Bachelor of Arts - History

The three-year Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in History has been designed for individuals who seek a broad and extensive interdisciplinary education in the liberal arts tradition. The concentration in History equips students with the skills needed to uncover and analyze the events, processes and ideas which shape the past and to appreciate how an understanding of the past helps inform the present and the future. Through the study of change and continuity over time and place, students acquire an ability to look at the past from different angles and perspectives and to employ a variety of analytical tools and methods in interpreting human affairs and institutions.

Students in the program will have the opportunity to meet the following objectives through the History concentration requirements:

• gain historical knowledge across regions and nations, time periods and approaches to the study of History
• critically evaluate secondary sources and engage in major historiographical debates
• identify, analyze and interpret primary sources
• analyze complex historical problems and synthesize insights from a variety of source materials
• apply historical theories and models
• understand the different research methodologies used by historians
• organize and report research and communicate findings through effective and persuasive arguments.

The program reflects the commitment of St. Mary’s University to a liberal education as valuable for its own sake since it provides individuals the opportunity to discover and eventually realize their human potential. In addition to providing personal fulfillment, the program prepares students to think critically and communicate clearly. The research, writing, analytical and problem-solving skills that History students acquire are highly desirable in all forms of public and private employment. History graduates are especially well-qualified to pursue careers in teaching, government, business, law, journalism, library and archival science and in the museum and heritage fields.