Bulletin--History Program

History


College of Behavioral and Social Sciences
Dean: Joseph Julian

Department of History
PSY 405
415-338-1604
Chair: Jerald Combs

Graduate Coordinator: R. Hoffman

Faculty
Professors—Batman, Bonds, Boxer, Cherny, Combs, Compton, D'Agostino, Felstiner, Hoffman, Hymans, Illick, Issel, Kidner, Mejia, Rappe, Rischin, Scully, Seely, Tygiel

Associate Professor—Barlow

Assistant Professors—Longmore, Loomis, Oñate, Peard

Lecturers—Dreyfus, Germany, Unger

Programs
B.A. in History

B.A. in History: Honors Concentration

Minor in History

M.A. in History


Program Scope
The study of history is the study of change in human behavior over time. Students majoring in history may select advanced courses focusing upon the entire range of human behavior within a nation or region during a given time period, or courses dealing with some specialized aspect of life (social history, economic history, etc.), or courses which explore the concepts and methodology of historical research and analysis.

The Master of Arts in History is offered with specialties in the United States, Europe and the Mediterranean before A.D. 1500, Europe after A.D. 1500, Latin America, East Asia, and gender in history. The M.A. program is designed to accommodate students' interests and needs as they pursue a course of study under the direction of a committee of faculty members. Together with their committee, students plan a program to give both depth and breadth to their understanding of the past. The faculty are familiar with and sensitive to the needs of students who must work, part-time or full-time, while pursuing their graduate program. San Francisco and the Bay Area contain many libraries, archival repositories, and historical agencies where students can do research or obtain on-site experience through an internship.

Career Outlook
The history program provides training for those interested in a teaching credential, for those preparing to do graduate work, and for those who might go on to law school or seek employment in areas such as government service, archival work, and the business sector.

BACHELOR OF ARTS IN HISTORY

Courses for this program are listed in alphabetical sequence (see History discipline in the Announcement of Courses section).

Students may choose advisers according to personal preference. Students may be assigned or referred to an adviser at the department office, PSY 405.

All history majors must include at least one proseminar (HIST 640, 642, or 652). This seminar should be taken after HIST 300 and may be in either field of emphasis or may be outside the fields of emphasis. Twenty-four of the 36 units required for the major must be upper division. History majors cannot choose CR/NC grading in more than two history courses for their major, nor elect CR/NC grading in HIST 300 or their proseminar.

						Units
HIST 110-111	History of Western Civiliza-
		tion I-II (3 each) or
	HIST 114-115	World History I-II* 
			(3 each)		 6
HIST 120	History of the United States 
		to 1865				 3
HIST 121	History of the United States 
		since 1865			 3
HIST 300	Seminar in Historical Analysis	 3
Units chosen from fields of emphasis in each of 
the following three categories, of which twelve 
units must be in one category and six units in 
each of the other two categories: (1) the United 
States; (2) Europe, either Europe before 1500, 
Europe since 1500, or Eastern Europe; and 
(3) either Africa, Asia, or Latin America.	24
		Total				39
*HIST 114-115 may be substituted for HIST 110-111 on advisement.

BACHELOR OF ARTS IN HISTORY: HONORS CONCENTRATION

Prerequisites
In order for a student to be eligible for admission to the Honors Program, the following requirements must be met.

Prerequisites					Units
HIST 110-111	History of Western Civiliza-
		tion I-II (3 each) or
	HIST 114-115	World History I-II* 
			(3 each)		 6
HIST 120	History of the United States 
		to 1865				 3
HIST 121	History of the United States 
		since 1865			 3
		Total for prerequisites		12
Required Courses
HIST 300	Seminar in Historical Analysis	 3
Fields of Emphasis: Students should complete 
twelve units in one field of emphasis and six 
units in each of the other two fields of 
emphasis.					24
	American history
	Choose one field from among Europe 
		before 1500, Europe since 1500, 
		or Eastern Europe
	Choose one field from among Africa, 
		Asia, or Latin America
	NOTE: Courses in comparative history, 
	involving two or more of these fields, 
	should be counted in any field covered 
	by the course.
HIST 640, 642, or 652 Proseminar		 3
HIST 697	Honors Thesis			 3
	The proseminar will be taken after 
	HIST 300, normally in the major field. 
	The honors thesis will be taken after 
	the proseminar and will normally 
	represent an extension of the work in 
	that proseminar, to be supervised by 
	the proseminar instructor. For excep-
	tions, consult the honors adviser.
		Total for required courses	33
		Total for honors concentration	45
*HIST 114-115 may be substituted for HIST 110-111 on advisement.

Thirty-three of the 45 required units must be upper division. History majors cannot choose CR/NC grading in more than two history courses for their major, and cannot elect CR/NC grading in HIST 300 or their proseminar. With the consent of the honors adviser, students may offer up to six units from other departments to count toward honors concentration requirements.

Language or Statistics/Data Processing Proficiency
To graduate in the history honors program, a student must demonstrate either proficiency in statistics/data processing or proficiency in a foreign language at a level comparable to that of students who have successfully completed one year of college courses. This level of proficiency is to be demonstrated as follows:

Grade Performance Requirement
Students are expected to maintain a minimum grade of B in each course to meet the honors major requirements, and a grade point average of 3.25 in all courses taken to complete the honors program. Students failing to do so will be dropped from the program. Additionally, students will be required to have an overall grade point average of 3.25 in all university-level courses taken to fulfill the university requirements for the honors degree.

