The History Major Beginning Fall 2010 SUMMARY: Core Curriculum: 43 hours History Major: 42 hours total, consisting of: Required History Courses: 12 hours History Electives: 30 hours Minor: 18 hours General Electives: 17 hours Total Degree Hours: 120 I. Core Curriculum (43 hours): For details, see pages 105-108 of the 2011-2013 Undergraduate Catalog. Note that every student must meet these requirements, unless she or he is admitted to UTPA as CORE COMPLETE. In most cases, students who are already CORE COMPLETE are those who are admitted to UTPA with Associate s Degrees from STC or another Texas college or university. II. History Major (42 Hours) Required History Courses (12 hours): 2331 World Civilizations I 2332 World Civilizations II 3332 Historiography and Methods 4399 Senior Research Seminar History Electives (30 Hours) A. Designated History Electives (see appropriate lists, below): U.S. History Electives (6 hours); at least 3 hours must be advanced hours European History (3 advanced hours) World History (3 advanced hours) B. General History electives (18 hours) At least 15 hours must be advanced hours III. Minor (18 hours) Departments minors are listed in each Department s section of the Undergraduate Catalog. Note that most minors are 18 hours, but some require additional hours; any hours required by a minor
beyond 18 reduce the number of hours a student needs to take in the General Electives category, below. IV. General Electives (17 hours) Students need a minimum of 120 hours to earn a degree; these remaining elective hours can be part of a second major or taken as free electives. The University requires students to have a minimum of 51 advanced (3000 and 4000-level classes) to graduate, and students are advised to keep this requirement in mind when selecting general elective classes. Note also that there are a number of additional requirements for graduation which are outlined more fully on pages 68-71 of the 2011-2013 catalog. These include a description of the residency requirements for a degree at UTPA, but the requirements that will come up most often in advisement for a degree in history or social studies composite are: 2.0 GPA is required in the core classes, major requirements, minor requirements, and overall (some majors require above 2.0); 120 total hours including at least 51 upper-division hours; second language proficiency requirement, met through 6 hours of college credit or proficiency through exam (e.g. WebCAPE, CLEP, TOEFL). Note also that a student s catalog year will be the key to advising her or him effectively. This can be found in the second block of a student s Degreeworks entry. The 2011-2013 catalog, p. 71, states: The degree requirements that must be completed for graduation will be those in effect at the time the student begins his/her college career or those provided in a subsequent catalog. In any case, the catalog used to determine the degree requirements must not be more than seven years old. Most students will fall under either the 2011-2013 or 2009-2011 catalogs, but the 2005-2007 and 2007-2009 catalogs are still in effect. Catalogs expire after seven years. The 2005-2007 catalog will expire in August 2014. The 2007-2009 catalog will expire in August 2016. The 2009-2011 catalog will expire in August 2018. The 2011-2013 catalog will expire in August 2020. Because the core requirements changed in 2008 and the history degree plan changed in 2010, it is important to consult the specified catalog requirements when advising students. If a student is following a degree plan from prior to Fall 2005, that degree plan has expired and is no longer valid; in that case, the student will need to switch to a later catalog and should see Dr. Knight for assistance. Likewise, students under the 2005-2007 or 2007-2009 catalog who wish to transfer to a later catalog should also see Dr. Knight for assistance. Social Studies Composite Majors Note that Social Studies Composite majors must meet the same core requirements and general requirements as do the history majors. For students under the 2011-2013 catalog, these are found on pages 105-108 and 68-71 respectively. There are several important differences between the two majors, however. These are summarized below:
1. Social studies composite students take 18 hours of required Social Studies courses and 33 hours of designated Social Studies electives. 2. Because the number of hours required to complete the Social Studies composite major is greater (51 hours as opposed to 42 hours for the history major), the Social Studies composite does not require a minor. Many Social Studies Composite majors will pursue teacher certification, however, which will require an additional 21 hours of coursework through the College of Education. The current (2011-2013) catalog specifies the requirements for the Social Studies Composite major as follows: A. Required Courses (18 hours). ANTH 3333 U.S. and Other World Cultures; ECON 2301 Principles of Macroeconomics; HIST 2331 World Civilizations I; HIST 2332 World Civilizations II; HIST 3303 Geography and Environment; HIST 3332 Historiography and Methods. B. Designated Electives (33 hours). 6 hours, advanced U.S. history before 1865; 6 hours, advanced U.S. history since 1865; 6 hours, advanced European history; 3 hours, advanced Latin American history; 3 hours, advanced World history; 6 hours, advanced Political Science (either POLS 3316, 4320**, 4321**, 4332, 4360, 4363, 4367**, or 4373); 3 hours, advanced Economics (either ECON 3351, 3353, 3355, 3357, 3358, 4359, or FINANCE/ECONOMICS 3381). **=Students may choose only one of these options. Students pursuing High School (8-12) School Certification (21 hours) will be required to take the following courses: EDUC 4301; EDUC 4302; EDUC 4303; EDUC 4304; READ 4351; EDUC 4611. EDUC 4611 is a 6-hour course; the others are 3-hour courses.
