2024-2025 University Catalog
History, BA
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 Return to: College of Liberal Arts (Undergraduate)
About the Program
Purdue’s approach to the study of history is equally varied among politics, society, culture, gender, race, war, diplomacy, science, and technology. The Department of History is deeply involved in educating students to think critically, with courses that teach not only what happened in the past but also how the past informs the present. History majors acquire skills in critical thinking and communication.
The department is dedicated to excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching as well as historical research. The department’s faculty members take pride in fostering close working relationships with students. The faculty members have national and international reputations for research, and the department has earned campus-wide recognition for excellent teaching. Departmental faculty consistently win major research awards and grants, hold offices in professional organizations, and serve on editorial boards at home and abroad as well as publish articles in major journals and critically acclaimed books.
Each year, the department coordinates study abroad trips around the world, most recently to Germany, Egypt, England, Greece, China, Spain and Turkey.
3 Year Degrees
The College of Liberal Arts offers the opportunity for students to complete their degree in three years. Degree in 3 majors allow students to enter the work force or graduate school a year earlier than traditional plans of study while also providing a cost-effective way to complete an undergraduate degree.
Students can complete the three-year option with or without AP credit by adding summer sessions to traditional coursework in Fall and Spring semesters. Degree in 3 offers a great combination of cost-savings and the opportunity to accelerate your future and achieve your goals.
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About the Program
Purdue’s approach to the study of history is equally varied among politics, society, culture, gender, race, war, diplomacy, science, and technology. The Department of History is deeply involved in educating students to think critically, with courses that teach not only what happened in the past but also how the past informs the present. History majors acquire skills in critical thinking and communication. The department is dedicated to excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching as well as historical research. The department’s faculty members take pride in fostering close working relationships with students. The faculty members have national and international reputations for research, and the department has earned campus-wide recognition for excellent teaching. Departmental faculty consistently win major research awards and grants, hold offices in professional organizations, and serve on editorial boards at home and abroad as well as publish articles in major journals and critically acclaimed books. Each year, the department coordinates study abroad trips around the world, most recently to Germany, Egypt, England, Greece, China, Spain and Turkey. 3 Year DegreesThe College of Liberal Arts offers the opportunity for students to complete their degree in three years. Degree in 3 majors allow students to enter the work force or graduate school a year earlier than traditional plans of study while also providing a cost-effective way to complete an undergraduate degree. Students can complete the three-year option with or without AP credit by adding summer sessions to traditional coursework in Fall and Spring semesters. Degree in 3 offers a great combination of cost-savings and the opportunity to accelerate your future and achieve your goals. Degree Requirements
120 Credits RequiredLiberal Arts Curriculum
Each liberal arts major is designed as a four-year plan of study and includes three types of courses: Major, Core, and Elective. Most students take five courses per semester, with some of each type.
Professional academic advisors meet individually with each of our students on a regular basis to help with course selection, academic planning, and career development, as well as to help students find additional resources on campus.
Departmental/Program Major Course Requirements (33 credits)
Students must earn a “C-” or better in each History course. The P/NP option is not available.
Area A - U.S. History (3 credits)
Choose one course from Area A . Area B - European History (3 credits)
Choose one course from Area B.
Area C - Latin American, Asian, Middle Eastern, or African History (3 credits)
Choose one course from Area C.
Area D - Period prior to 1800 (3 credits)
Choose one course from Area D.
Area E - Thematic History (3 credits)
Choose one course from Area E.
Additional Course (3 credits)
Choose one course from Area A-E.
Junior Research Seminar (3 credits)
Other Departmental - Liberal Arts Core (31-55 credits)
The College of Liberal Arts Other Departmental area is designed to be experiential, informative, and relevant to life in a rapidly changing universe. It combines courses that fulfill University Core foundational outcomes, discipline diversity, social diversity, and other languages to produce a well-rounded background for students. Coursework is integrative and collaborative and fosters insight, understanding, independence, initiative, and the desire to reach across divides and redefine our relationship to the peoples and the worlds that surround us. Core I: Disciplinary Diversity (6-18 credits)
Choose 1 course in 6 different disciplines within the College of Liberal Arts. Note: Disciplines are differentiated by course prefix. Undistributed credit does not count to satisfy this requirement. Core II: Social Diversity (1-3 credits)
Culture, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity all play a role in how others perceive us and how we experience the world, and as such, are meaningful categories for analyzing social change and social problems past and present. The purpose of this category is to acquaint students with the pluralistic nature of the world and foster an appreciation and awareness of the diverse range of lived human experience. Courses in this list will expose students to important aspects of human diversity and foster understanding about different world views. Choose one course from this list: Social Diversity Selective List . Core III: Linguistic Diversity (3-4 credits)
Proficiency through Level IV in one world language. Courses may be required to reach Level IV proficiency; these courses will be counted toward electives. Foundational Requirements (21-30 credits)
Students must complete approved coursework that meet the following foundational outcomes. Many of these can also be used to fulfill Core I, Core II, or Core III. - Humanities - all approved courses accepted.
- Behavioral/Social Science - all approved courses accepted.
- Information Literacy - all approved courses accepted.
- Science #1 - all approved courses accepted.
- Science #2 - all approved courses accepted.
- Science, Technology, and Society - all approved courses accepted.
- Written Communication - all approved courses accepted.
- Oral Communication - all approved courses accepted.
