The Bachelors Program in History (History Major)

History majors develop an in-depth knowledge of a specific region of the world, including its history, geography, and culture. In the process, they also learn how to conduct historical research, and to develop convincing arguments based on the evidence they uncover. Effective oral and written communication skills are strongly emphasized in all history courses.

Students design their own pathway

Through the major primarily based on interest, with the exception of HIS 301 and 401, the two required courses. Our classes focus on teaching students how to conduct historical research, and to develop convincing arguments based on evidence supported by sources. Effective oral and written communication skills are strongly emphasized in all history courses. Many History majors choose careers in law, teaching, archival or library science, or museum work. Because it emphasizes research and writing, history is also excellent preparation for many fields, including journalism, diplomacy, and international business. Combined with a concentration in science, the History major is also a good background for medicine or other health science professions.

Woman in historical attire speaking on stage with a historical painting projected behind her.

Thematic Cluster

Thematic clusters organize History courses around shared themes and questions, encouraging students to explore connections across historical periods, cultures, and societies.

Art, ideas, and culture are human products, things and activities created and practiced at specific historical times and places. Culture does not merely reflect human sentiments; it has the capacity to shape and influence history. Courses in this concentration focus on the ways in which cultural things, ideas, and practices reflect and contribute to the societies in which they emerge; examine processes of cultural and ideological exchange across regional and national boundaries; and explore the political, economic, and social meanings given to ideas and culture by people engaged in their production and consumption.

For much of human history, empires have been the primary form for organizing and controlling territory, peoples, and cultures through violence. Empires played a key role in the creation of hegemonic networks for the circulation of commodities, the diffusion of ideas, and the mobility of cultures and peoples. Courses in this concentration examine empires in terms of mechanisms of domination, resistance, and negotiation; explore concepts of authority, social and political organization, sovereignty and citizenship; and investigate the ways in which conquest, ideology, and migration have fostered global connections that continue to shape society, politics, and culture.

Pandemics, climate change, and toxic environments are among the greatest challenges that face humankind today. Without understanding their historical origins, we cannot devise viable and just responses to them. Courses in this concentration explore how understandings of our bodies and the natural worlds we inhabit have evolved over time in different parts of the globe; examine how economic, scientific and technological changes have helped to make the “modern” world; and consider how these changes have transformed not only forms of knowledge but entire environments as well.

People have fought for social justice, rights and equality in both the past and present. Struggles for social justice have produced some of the world’s most historic changes—from the toppling of empires to challenging systems of white supremacy and patriarchies. Historical investigation of this theme encompasses the study of institutions, law and power, on the one hand, and the struggles that people wage against social, political, economic, racial, sexual, and gender exclusions, on the other. Courses in this concentration explore the ways that institutions reinforce inequalities; consider how the law has evolved over time in connection with the values and characteristics of societies; and examine the development of social welfare policies, changing ideas of citizenship, and social movements for civil and human rights.

The way humans identify and define themselves and others has changed over time. Race/ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexuality are among the most important categories into which people sort themselves; they can offer great collective and individual fulfilment, but also serve as tools of discrimination and sources of conflict. Courses in this concentration invite students to examine the various meanings assigned to race, religion, gender, and sexuality throughout history; to interrogate the complex processes that go into shaping them; and to explore how such identities have functioned in different historical circumstances.

Requirements

Coursework in History - 39 credits

Three Courses
- European History (Choose one)
  - HIS 101 - Ancient Mesopotamia to Early Modern Europe
  - HIS 102 - Modern European History, 18th c. to the Present
- American History (Choose one)
  - HIS 103 - American History to 1877
  - HIS 104 - United States Since 1877
Choose one 100- or 200-level survey course in a region or country outside the U.S. or Europe (3 credits)
Four additional HIS courses above the 100-level, with at least three at the 300-level (12 credits)

Four Courses: In one of the following Thematic clusters (minimum of two courses at the 300-level)
- - Art, ideas, and Culture
  - Empires, Violence & Global Connections
  - Health, Science & Environmental Change
  - Law, Politics & Social Justice
  - Race, Religion, Gender & Sexualities

FourAdditional Courses above the 100-level:
- with at least three at the 300-level. These four courses should be used to deepen a student's knowledge in a particular geographic and/or temporal area of study related to their Thematic cluster.
HIS 301 (Reading & Writing in History):This is the required Methods course in which students hone their critical reading, writing, and research skills to prepare them for the 401 seminar. Subject matter will vary depending on the professor. Satisfies ESI.
- 301 must be completed successfully (C or higher) prior to 401 (may not be taken concurrently). Effective Spring 2026 - This course cannot be taken for GPNC.
HIS 401 (Senior Colloquium):This is the capstone research seminar. Subject matter will vary depending on the professor. Satisfies EXP+, SPK, WRTD.
- Effective Spring 2026 - This course cannot be taken for GPNC.

*For a complete listing of History courses visit the Undergraduate Catalog.
*HIS 447, HIS 487, HIS 488, HIS 495, HIS 496 may not be used to satisfy major requirements.

Additional Information about the Undergraduate Program

All courses taken to meet Major requirements must be taken for a letter grade.
No grade lower than C may be applied toward Major requirements.
No transferred course with a grade lower than C may be applied toward Major requirements.
With approval of the undergraduate director, one 200-level course may be substituted for one of the three courses at the 100-level.
At least 12 credits must be taken within the Department of History at Stony Brook, including the 301 writing seminar and the 401 research colloquium.
Students in the BA/MA or BA/MAT program may apply up to 9 graduate course credits taken in History toward fulfilling their BA requirements for the major, with the exception of 301 and 401.
Registration in 401 requires prior permission from the department.
HIS 301 and 401, starting spring 2026, cannot be taken for GPNC.
HIS 447, HIS 487, HIS 488, HIS 495, HIS 496 may not be used to satisfy major requirements.

Departmental majors with at least a 3.5 GPA in history courses and related disciplines are eligible to enroll in the history honors program (HIS 495/496) at the beginning of their senior year. The student, after asking a faculty member to be a sponsor, must submit a research proposal to the department. The supervising faculty member must also submit a statement supporting the student’s proposal. This must be done in the semester prior to the beginning to the project. Once the honors proposal is approved, the student will register for HIS 495 for the first semester under the Honors Program, and HIS 496 for the second semester. The senior thesis resulting from the student’s research will read by two faculty members and a member of another department, as arranged by the supervising faculty member. Upon the recommendation of the supervising faculty member and with the consent of the additional readers, the student will graduate with an Honors Diploma from the History Department.

Major Program