For Social Studies Composite majors pursuing certification under the 2011-2013 catalog, their overall breakdown of hours will be as follows: Core Requirements: 43 hours; Social Studies Composite Major Requirements: 51 hours; High School Certification: 21 hours; Electives: 5 hours. Total: 120 hours. NOTE that the 2009-2011 catalog required Social Studies Composite majors to take 30 hours of required Social Studies classes and 33 hours of designated Social Studies electives (2009-2011 catalog, pp. 119-120). NOTE that the 2007-2009 catalog required Social Studies Composite majors to take 36 hours of required Social Studies classes and 39 hours of designated Social Studies electives (2007-2009 catalog, pp. 125-127), as did the 2005-2007 catalog (2005-2007 catalog, pp. 114-115). IN MOST INSTANCES, STUDENTS PURSUING THE SOCIAL STUDIES COMPOSITE MAJOR UNDER THE 2005-2007 OR 2007-2009 CATALOG WILL BENEFIT FROM SWITCHING TO A LATER CATALOG WITH SIMPLIFIED REQUIREMENTS. It is very important when advising Social Studies Composite majors that advisors pay attention to the catalog year as degree requirements differ substantially from catalog to catalog. This is particularly true for students under the 2005-2007 and 2007-2009 catalog who are pursuing the 124 hour total/48 hour core degree plans. NOTE ALSO that students must choose from the designated electives when selecting advanced Political Science and Economics courses to fulfill their Social Studies requirements. Any deviation from this list should be approved in advance by the chair of the relevant department. Students and advisors should not assume that substitutions for Political Science and Economics classes will be approved after the fact. Any deviation from the approved list for history courses will likewise require a substitution form, but, given the significantly expanded lists of course offerings at the end of this document, reasonable substitutions will be considered.
U.S. History Electives (Old and New Degree Plans) 3301 History of Ideas 3304 Indians of North America 3313 Atlantic America 1763-1814 3324 Rise of the American Nation 3330 A General Survey of the History of Texas 3343 Era of Sectional Conflict 3350 The American Military Experience 3353 History of the American President 3355 American Legal History 3360 History of American Family and Childhood 3367 The U.S. as a World Power 3370 History of American Religious Traditions 3373 Mexican-American Heritage 3375 Women in History topics (if topic is appropriate; consult your advisor) 3381 History of the American West 3385 Gender in the American West 4303 The Emergence of Modern American, 1877-1929 4313 Twentieth Century America 4322 The Spanish Southwest to 1821 4325 The American Southwest after 1821 4330 Black History and Thought 4333 Race and Ethnicity in America 4334 History of the Old South 4335 History of the New South Since 1877 4343 Era of Sectional Conflict, 1840-1877 4360 Public Health in the Americas 4361 Mexican-American Civil Rights 4363 U.S. Latin American Relations 4377 Chicano Movement 4381 History of the Cold War 4397 Special Topics in U.S. History European History Electives (Old and New Degree Plans) 3301 History of Ideas 3335 History of Spain 3341 History of England to 1686 3342 History of England after 1686 3375 Women in History topics (if topic is appropriate; consult your advisor) 3390 History of the Ottoman Empire 4326 Ancient Greek History
4327 Ancient Roman History 4328 Medieval History 4370 The Renaissance and Reformation, 1300-1650 4371 Russia Since 1905 4375 Absolutism and Enlightenment in Europe, 1650-1789 4376 Revolutionary Europe, 1789-1850 4381 History of the Cold War 4383 Europe s Age of Imperialism, 1850-1919 4393 Contemporary Europe, 1919 to the Present 4396 Special Topics in European History World History Classes (New Degree Plan) 3302 World History Studies 3303 Geography and the Environment in History 3305 Great Discoveries in Archaeology 3331 Mexico from Pre-Conquest to the Present 3333 Colonial Mexico, Central and South America 3334 Pre-Conquest Mexico and Central America 3345 Introduction to East Asian History I 3346 Introduction to East Asian History II 3375 Women in History topics (if topic is appropriate; consult your advisor) 3377 Latin American Women in the Modern Era 3378 Women in Colonial Latin America 3380 Early Middle East History 3390 History of the Ottoman Empire 3391 History of Modern Japan 3392 History of Modern China 4307 Maritime Archaeology and History 4322 The Spanish Southwest to 1821 4345 Mexico s First Century as an Independent Republic 4352 Brazil After Independence 4353 History of Mexican Culture 4354 Contemporary Mexico 4355 Spanish South America Since Independence 4357 History of Mexican Cinema 4360 Public Health in the Americas 4363 U.S. Latin American Relations 4374 The Caribbean and Central America 4380 Modern Middle Eastern History 4381 History of the Cold War 4398 Special Topics in Latin American History Latin American history classes (Old Degree Plan only):
3331 Mexico from Pre-Conquest to the Present 3333 Colonial Mexico, Central and South America 3334 Pre-Conquest Mexico and Central America 3335 History of Spain 3377 Latin American Women in the Modern Era 3378 Women in Colonial Latin America 4322 The Spanish Southwest to 1821 4345 Mexico s First Century as an Independent Republic 4352 Brazil After Independence 4353 History of Mexican Culture 4354 Contemporary Mexico 4355 Spanish South America Since Independence 4357 History of Mexican Cinema 4360 Public Health in the Americas 4363 U.S. Latin American Relations 4374 The Caribbean and Central America 4398 Special Topics in Latin American History NOTE: If a course appears to fit a degree requirement (say U.S. History) but is not being read as such by Degreeworks, that is probably because the course was created after the catalog under which the student matriculated was published. For instance, if a student entered in the university in Fall 2009 and takes a course not offered until Fall 2011, the system will not automatically read that course as satisfying that particular requirement in her/his degree plan. In that case, a substitution form will be required so that that course will count toward a student s degree requirements.