- Quantitative Reasoning - all approved courses accepted.
Electives (32-56 credits)
GPA Requirements
- 2.0 Graduation GPA required for Bachelor of Arts degree.
College of Liberal Arts Pass/No Pass Option Policy
- P/NP cannot be used to satisfy Liberal Arts Core, Liberal Arts major, minor, or certificate requirements.
University Requirements
University Core Requirements
For a complete listing of University Core Course Selectives, visit the University Senate Website.
- Human Cultures: Behavioral/Social Science (BSS)
- Human Cultures: Humanities (HUM)
- Information Literacy (IL)
- Oral Communication (OC)
- Quantitative Reasoning (QR)
- Science #1 (SCI)
- Science #2 (SCI)
- Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
- Written Communication (WC)
Civics Literacy Proficiency Requirement
The Civics Literacy Proficiency activities are designed to develop civic knowledge of Purdue students in an effort to graduate a more informed citizenry. For more information visit the Civics Literacy Proficiency website.
To obtain the Civics Literacy Proficiency, students will complete an educational activity as part of their chosen Civics Literacy Pathway and pass the Purdue Civics knowledge test. The knowledge test can be completed at any time while the pathway is being perused. There are three different pathways:
- Civics Event pathway - Attend six approved civics-related events and pass the required exam; or
- Civics Literacy Podcast pathway - Complete 12 podcasts created by the Purdue Center for C-SPAN Scholarship & Engagement that use C-SPAN material and pass the required exam; or
- Approved course pathway - Complete one of the following approved courses and pass the required exam.
More details about each pathway and how to complete the requirement can be found on the Civics Literacy Student Dashboard in myPurdue.
Upper Level Requirement
- Resident study at Purdue University for at least two semesters and the enrollment in and completion of at least 32 semester hours of coursework required and approved for the completion of the degree. These courses are expected to be at least junior-level (30000+) courses.
- Students should be able to fulfill most, if not all, of these credits within their major requirements; there should be a clear pathway for students to complete any credits not completed within their major.
Additional Information
- Liberal Arts offers a streamlined plan of study for students pursuing a second degree outside CLA. Contact the CLA Advising Office for more information.
Fall 1st Year
- Oral Communication - Credit Hours: 3.00 (CLA Core I: 1 of 6)
- History Area A: U.S. History (CLA Core I: 2 of 6) - Credit Hours: 3.00
- World Language Level I - Credit Hours: 3.00-4.00
- Quantitative Reasoning - Credit Hours: 3.00-5.00
- Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
Spring 1st Year
- Written Communication - Credit Hours: 3.00-4.00
- History Area B: European History - Credit Hours: 3.00
- World Language Level II - Credit Hours: 3.00-4.00
- Behavioral/Social Sciences - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Science - Credit Hours: 3.00
Fall 2nd Year
- History Area C: Latin American, Asian, Middle Eastern, or African History - Credit Hours: 3.00
- History Area D: Period prior to 1800 - Credit Hours: 3.00
- World Language Level III - Credit Hours: 3.00-4.00
- Science - Credit Hours: 3.00
- CLA Core II: Social Diversity - Credit Hours: 1.00-3.00
Spring 2nd Year
- History Area E: Thematic History - Credit Hours: 3.00
- World Language Level IV (CLA Core I: 3 of 6; CLA Core III) - Credit Hours: 3.00-4.00
- Science, Technology & Society - Credit Hours: 1.00-3.00
- CLA Core I: 4 of 6 - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
Fall 3rd Year
- HIST 39500 - Junior Research Seminar Credits: 3.00 ♦
- CLA Core I: 5 of 6 - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
Spring 3rd Year
- History Area A-E: - Credit Hours: 3.00
- CLA Core I: 6 of 6 - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
Spring 4th Year
- History Area F: History 40000 or 50000 level - Credit Hours: 3.00
- History Area F: History 40000 or 50000 level - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
- Elective - Credit Hours: 0.00-3.00
Pre-Requisite Information
For pre-requisite information, log in to mypurdue.purdue.edu and click here.
World Language Courses
World Language proficiency requirements vary by program. The following list is inclusive of all world languages PWL offers for credit; for acceptable languages and proficiency levels, see your advisor. (ASL-American Sign Language; ARAB-Arabic; CHNS-Chinese; FR-French; GER-German; GREK-Greek(Ancient); HEBR-Hebrew(Biblical); HEBR-Hebrew(Modern); ITAL-Italian; JPNS-Japanese; KOR-Korean; LATN-Latin; PTGS=Portuguese; RUSS-Russian; SPAN-Spanish)
Critical Course
The ♦ course is considered critical.
In alignment with the Degree Map Guidance for Indiana’s Public Colleges and Universities, published by the Commission for Higher Education (pursuant to HEA 1348-2013), a Critical Course is identified as “one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major. Students who want to be nurses, for example, should know that they are expected to be proficient in courses like biology in order to be successful. These would be identified by the institutions for each degree program.”
Disclaimer
The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements. Consultation with an advisor may result in an altered plan customized for an individual student. The myPurduePlan powered by DegreeWorks is the knowledge source for specific requirements and completion.
Comparative information about Purdue University and other U.S. educational institutions is also available through the College Navigator tool, provided by the National Center for Education Statistics, and through the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
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Return to: College of Liberal Arts (Undergraduate)
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