of History at 216.687.3920.

Teaching Licensure:

New licensing requirements are being implemented by the Ohio State Board of Education. Students interested in teaching history/social studies at the high-school level in the state of Ohio must complete the requirements for both the Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies and the Adolescent & Young Adult Teaching License in Integrated Social Studies that is offered through the College of Education.