Single Subject Teaching Credential: History
Students who are considering teaching in the secondary schools should see a departmental credential adviser before planning their program. Specific courses and an assessment of competencies are required for admission to the Secondary Education credential program. Students should also contact the Student Services Office in BH 130, (415) 338-7038, regarding teaching credential information.

MINOR IN HISTORY

History minors cannot choose CR/NC grading in more than one course in their minor, nor elect CR/NC grading in HIST 300.

						Units
HIST 110-111	History of Western Civiliza-
		tion I-II (3 each)
	HIST 114-115	World History I-II* 
			(3 each)		 6
HIST 120	History of the United States 
		to 1865				 3
HIST 121	History of the United States 
		since 1865			 3
HIST 300	Seminar in Historical Analysis	 3
Upper division electives in history on 
advisement					 9
		Total				24
*HIST 114-115 may be substituted for HIST 110-111 on advisement.

MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY

Graduate Advisers—Barlow, Bonds, Hoffman, Issel, Kidner, Loomis

Admission to Program
A prospective student must fulfill the general university requirements as stated in the section on Graduate and Post-Baccalaureate Admissions of the Bulletin. To be considered for unconditional admission to the M.A. program in History, a student must have completed an undergraduate major in history with a minimum grade point average of 3.5. Applicants whose GPA in history falls between 3.25 and 3.5 can be considered for admission on a conditional basis. Students whose undergraduate major was not history should consult the graduate coordinator about making up course deficiencies in history. The usual pattern is for the student to complete the equivalent of a B.A. in History before being accepted as a classified student in the graduate program of the department.

If the student's undergraduate record meets the basic requirements and gives promise of a successful pursuit of graduate work, the department will recommend that the student be admitted either to classified graduate standing (which means that the student may immediately proceed to take graduate courses and seminars) or conditional standing, specifying the conditions and time limit within which they must be met.

Written English Proficiency Requirement
Level One: satisfactorily meeting the writing requirements in HIST 700. Level Two: satisfactorily completing any graduate level seminar.

Advancement to Candidacy
Besides meeting all general requirements for advancement to candidacy, applicants must maintain a 3.0 grade-point average in all history courses taken for the Master of Arts, and may not list on the Graduate Approved Program any course in which the grade received is below B–.

Courses for this discipline are listed in alphabetical sequence (see History discipline in the Announcement of Courses section).

Program						Units
HIST 700	History of Knowledge		 3
Major Field					15
One of the following areas of emphasis must be 
selected and courses completed upon advisement 
with a total of fifteen units. The six units of 
graduate course work specified are required. A 
minimum of six of the nine units of electives 
must be chosen from the appropriate upper divi-
sion and graduate courses in the History Depart-
ment; three units from outside the department 
may be presented on advisement.

The United States
HIST 780	Seminar in American History 
		to 1877
HIST 790	Seminar in American History 
		since 1877
Courses on advisement (nine units)

Europe and the Mediterranean before 1500
HIST 710	Seminar in Ancient and Medieval 
		History (must be repeated with a 
		different topic for a total of 
		six units)
Courses on advisement (nine units)

Europe since 1500
HIST 730	Seminar in Early Modern European 
		History
HIST 740	Seminar in European History 
		since 1815
Courses on advisement (nine units)

East Asia
HIST 840	Seminar in Asian History (must 
		be repeated with a different 
		topic for a total of six units)
Courses on advisement (nine units)

Latin America
HIST 830	Seminar in Latin American 
		History (must be repeated with 
		a different topic for a total 
		of six units)
Courses on advisement (nine units)

Gender in History
HIST 805	Seminar in Women's History (must 
		be repeated with a different 
		topic for a total of six units)
Courses on advisement (nine units)
Minor Field					 9
	A minor field of nine units of upper 
	division and graduate courses must be 
	completed on advisement, three units of 
	which must be a graduate seminar in 
	History. While three of the remaining 
	six units must be in History, on advise-
	ment three units may be selected from 
	a related discipline. The minor field 
	may be in one of the major fields above, 
	or upon advisement, in a special histori-
	cal field; e.g., urban history, public 
	history, labor history, women's 
	history, etc.
Select upon advisement one of the following 
culminating requirements			 3
	HIST 896	Directed Reading in 
			History and 
			Master's Written Compre-
			hensive Examination in 
			student's major field or
	HIST 898	Master's Thesis with 
			Oral Defense of Thesis
		Minimum total			30
Auxiliary Skills
Candidates for the master's degree are expected to present an auxiliary skill to aid them in their historical study. In most cases, this would be a reading knowledge of one foreign language. With approval, candidates offering the United States as their major field may substitute a knowledge of statistics. Information about specific requirements may be obtained from the graduate coordinator.

Research
The student must complete three (3) graduate level units of directed research in the major or minor fields. If the student takes a research seminar, or completes the master's thesis (HIST 898), the research requirements will have been met. If the student takes three reading seminars, a directed research course must be taken, preferably in the form of HIST 899 taken in conjunction with (and directed by the instructor of) one of the student's graduate seminars. This research must involve the use of primary sources and should ordinarily involve the utilization of the student's auxiliary skill (see requirement above).

Thesis Option
While the usual culminating requirement consists of History 896 and the written comprehensive examination, under certain conditions a student may be given permission to do a thesis (HIST 898, Master's Thesis) and an oral defense of the thesis in his/her major field. Students considering the thesis option should contact the department chair or graduate coordinator for further details.


Bulletin 1994-96 Table of Contents, SFSU Home Page

last modified July 25, 1995