History BA
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Minimum Required Credits: 120.0
Co-op Option(s): Three Co-op, Two Co-op, One Co-op, No Co-op
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 54.0101
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 19-3093
About the Program
The history faculty has strong expertise in American history; global history; the history of science, technology, and the environment; the history of religion; and Africana history. We apply Drexel's experiential, research-intensive approach to the discipline of history. Using the extensive historical resources of Philadelphia, the region, and the digital world, students develop a profound understanding of history and the ways it is made. Several of our courses draw on Drexel's many museums and archives, including the Academy of Natural Sciences, Legacy Center, and Atwater Kent to offer interdisciplinary, hands-on experience in archival and museum collections, including the creation and curation of exhibitions.
We encourage students to enrich their education through co-op, study abroad, and faculty-mentored research projects. The required courses in history build widely applicable skills in qualitative research and interpretation while distribution requirements ensure a chronologically, geographically, and thematically broad understanding of historical events and their contexts. A substantial number of elective courses within and outside the history program allow students to focus on those aspects of history that interest them most and to shape their overall curriculum to meet their intellectual and career goals. Students have the option to concentrate in Global History or the History of Science, Technology, Medicine, and Environment.
All majors design and carry out a capstone independent research project on a topic of their choice that demonstrates their mastery of skills in qualitative research and analysis, historical interpretation, and written and oral communication. Our flexible program of study enables students to add a minor or a double-major in another course of study.
Additional Information
For more information about this program, please contact the College of Arts and Sciences
Degree Requirements
| University Requirements | ||
| EXP 1001 | Introduction to Experiential Learning | 3.0 |
| WRIT 1100 | Composition and Rhetoric I | 3.0 |
| or WRIT 1110 | English Composition I | |
| WRIT 1200 | Composition and Rhetoric II | 3.0 |
| or WRIT 1210 | English Composition II | |
| Introductory Core Competencies 1 | ||
| Select one course from each of the (3) three categories of Introductory Core Competencies: | 9.0 | |
Introductory: Inquire and Analyze | ||
Introductory: Collaborate and Integrate | ||
Introductory: Apply and Engage | ||
| Free Electives | 15.0 | |
| College of Arts & Sciences Requirements | ||
| Journeys in Arts and Sciences | 3.0 | |
| Points, Patterns, Plains, Plots | 3.0 | |
| Ethics in Context: Humanities, Sciences, and Society | 3.0 | |
| Department of History Requirements | ||
| Core History Sequence 2 | ||
| HIST 1010 | Making History | 3.0 |
| HIST 2010 | The Study of History | 3.0 |
| HIST 3010 | Junior Seminar | 3.0 |
| HIST 4998 | Senior Capstone I | 3.0 |
| HIST 4999 | Senior Capstone II | 3.0 |
| History Distribution Courses | ||
| Global History Distribution 3 | ||
| Select one (1) of the following courses: | 3.0 | |
| The World of Ancient Rome | ||
| The Modern World | ||
| Introduction to Islam | ||
| Venice and the Mediterranean | ||
| History of Antisemitism | ||
| History of the State of Israel | ||
| Black Geographies | ||
| African Europe | ||
| African Histories of Independence | ||
| History of Russia | ||
| Ancient and Medieval Jewish History | ||
| Coexistence and Conflict: Jews, Muslims, and Christians in the Early Mediterranean | ||
| History of the Holocaust | ||
| Modern Jewish History | ||
| Race and Islam in Africa and West Asia | ||
| World War I | ||
| World War II and Global Politics | ||
| The Study of Global History | ||
| The Black Atlantic | ||
| US Civil Rights Movement and International Solidarities | ||
| Silences in African History | ||
| History of Education and Anti-Colonial Resistance | ||
| Global Environmental History | ||
| Climate Change, Energy, and Colonialism | ||
| History of Capitalism | ||
| Pirates, Planters, Traders: The Jewish Atlantic World | ||
| Africana Distribution 3 | ||
| Select one (1) of the following courses: | 3.0 | |
| Introduction to Islam | ||
| Black Geographies | ||
| African Europe | ||
| African Histories of Independence | ||
| Race and Islam in Africa and West Asia | ||
| Black Labor in the Americas | ||
| The Black Atlantic | ||
| US Civil Rights Movement and International Solidarities | ||
| Silences in African History | ||
| History of Education and Anti-Colonial Resistance | ||
| History of Science, Technology, Medicine, and Environment Distribution 2 | ||
| Select one (1) of the following courses: | 3.0 | |
| Religion, Science, and Medicine | ||
| UFOs and Cold War America | ||
| History of Modern Biology | ||
| Medicine Before Germs | ||
| History of Modern Medicine | ||
| History of Technology | ||
| History of Science to the Scientific Revolution | ||
| Modern Science | ||
| History of Big Data and AI | ||
| Madness, Mental Health and Psychiatry in the Modern West | ||
| Global Environmental History | ||
| Climate Change, Energy, and Colonialism | ||
| Pre-1700 Distribution 3 | ||
| Select one (1) of the following courses: | 3.0 | |
| The World of Ancient Rome | ||
| The Middle Ages, Then and Now | ||
| Introduction to Islam | ||
| The Historical Jesus | ||
| Medicine Before Germs | ||
| Venice and the Mediterranean | ||
| Ancient and Medieval Jewish History | ||
| Coexistence and Conflict: Jews, Muslims, and Christians in the Early Mediterranean | ||
| The Reformation Age | ||
| Race and Islam in Africa and West Asia | ||
| History of Science to the Scientific Revolution | ||
| Witches, Demons, and Witch Hunters in European History | ||
| History of Religion Distribution 3 | ||
| Select one (1) of the following courses: | 3.0 | |
| Culture, Ethnicity, Religion: An Introduction to Jewish Studies | ||
| Introduction to Islam | ||
| The Historical Jesus | ||
| Religion, Science, and Medicine | ||
| History of Antisemitism | ||
| History of the State of Israel | ||
| Ancient and Medieval Jewish History | ||
| Coexistence and Conflict: Jews, Muslims, and Christians in the Early Mediterranean | ||
| The Reformation Age | ||
| Jewish History in the United States | ||
| History of the Holocaust | ||
| Modern Jewish History | ||
| Race and Islam in Africa and West Asia | ||
| Witches, Demons, and Witch Hunters in European History | ||
| Pirates, Planters, Traders: The Jewish Atlantic World | ||
| History Electives or Optional Concentration 4 | 9.0 | |
Choose any three (3) HIST (History) courses or select one concentration from the two options below. | ||
| Department Language Requirement 5 | 6.0 | |
Foreign Language Courses | ||
| Free Electives | 33.0 | |
Choose any undergraduate courses | ||
| Optional Co-op Experience | ||
| Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle based on their co-op program and major. COOP 1001 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned. | 0.0 | |
| Total Credits | 120.0 | |
- 1
A complete list of eligible Introductory Core Competency courses can be found here.
