Bachelor of Arts in History

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About

The Bachelor of Arts in History Program at EWU will help you unlock the realms of human development. You’ll get a detailed picture of various cultures and their governments, legal systems, social behavior, art, economic systems, literature, religions, medicines, technologies, sports, fashions, and myriad other subtopics.

Because learning about the past is necessary to understand the present and prepare for the future, a history degree is a great asset. The study of history provides a solid foundation not only for history and social studies education majors, but for careers in law, business, government, international relations, journalism, library services, and museums, to name but a few.

Curriculum & Requirements

We also have an option to get a History degree with a minor – Learn more here.

What You'll Learn

The following information comes from the official EWU catalog, which outlines all degree requirements and serves as the guide to earning a degree. Courses are designed to provide a well-rounded and versatile degree, covering a wide range of subject areas.

The following plan of study is for a student with zero credits. Individual students may have different factors such as: credit through transfer work, Advanced Placement, Running Start, or any other type of college-level coursework that requires an individual plan.

Courses could be offered in different terms, checking the academic schedule is paramount in keeping an individual plan current. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.

All Undergraduate students are required to meet the Undergraduate Degree Requirements.

This major requires the completion of the World Language requirement. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree must complete two years of a single language in high school or one year of a single language in college.

First Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
ENGL 1015ENGL 2015Natural Science BACR 215
MATH 1075Humanities & Arts BACR 115Social Science BACR 215
Social Science BACR 115Natural Science BACR 115Humanities & Arts BACR 215
 15 15 15
Second Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
HIST 2905Geographic Concentration Elective35Geographic Concentration Elective35
Global Studies - graduation requirement15Elective - minor or general elective5Diversity - graduation requirement15
Elective - minor or general elective5Elective - minor or general elective5Elective - minor or general elective5
 15 15 15
Third Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
HIST 3905Geographic Concentration Elective35History Upper-Level Elective45
History Upper-Level Elective45History Upper-Level Elective45Experiential Learning Elective25
Elective - minor or general elective5Elective - minor or general elective5Elective - minor or general elective5
 15 15 15
Fourth Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
History Upper-Level Elective45Experiential Learning Elective25HIST 490 (Senior Capstone - graduation requirement)5
Elective - minor or general elective5Elective - minor or general elective5History Upper-Level Elective45
Elective - minor, or general elective5Elective - minor or general elective5Elective - minor or general elective5
 15 15 15
Total Credits 180
1

University Graduation Requirements (UGR) and Breadth Area Course Requirements (BACR) courses may be less than 5 credits and additional credits may be required to reach the required 180 total credits needed to graduate.  Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.

2

Required Experiential Learning–choose two of the courses from the approved list (study abroad can also fulfill this requirement).

3

Geographic Concentration Elective-choose three courses from at least two concentrations.

4

Upper-Level Skills Electives-Complete 25 credits with at least 1 historiography course, at least 2 research courses, and at least 2 writing courses. Historiography: HIST courses numbered 350-389. Research: HIST courses numbered 400-449. Writing: HIST courses numbered 450-489.

University Competencies and Proficiencies

English 
Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning
Placement and Clearance 
Prior Learning/Sources of Credit AP, CLEP, IB

General Education Requirements (GER)

  • Minimum Credits—180 cumulative credit hours 
    • 60 upper-division credits (300 level or above)
    • 45 credits in residence (attendance) at Eastern, with at least 15 upper-division credits in major in residence at Eastern
  • Minimum Cumulative GPA ≥2.0

Breadth Area Core Requirements (BACR)

Humanities and Arts 
Natural Sciences 
Social Sciences

University Graduation Requirements (UGR)

Diversity Course List
World Language (for Bachelor of Arts)
Global Studies Course List
Minor or Certificate
Senior Capstone Course List

Application for Graduation (use EagleNET) must be made at least two terms in advance of the term expected to graduate (undergraduate and post-baccalaureate).

Use the Catalog Archives to determine two important catalog years.

  1. The catalog in effect at the student's first term of current matriculation is used to determine BACR (Breadth Area Core Requirements) and UGR (Undergraduate Graduation Requirements).
  2. The catalog in effect at the time the student declares a major or minor is used to determine the program requirements.

Students who earn a BA in History from EWU should be able to:

  • communicate historical analyses to diverse audiences;
  • conduct research by using appropriate historical methods;
  • demonstrate knowledge about past societies, cultures, and individuals;
  • use historical knowledge in a civic engagement project.

World Language Requirement: Two years of a single high school world language or one year of a single college-level world language is required.

  • Students must complete at least 25 credits of this major at Eastern Washington University.

Credit Requirement: must include 43 upper-division credits in the total.

Grade Requirement: each course in the History major requires a minimum grade ≥C+ and an overall GPA ≥2.5 in major course work.

