Program of Study (CAS Bulletin)

History (2022 - 2024)

Major in History

The major in history requires a minimum of 36 points in any combination of 2- and 4-point courses, with a grade of C or better in each course.

  • All majors must take one workshop (HIST-UA 900-999, but excluding 994, 996, 980, and 997).
  • Students must also take one capstone seminar (HIST-UA 400-499; prerequisite: completion of the workshop requirement).
  • At least 20 points in total must be taken in advanced level history courses (HIST-UA 100 or above). This includes the workshop and capstone seminar requirements.
  • No student may take more than 16 points in introductory courses (numbered below HIST-UA 100).
  • At least 4 points must be taken in each of the three geographical areas: U.S., European, and non-Western. These courses may be either introductory or advanced.
  • At least 8 points must be taken in pre-1800 courses.
  • One course can count toward no more than two geographical or temporal requirements.

Policies Applying to the Major in History

No Pass/Fail courses can count toward the major.

Students may count four points (the equivalent of one course) from Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or Advanced (A) Level examinations toward the requirements of the major. Four points from other advanced standing examinations may be accepted after consultation with the department. These credits are not equivalent to specific courses in the major (they are HIST-UA elective credit) and count as one introductory course. If AP/IB/A-Level credit is used toward the major, then only three other non-history or non-NYU (transfer) courses (12 points) can be petitioned toward the major (including Liberal Studies courses).

A transfer student must take at least 20 points in the department. A total of 16 transfer points can be approved through the course petition process to be counted toward the major, inclusive of any AP/IB/A-Level credits. Approval of course credit is not guaranteed.

Courses that are not cross-listed with the history department must be approved by the director of undergraduate studies. Students can petition for up to four courses (16 points) to count towards their major by turning in a course petition form with the syllabus to the Department of History. No course is guaranteed.

Certain courses in the College Core Curriculum may also count toward the history major as introductory courses. These are Texts and Ideas and Cultures and Contexts, if they are taught by faculty from the Department of History. Also, majoring in history exempts students from taking the Societies and the Social Sciences component of the Core Curriculum.

Global Public Health/History Major

The global public health/history major provides a unique opportunity to unite the study of human experience in relation to particular times and places with the study of health of populations around the world. The major draws on the expertise of the CAS Department of History in providing students with the tools needed to analyze and interpret many different kinds of evidence—cultural, social, economic, and political—and to organize them into a coherent whole, presented clearly in written or oral form. Students will study a variety of topics, such as environmental history, ethnicity, sexuality, epidemiology, health policy, gender, and social movements. NYU’s global public health/history major provides a unique set of skills that may be applied in a variety of careers including law, teaching, public health, business, film, international affairs, and medicine and science.

Students in this combined major must consult with the DUS or other departmental adviser to work out a course plan, especially as this major requires students to study away for one semester. The following are the fifteen courses (60 points) that must be completed with a grade of C or higher [please note that the post-intermediate language requirement for the major applies only to students who matriculated before fall 2021; if they are granted a waiver or exemption from the requirement, they must take an additional (third) 4-point elective in the major. Students who matriculate in and after fall 2021 have no post-intermediate language requirement for this major, and are all required to take three major electives]:

Global public health requirements (six courses/24 points):

  • Health and Society in a Global Context (UGPH-GU 10; no prerequisites)
  • Biostatistics for Public Health (UGPH-GU 20). This satisfies the College Core Curriculum requirement in Quantitative Reasoning.
  • Epidemiology for Global Health (UGPH-GU 30)
  • Health Policy in a Global World (UGPH-GU 40)
  • Environmental Health in a Global World (UGPH-GU 50)
  • Undergraduate Experiential Learning in Global Public Health (UGPH-GU 60)

Note well: UGPH-GU 10 is the prerequisite or corequisite for UGPH-GU 20, 30, 40, and 50. UGPH-GU 30 is an additional (recommended) prerequisite or corequisite for UGPH-GU 40. In addition, UGPH-GU 10, 20, and 30 are firm prerequisites for UGPH-GU 60.

One foreign language course above the intermediate two level (one course/4 points):

  • This requirement applies only to students who matriculated before fall 2021; students who matriculate in and after fall 2021 do not take this additional course.
  • Students in the former category may petition for a waiver from the requirement, or may use an NYU language placement or language exemption exam to meet this requirement. If they successfully waive or exempt out of the requirement, they must take an additional (third) 4-point major elective (see below) to satisfy the total number of credits required for the major. For more details, consult the archived PDF of the 2020-2022 CAS Bulletin at bulletin.cas.nyu.edu, or discuss with a major adviser.
  • Students in the latter category are all required to take a third elective in the major (see below) to replace the discontinued (for them) 4-point post-intermediate language requirement and satisfy the total number of credits required for the major.

History requirements (two courses/8 points):

  • One workshop (HIST-UA 900-999; excluding 994, 996, 980 and 997)
  • One capstone seminar (HIST-UA 400-499)

History electives (four courses/16 points):

  • Four courses numbered above HIST-UA 101. Students must take at least one pre-1800 course and at least one course in each of these three regions: U.S., non-Western, and European. All must be advanced.

Major electives (three courses/12 points):

  • Three additional electives must be completed in the GPH program or history, by advisement. For students who matriculate in and after fall 2021, the third elective replaces the discontinued (for them) post-intermediate language requirement in this major.
  • Students who matriculated before fall 2021 technically have a major elective requirement of only two courses/8 points; however, if they waive or exempt out of the major's post-intermediate language requirement, they must take a third major elective for 4 points.

All majors must also study away for one semester.

For descriptions of GPH (UGPH-GU) courses and for all policies applying to the major (including those for transfer students), please see the global public health section of this Bulletin.

Minor in History

The minor in history requires a minimum of 16 points in any combination of 2- and 4-point courses, with a grade of C or better in each course. Twelve of the points must be taken in the Department of History. Pass/Fail courses do not count. No more than 4 points may be taken in introductory-level courses. Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and other advanced standing credit does not count toward the minor.

Note: Students should consult the director of undergraduate studies for possible minor programs, course offerings, and course descriptions. A complete listing of history courses currently offered may be found in the current class schedule available on the department website.

Honors Program

Students with strong academic records (a GPA of 3.65 in history and 3.65 overall) may apply to the director of undergraduate studies for admission to the history honors program. Students must be declared history majors or have already taken the workshop (HIST-UA 9XX) to apply for the two-course, 8-point program.

The honors program is completed in two consecutive semesters and consists of a small Honors Seminar (HIST-UA 994) followed by an individualized Honors Tutorial (HIST-UA 996). In the Honors Seminar (which satisfies the capstone seminar requirement for the major) students define a thesis topic, develop a bibliography, read broadly, and begin their research. A substantial part of the research, usually including a rough draft of the thesis, should be completed by the semester’s end. In the Honors Tutorial, students work one-on-one with a faculty director to complete the thesis.

The honors thesis varies in length from 40 to 70 pages, depending on the nature and scope of the subject. The completed thesis, approved for defense by the director, is defended before a committee consisting of a primary faculty advisor and at least one additional faculty reader. A grade of at least A-minus on the thesis is required for the award of honors in history. Students who receive a lower passing grade are simply awarded 8 points toward the major.

Study Away

The department encourages history majors and minors to study away during the fall or spring semester of their junior year. Studying away at one of New York University’s many global academic centers can help open doors to the discovery of unexpected areas of interest, as well as provide new insight about already established historical perspectives and research topics. Some courses offered by NYU for study away, as well as other approved programs outside NYU, may be eligible for inclusion into the history major. History majors should consult the director of undergraduate studies before making plans to study away.