Program: History, BA - George Mason University

Degree Requirements

Students must fulfill all requirements for bachelor’s degrees , including Mason Core requirements. Students pursuing a BA in history must complete additional college requirements for the BA degree in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Students pursuing this degree must complete 36 credits within the major with at least 18 credits at the 300 and 400 levels. Additional credits of history in excess of 36 may be presented as elective credits to be counted toward graduation. Students must have a minimum GPA of 2.00 in courses applied to the major.

Before registering, students should see an advisor to help plan their history program to meet Mason Core and college-level requirements. The advisor also can help students choose electives or a minor.

HIST 300 and 499 may not be used to satisfy the first three requirements below.

Two courses (6 credits) of U.S. history chosen from:

HIST 121 - Formation of the American Republic Credits: 3
HIST 122 - Development of Modern America Credits: 3
HIST 331 - Postwar United States, 1945-1973 Credits: 3
HIST 332 - United States since 1973 Credits: 3
HIST 333 - The Automobile in the United States Credits: 3
HIST 335 - The African American Experience in the United States: African Background to 1885 Credits: 3
HIST 336 - The African American Experience in the United States: Reconstruction to the Present Credits: 3
HIST 337 - Race and Gender in American Sports Credits: 3
HIST 338 - History of College Athletics Credits: 3
HIST 339 - History of Baseball Credits: 3
HIST 340 - Basketball and the American Experience Credits: 3
HIST 341 - History of Sport in the United States Credits: 3
HIST 342 - History of the Olympics and the United States Credits: 3
HIST 350 - U.S. Women's History Credits: 3
HIST 351 - History of the Old South Credits: 3
HIST 352 - The South since 1865 Credits: 3
HIST 370 - War and American Society Credits: 3
HIST 373 - The Civil War and Reconstruction Credits: 3
HIST 377 - The Vietnam War Credits: 3
HIST 378 - History of Aviation Credits: 3
HIST 380 - Uncovering the U.S. Past Through Film Credits: 3
HIST 389 - Topics in U.S. History Credits: 3
HIST 391 - History of Virginia to 1800 Credits: 3
HIST 392 - History of Virginia Since 1800 Credits: 3
HIST 401 - Colonial America Credits: 3
HIST 403 - Revolutionary Era in American History, 1763-1812 Credits: 3
HIST 404 - Jacksonian America, 1812-1854 Credits: 3

Two courses (6 credits) of European history chosen from:

HIST 100 - History of Western Civilization
used to fulfill the Mason Core requirement in Western civilization may also fulfill 3 credits of this requirement.

HIST 101 - Foundations of Western Civilization Credits: 3
HIST 102 - Development of Western Civilization Credits: 3
HIST 301 - Classical Greece Credits: 3
HIST 302 - Classical Rome Credits: 3
HIST 304 - Western Europe in the Middle Ages Credits: 3
HIST 305 - The Renaissance Credits: 3
HIST 306 - The Reformation Credits: 3
HIST 307 - Old Regime and Revolutionary Europe Credits: 3
HIST 308 - Nineteenth-Century Europe Credits: 3
HIST 309 - Europe in Crisis: 1914-1948 Credits: 3
HIST 312 - Nationalism in Eastern Europe Credits: 3
HIST 314 - History of Germany Credits: 3
HIST 322 - Modern Britain Credits: 3
HIST 326 - Stalinism Credits: 3
HIST 327 - The Soviet Union and Russia Since World War II Credits: 3
HIST 328 - Rise of Russia Credits: 3
HIST 329 - Modern Russia and the Soviet Union Credits: 3
HIST 388 - Topics in European History Credits: 3
HIST 426 - The Russian Revolution Credits: 3
HIST 436 - European Society and Culture: 19th and 20th Centuries Credits: 3
HIST 480 - Alexander the Great Credits: 3

Two courses (6 credits) of global, Latin American, African, Asian, or Middle Eastern history chosen from:

Approved courses in history used to fulfill the Mason Core requirement in global understanding and the college-level requirement in non-Western culture may be used to fulfill this requirement.