Required Core Courses
HIST 290HISTORY TODAY: ISSUES AND PRACTICES5
HIST 390HISTORIAN AS DETECTIVE5
Required Experiential Learning–choose two of the courses below (study abroad can also fulfill this requirement)8-10
TOPICS IN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
PUBLIC HISTORY
HISTORY INTERNSHIP
NEARBY HISTORY: EXPLORING THE PAST AROUND YOU
PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE PREPARATION
HISTORY INTERNSHIP
Required Geographic Concentrations–choose three courses from at least two concentrations15
European History
EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION TO 1500
EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION, 1500 TO PRESENT
WORLD WARS
MODERN EUROPE
U.S. History
AMERICAN HISTORY TO 1877
AMERICAN HISTORY SINCE 1877
CHICANO HISTORY
AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY: POST CIVIL WAR TO PRESENT
ASIAN AMERICAN HISTORY
AMERICAN INDIAN HISTORY II
World History
WORLD HISTORY TO 1500
WORLD HISTORY FROM 1500
EAST ASIA: TRADITION AND TRANSFORMATION
HISTORY OF THE PRESENT: WORLD HISTORY SINCE 1945
COLONIALISM AND NATIONALISM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
AFRICAN HISTORY: ANCIENT AFRICA TO MANDELA
MODERN LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY
Required Upper-Level Skills Courses 25
Complete at least 1 historiography course, at least 1 research course, and at least 2 writing courses. Historiography: HIST courses numbered 350-389. Research: HIST courses numbered 400-449. Writing: HIST courses numbered 450-489.
Required Senior Capstone
HIST 490SENIOR CAPSTONE SEMINAR5
Total Credits63-65

Sample Courses

HIST 218. CHICANO HISTORY. 5 Credits.

Cross-listed: CHST 218.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–diversity.
A study of Chicano history from the time of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, to the present. Specific themes discussed include the Mexican American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848, the economic, political and social conditions after the Anglo-American conquest of the southwest, Mexican immigration to the U.S., Chicano labor history, the Chicano movement and other Chicano themes.

Catalog Listing

HIST 317. AMERICAN INDIAN HISTORY II. 5 Credits.

Cross-listed: IDST 317.
This course introduces students to an overview to American Indian history from 1887 to the present. Major themes covered in this course include but not limited to questions regarding history as a discipline, origins of indigenous peoples, impacts and responses to colonization and genocide, beginning from assimilationist policies, self-determination, termination and relocation, Red Power movement, gender, sovereignty, identity, land, environment and current issues facing American Indian peoples and communities today.

Catalog Listing

HIST 315. AFRICAN HISTORY: ANCIENT AFRICA TO MANDELA. 5 Credits.

Cross-listed: AAST 315.
Pre-requisites: ENGL 101 or equivalent.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–global studies.
Examines the historical unfolding of Africa both domestically and internationally. The major topics include such themes as traditional institutions, political development, European colonialism, African nationalism along with the struggle for independence, and the entry into the global free market and world affairs.

Catalog Listing

HIST 443. NEARBY HISTORY: EXPLORING THE PAST AROUND YOU. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: ENGL 201 or permission of instructor.
Clues to the past are all around us—traces of old roads, fading painted signs on brick buildings, cemetery headstones covered in moss. This course will teach you to discover the stories behind the traces, and to share them with a public audience. We’ll explore archives and historic buildings as we learn the craft of the historian.

Catalog Listing

Career Possibilities

  • Museum Educator or Docent
  • Archivist Assistant or Archival Technician
  • Historical Interpreter 
  • Educational Program Coordinator
  • Library Assistant or Library Technician
  • Curriculum Developer for educational publishers or nonprofits

  • Research Assistant
  • Archivist
  • Genealogist or Family Historian 
  • Oral Historian 
  • Records Management Specialist 
  • Heritage Consultant

  • Park Ranger 
  • Public Policy Analyst 
  • Foreign Service Officer 
  • Cultural Resource Specialist 
  • Legislative Assistant 
  • Public Historian 
  • Community Development Coordinator

  • Paralegal 
  • Legal Researcher 
  • Compliance Officer 
  • Contract Specialist

  • Journalist or Reporter 
  • Editor or Proofreader 
  • Technical Writer 
  • Content Writer
  • Social Media Manager 
  • Documentary Researcher 
  • Public Relations Specialist

  • Market Research Analyst 
  • Corporate Historian 
  • Cultural Consultant 
  • Development Officer
  • Event Coordinator
  • Grant Writer

  • Nonprofit Program Coordinator
  • Advocacy Coordinator 
  • Fundraising Specialist
  • Community Outreach Specialist
  • Policy Advocate

  • Museum Technician or Exhibit Designer 
  • Collections Manager 
  • Curatorial Assistant 
  • Special Collections Assistant 
  • Librarian 
  • Cultural Heritage Preservationist

  • Cultural Attaché
  • International Program Assistant
  • Human Rights Researcher
  • Global Development Associate

  • Historical Consultant
  • Screenwriter or Script Advisor
  • Author or Historical Novelist 
  • Cultural Event Organizer 
  • Historical Tour Guide
  • Costume Consultant

The History major sets you up for success in diverse fields, from education and government to law, business, media, and nonprofits.

You’ll sharpen key skills such as writing, critical thinking, and analytical research—strengths that employers look for in every industry. With certifications, training, or advanced degrees, you can branch into law, academia, library science, research, or archival work.

This a flexible, powerful degree that allows you to follow your interests while keeping your career options wide open.

Explore the various careers for History majors: