The perspectives, content, and skills you will gain as a History major or minor will improve your understanding of the complex global world around you and strengthen your professional abilities in many areas. Employers, whether in business, government, education, international organization, or any other field, are looking for employees who can read carefully, write clearly, think logically, learn independently, work with people across cultural and geographical perspectives, and analyze problems within the appropriate critical contexts. The study of history cultivates all of these skills as well as your pathways of humanistic empathy and understanding of the world around you, your scientific skills of objective investigation, and your creative skills of expression and interpretation.
Philosophy is the systematic and critical inquiry into thinking and the nature of existence. As a practice, philosophy teaches analytical and critical thinking, develops oral and written communication skills, and contributes to interdisciplinary understanding. Philosophy attempts to answer perennial questions about values, human existence, and the nature of reality. Skills developed in this inquiry help philosophy students excel in careers in law, medicine, management, education, government, writing, computer science, psychology, sociology, and ministry among many others.
General Information
The Bachelor of Arts (BA) in History and Philosophy requires the following:
- A minimum of 30 credit hours of HIST course work. At least 18 of those hours must be upper division (courses numbered 3000 or higher).
- A minimum of 30 credit hours of PHIL course work. At least 21 of those hours must be upper division.
- A grade of C or better in courses applied to both majors.
- A minimum 2.0 GPA must be maintained in all major course work.
- Both History and Philosophy require a Senior Thesis of all its majors, but students in the double major need to complete only one. Students may choose to complete either HIST 4990 or PHIL 4950 .
Additional course work is required to complete the History and Philosophy, BA degree. Please see the advising guide on the Academic Advising website for more information.