History Major and Minor
What are the History Department's Learning Outcomes?
The History Department has established learning outcomes for its major curriculum. Upon completion of the history major, students can:
- describe and discuss historical facts, themes, and ideas;
- identify, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize primary and secondary source evidence;
- analyze an event, source, idea or person within its historical context;
- critically evaluate change over time (the idea that the relationship between events over time suggests meanings that might be overlooked if the events were examined in isolation);
- identify different perspectives on the past, whether those be historical, interpretive, or methodological in nature;
- conduct research independently using primary and secondary source evidence; and
- express knowledge and reason effectively in writing.
What are the concentrations within the History major?
Every history major must choose a concentration within the major. There are three concentrations within the history (HST) major: standard, pre-law, and public history. Each of the three concentrations require the same number of courses/credits.
For more information about individual concentrations, please visit the course catalog.
How do I declare a history major?
Please see the LAS Declaring a Major page.
What is HST 390: Capstone in Historical Research and Writing?
History 390 is the capstone seminar required of all History majors. Students in all of the HST major concentrations are required to take a pair of linked courses that includes a topical 300-level HST course in one quarter (called the “gateway course”) and the linked HST 390 research practicum, which is also the major’s Capstone Seminar, on the same topic and taught by the same instructor the following quarter. Students are strongly encouraged to begin the gateway-capstone sequence in their junior year or early in their senior year bearing in mind that the sequences are reliably offered only in Autumn-Winter and Winter-Spring. HST 299 is a prerequisite for HST 390.
Not all 300-level HST courses are gateways to HST 390 practicum, so make sure that you take the right classes. The History Department posts the gateway-capstone sequences online and in SAC 420.
Note that HST 390 counts as a capstone and not as one of the six 300 level HST courses.
Please note that all history majors must take HST 390, even if they also take another capstone course in a different program.
As a history major, can I take history courses as open electives?
Yes.Can I use 300-level history courses to satisfy the history major’s 200-level requirements?
No. This is sometimes allowed but requires prior permission. Please talk to your faculty advisor early if you are interested in doing this. Permission is not guaranteed.
I am a transfer student. I have never taken HST 298 or 299 at DePaul but I did take similar courses at another institution. Can the HST 298 and/or 299 requirement be waived?
In cases such as this, the chair may (at his or her discretion) approve the substitution of a similar transfer course for HST 298, but all students should plan to take HST 299 at DePaul. (In order to enroll in HST 299, the chair will need to have previously approved the transfer course substitution for HST 298.)What is an Independent Study course? How do I arrange to take one?
The College of Liberal Arts and Social Science defines an Independent Study course as one “taken with faculty supervision for knowledge enhancement beyond the courses offered in a particular area of interest. In rare cases, when scheduling or other conflicts exist, a regular course may be taken as an Independent Study.” Students may approach a faculty member about doing an Independent Study. If the instructor agrees, the student must next submit an Independent Study application. Only with faculty and College approval will the Independent Study go forward.
How do I transfer to/from a major in a different college?
Changing majors across colleges (i.e., from a history major in LAS to a finance major in the College of Commerce, or vice versa) first requires an Inter-College Transfer (ICT). Please see DePaul Central's Guide to Changing College, Major or Minor for details.What do I need to do or take for a minor in history?
The requirements for a history minor (declared in summer 2008 or later) are six courses, distributed as follows:
- Two lower-division (100- or 200-level) HST courses
- HST 298: Introduction to Historical Sources and Methods
- Two upper-division (300-level) HST courses (prerequisite: HST 298)
- One course at either the lower or upper level
How do I declare a history minor?
Please see the Guide to Changing College, Major or Minor for details.What is the Newberry Library Undergraduate Seminar?
The Newberry Library Undergraduate Seminar (NLUS) is an intensive, 15-week (semester-long) course that runs from January through mid-May, spanning winter and spring quarters. It is an opportunity for undergraduate students from DePaul, UIC, Loyola, and Roosevelt Universities to conduct original research at one of the nation's leading rare materials libraries under the guidance of an interdisciplinary faculty team. (The instructors may be professors at any of the participating universities.) NLUS is an especially valuable opportunity for strong undergraduate students who are considering graduate study in the humanities or social sciences. The course meets at the Newberry Library in downtown Chicago (near CTA Red line Clark/Division stop) and is capped at 20 students. The seminar topic changes every year and is usually announced by the beginning of fall quarter. Interested students must submit an application, which is usually available through the history department’s website; participants are selected through a competitive process.
As a history major, how could I apply the Newberry Library Undergraduate Seminar toward graduation requirements?
DePaul students who successfully complete NLUS earn 9 credits, 4.5 credits in each of two related disciplines, generally history and another field related to the course topic that year (such as English or art history). A history major’s faculty advisor can authorize the credit earned in NLUS to count as two 300-level HST courses. History majors may also be eligible to use NLUS as a substitute for the required two-course gateway HST 3xx-390 sequence, and/or to use 4.5 of the credits earned in NLUS to satisfy the Experiential Learning requirement in the Liberal Studies program. The student should discuss the application of NLUS credit with his or her advisor.