Department of History
American University
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Requirements for the B.A. in History

Complete 39 credit hours with grades of C or better including at least 15 credit hours at the 300 level or above including the following:

  • HIST-480 Major Seminar I (3 credit hours)
  • HIST-481 Seminar II (3 credit hours)(HIST 480 and 481 must be taken in sequential order and during a single academic year).
  • One course in ancient or medieval history
  • One course in Asian, East European, modern Middle Eastern, or Russian history
  • One course in African, African-American, or Latin American history
  • One course in Western European or British history at the 300 level or above
  • One course in U.S. history at the 300 level or above
    		•
  • Additional courses to make a total of 39 credit hours in history (which may include JWST-205, Ancient and Medieval Jewish Civilization).  At least 20 of the 39 credit hours must be taken at American University; at least 15 of the 39 must be at the 300 level or above.

    • Majors are encouraged to take courses at other Consortium schools on subjects not offered at American University.

    ADVANCED PLACEMENT

    Prospective history majors may qualify for 3 advanced placement credits toward the major in both American and European history (for a total of 6 credits), provided the appropriate AP examination grade is a 4 or 5. Students cannot receive AP credit if they also take the comparable survey courses in either American history (HIST-205 and HIST-206) or European history (HIST-110) at American University.  Students may receive 6 credit hours for each AP examination (12 credit hours total) toward the 120 credit hour university requirement.