HIST 125 - Introduction to World History Credits: 3
HIST 202 - Freshman/Sophomore Seminar in Global History Credits: 3
HIST 251 - Survey of East Asian History Credits: 3
HIST 252 - Survey of East Asian History Credits: 3
HIST 261 - Survey of African History Credits: 3
HIST 262 - Survey of African History Credits: 3
HIST 271 - Survey of Latin American History Credits: 3
HIST 272 - Survey of Latin American History Credits: 3
HIST 281 - Survey of Middle Eastern Civilization Credits: 3
HIST 282 - Survey of Middle Eastern Civilization Credits: 3
HIST 353 - History of Traditional China Credits: 3
HIST 354 - Modern China Credits: 3
HIST 356 - Modern Japan Credits: 3
HIST 357 - Postwar Japan Credits: 3
HIST 358 - Post-1949 China Credits: 3
HIST 359 - Modern Iraq Credits: 3
HIST 360 - History of South Africa Credits: 3
HIST 364 - Revolution and Radical Politics in Latin America Credits: 3
HIST 365 - Conquest and Colonization in Latin America Credits: 3
HIST 366 - Comparative Slavery Credits: 3
HIST 367 - History, Fiction, and Film in Latin America Credits: 3
HIST 387 - Topics in Global History Credits: 3-6
HIST 460 - Modern Iran Credits: 3
HIST 461 - Arab-Israeli Conflict Credits: 3
HIST 462 - Women in Islamic Society Credits: 3
HIST 465 - The Middle East in the 20th Century Credits: 3

One methods course (3 credits)

HIST 300 - Introduction to Historical Method Credits: 3 (with a minimum grade of 2.00)

One seminar course (3 credits)

HIST 499 - RS: Senior Seminar in History Credits: 3 (fulfills university synthesis requirement)

Four elective courses (12 credits) in history

Students should choose courses in history at the 300 or 400 levels to meet this requirement if they need credits to complete the 18-credit, upper-level history requirement.

In addition to HIST courses, history majors may use one 300-level ARTH course and HNRS 240 to fulfill this requirement.

Total: 36 credits

Writing-Intensive Requirement

The university requires all students to complete at least one course designated as “writing intensive” in their majors at the 300 level or above. Students majoring in history may fulfill this requirement by successfully completing HIST 300 and 499 .

Mason Core (40 credits)

Note: some Mason Core requirements may already be fulfilled by the major requirements listed above. Students are strongly encouraged to consult their advisors to ensure they fulfill all remaining Mason Core requirements.

Expand each item below for a link to specific course lists for each category.

College Level Requirements for the BA degree

In addition to the Mason Core program, students pursuing a BA degree must complete the course work below. Except where expressly prohibited, a course used to fulfill a college level requirement may also be used simultaneously to satisfy other requirements (Mason Core requirements or requirements for the major).

Philosophy or religious studies (3 credits)

Fulfilled by any course in philosophy or religious studies (PHIL, RELI) except for PHIL 323 , 324 , 327 , 393 , 460 . PHIL 253 and RELI 235 cannot be used to fulfill both the philosophy/religious studies requirement and the Mason Core literature requirement.

Social and behavioral science (3 credits)

3 credits in addition to the university-wide requirement in social and behavioral science for a total of 6 credits. The two courses used to fulfill the combined college and university requirements must be from different disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. This requirement may be fulfilled by completing any course in ANTH, CRIM, ECON, GOVT, HIST (except 100 or 125), LING, PSYC, or SOCI and these courses in GGS: 101 , 103 , 110 , 301 , 303 , 304 , 305 , 306 , 315 , 316 , 320 , 325 , 330 , 357 , 380 .

Foreign language

Intermediate-level proficiency in one foreign language. This requirement may be fulfilled by completing a course in a foreign language numbered 202, 209, or 210 (or higher level courses taught in the language) or achieving a satisfactory score on an approved proficiency test. A three course sequence in American Sign Language (EDSE 115 - American Sign Language (ASL) I , EDSE 116 - American Sign Language (ASL) II , and EDSE 219 - American Sign Language (ASL) III will also meet the foreign language requirement. Students who are already proficient in a second language may be eligible for a waiver of this requirement. Additional information on waivers can be found at the Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

Non-Western culture (3 credits)

3 credits of an approved course in the study of a non-Western culture in addition to the course used to fulfill the Mason Core requirement in global understanding. A course used to fulfill the Mason Core global understanding requirement may not be simultaneously used to satisfy this college-level requirement. A course used to fulfill this requirement may be used simultaneously to fulfill any other requirements (Mason Core requirements, college-level requirements, or requirements for the major). Additional information on waivers can be found at the Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

Electives

Any remaining credits may be completed with elective courses to bring the degree total to 120.

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History, BA