- 2
These core courses should be taken in sequence as far as possible. HIST 4999 must be taken twice.
- 3
A course may not fulfill more than one distribution category.
- 4
Students may either choose any three additional HIST (History) electives or may pursue a concentration in the History of Science, Technology, Medicine, and Environment OR a concentration in Global History. At least two of the History electives / concentration courses must be 3000-level or above.
- 5
Students must complete a department language requirement. They may either successfully complete 1002 in one language (including the option to test out of it, if the university offers the language of the student's competence), or they may take six (6) credits of language distributed across more than one language. Students who test out of one or both language courses (1001, 1002) will instead have additional Free Electives.
Global History Concentration
Students who choose the optional Global History Concentration must select three (3) of the following courses (at least two must be 3000-level):
| HIST 1120 | The World of Ancient Rome | 3.0 |
| HIST 1190 | The Modern World | 3.0 |
| HIST 1420 | Introduction to Islam | 3.0 |
| HIST 2150 | History of Antisemitism | 3.0 |
| HIST 2180 | History of the State of Israel | 3.0 |
| HIST 2201 | Black Geographies | 3.0 |
| HIST 2240 | African Europe | 3.0 |
| HIST 2250 | African Histories of Independence | 3.0 |
| HIST 2370 | History of Russia | 3.0 |
| HIST 2410 | Ancient and Medieval Jewish History | 3.0 |
| HIST 2420 | Coexistence and Conflict: Jews, Muslims, and Christians in the Early Mediterranean | 3.0 |
| HIST 2460 | History of the Holocaust | 3.0 |
| HIST 2470 | Modern Jewish History | 3.0 |
| HIST 2490 | Race and Islam in Africa and West Asia | 3.0 |
| HIST 2540 | World War I | 3.0 |
| HIST 2550 | World War II and Global Politics | 3.0 |
| HIST 3100 | The Study of Global History | 3.0 |
| HIST 3130 | The Black Atlantic | 3.0 |
| HIST 3170 | US Civil Rights Movement and International Solidarities | 3.0 |
| HIST 3250 | Silences in African History | 3.0 |
| HIST 3280 | History of Education and Anti-Colonial Resistance | 3.0 |
| HIST 3860 | Global Environmental History | 3.0 |
| HIST 3865 | Climate Change, Energy, and Colonialism | 3.0 |
| HIST 3910 | History of Capitalism | 3.0 |
| HIST 3920 | Pirates, Planters, Traders: The Jewish Atlantic World | 3.0 |
History of Science, Technology, Medicine, and Environment Concentration
Students who choose the optional STME Concentration must select three (3) of the following courses (at least two must be 3000-level):
| HIST 1470 | Religion, Science, and Medicine | 3.0 |
| HIST 1780 | UFOs and Cold War America | 3.0 |
| HIST 1832 | History of Modern Biology | 3.0 |
| HIST 1842 | Medicine Before Germs | 3.0 |
| HIST 1843 | History of Modern Medicine | 3.0 |
| HIST 2810 | History of Technology | 3.0 |
| HIST 2821 | History of Science to the Scientific Revolution | 3.0 |
| HIST 2822 | Modern Science | 3.0 |
| HIST 3815 | History of Big Data and AI | 3.0 |
| HIST 3850 | Madness, Mental Health and Psychiatry in the Modern West | 3.0 |
| HIST 3860 | Global Environmental History | 3.0 |
| HIST 3865 | Climate Change, Energy, and Colonialism | 3.0 |
Program Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:
- Understand historical phenomena in their contexts and in relation to contemporary issues, including analyzing how historical claims and narratives shape political, economic, social, and cultural power, including systemic bias and structural racism;
- Demonstrate broad historical knowledge across chronologies, geographies, and themes;
- Identify, synthesize, and critique academic and nonacademic historical arguments;
- Choose appropriate tools and methods to find and interpret historical source materials, develop skills to work in archival and museum collections, and cultivate professional ethics;
- Create, plan, and carry out a substantial project of original historical research;
- Communicate research findings ethically, accurately, and effectively in appropriate written, oral, and visual formats, including in the digital realm.