History, B.A.

Department Requirements for Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in History - 39 Semester Hours

Mission

The study of the past at TSU espouses a mission that is distinctive to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. That mission has been to encourage every student who enters the university to understand that obstacles on the path to success are to be overcome. Grounded in this tradition, the History Department at TSU provides classes, speakers, and research opportunities that encourage students to explore groups whose struggles and celebrations center upon the issues of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation on local, national, and global levels. Given the nature of the institution, the constituents it has served, and the purpose of the program as described above, history is essential to the mission of Tennessee State University.

Program Goals

The major in History is designed to familiarize students with important events, developments, and themes of the human past while also training them in the skills of history as an intellectual discipline. While students are welcome to focus their studies regionally or topically, the curriculum and degree requirements reflect the goal of providing students with a broad understanding of their field at the local, national, and international levels.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students awarded a Bachelor of Arts in History should be able to

1. recognize the characteristic features of history as an academic discipline;
2. evaluate claims about the past critically with sensitivity to the importance of historical and cultural contexts;
3. conduct thorough historical research with recourse to both primary and secondary sources;
4. advance original historical arguments in well-written essays with appropriate citation of sources;
5. identify the major periods of the human past and recognize alternative approaches to periodization;
6. compare patterns of continuity and change in the history of world civilizations;
7. explain major themes and events in the history of North America and the United States; and
8. explore the differences and relationships between political, social, economic, and cultural history.

General Education Core:

The following courses are recommended in order to satisfy the requirements of the General Education Core. For a complete listing of all courses satisfying these requirements, please refer to the General Education  section of the catalog.

Other Requirements:

Six hours in a single foreign language; French or Spanish through the intermediate level (2010, 2020)

Upper-level Admission

For admission to the upper-level program of the History major, students must complete all of the requirements listed above under General Education Core and Other Requirements. In addition, they must have removed all high school deficiencies, passed all required developmental courses, and earned a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 on college-level course work. Students must also have earned minimum grades of C in HIST 1210, 1220, HIST 2010 , and HIST 2020 .

Major Core

The requirements for a major in History include HIST 1210 and 1220, World History I, II (6 hours); GEOG 1010 - World Regional Geography I (3)  and GEOG 1020 - World Regional Geography II (3) ; two 3000 or 4000-level United States history courses (6 hours); at least 6 hours at the 3000 or 4000 level in non-U.S. history; HIST 3500 - History Workshop (3) ; HIST 4500 - Senior Project (3) ; and 9 additional upper-level hours in History. All History courses must be completed with a grade of C or better.

Suggested Four-Year Plan: