Any 12 credits of lower division history taken during the first and second years (your first 60 credits) qualify you for the majors or honours program in history. There are no specific course prerequisites for upper division history courses. Courses numbered HIST 100 to HIST 199 are all World History courses and introduce students to historical questions and to the approaches scholars have taken in trying to answer them. Some of these courses survey world history over a specific period, and others consider particular themes common to the history of human communities. Courses numbered HIST 200 to HIST 299 usually survey the history of a given nation or civilization.
Arts One and Medieval Studies 200 will each count for 6 of the 12 required credits. History credits transferred from other institutions will also meet the requirements for the major. International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) students may also receive lower division history credits.
Plan to attend the History Department meeting for prospective History Majors held at the end of March and sign up to consult a Departmental Adviser to approve your program before declaring your major through UBC’s Student Service Centre.
You should have your program proposal as a History Major - the courses you plan to take in 3rd and 4th year (60 – 120 credits) – evaluated and approved by a Departmental Adviser either before you declare your History Major, or before you register for your third year classes. At the meeting for prospective History Majors at the end of March students can sign up for advising during April. Throughout the year there are also regular advising periods for students needing assistance.
The History Majors Program is designed to be as flexible as possible with only a few requirements. Under certain circumstances and to meet the needs of a particular student's program, the History Department will consider counting a course not specifically listed as a History course (or its equivalent) towards the requirements of a Major in History if the course can be shown to have substantial historical content. Each such request, however, should be discussed with a History Adviser and is judged on its own merits; a decision can by no means be taken for granted.
Yes, prospective History majors may begin the major during their second year (30 60 credits), but with no more than 6 credits of Upper Division History courses (300 and 400 level).
The one course that all History Majors must take is the fourth year capstone course, HIST 490 (3) Seminar for History Majors, or its equivalent. Each term during Winter Session, several professors offer sections of this course on different topics. These classes will have fewer than 18 students and provide students an opportunity not just to learn history, but also to be historians, reading and discussing history as well as preparing a research paper.
A variety of courses can fulfil the rest of the requirements to graduate with a History Major. These requirements are:
- Of the 30 upper-division credits required for the major, no more than 24 credits are allowed in any one field (such as Canadian, Modern European, Asian).
- Of the 42 total minimum history credits, at least 6 credits must be substantially pre-modern in content. A list of these courses can be found here.
- More than half of the upper division credits toward the History Major should be earned through courses listed as HIST in the UBC Calendar (excepting students who earn History credit on exchange).
Yes, students in the Faculty of Arts can complete a minor in history by earning at least 30 and no more than 42 credits in history courses (a field other than the major), of which at least 18 credits must be at the 300/400 level. Students can declare a History minor through the UBC Student Service Centre (specialization code 3012); no formal advising is needed. If some of your courses qualify toward both your major and minor, no more than 6 credits may be counted towards both.
Advisers are available in person or by telephone on selected days throughout the year. Telephone the History Department Office (8:00 am – 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday) to find out the name and office number of the advisers and their advising hours, or check the History Department’s Undergraduate Advising page.
