Department of History

Faculty

The objective of the Department is to provide its students with a thorough grounding in the past, seen from both social scientific and humanistic perspectives, and in the nature of history and historical analysis. The Department prepares undergraduates for a variety of career options which rely upon a sound liberal arts education, as well as for graduate study in both academic and professional fields.

To accomplish its objectives, the Department offers programs leading to the B.A., the M.A., the Certificate of Advanced Study in Public History, and the Ph.D. An honors program and a combined B.A./M.A. program are also available to qualified students. In addition, the Department participates in several interdepartmental programs, including Africana Studies, Asian Studies, Women’s Studies, Judaic Studies, Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and Russian and East European Studies.

Careers
The study of history prepares students for a variety of career paths, extending from fields such as law and education, to journalism and media ventures, and to business and government service. Faculty are available to consult with students about their future careers.

Special Programs or Opportunities
The department encourages its majors to participate in those international programs relevant to their particular historical interests. For more detailed information, see the section on the Office of International Education. The department also offers its undergraduate students opportunities for internships in local museums and historical agencies through A HIS 499.

Students majoring in History must complete a minimum of 36 credits in history while fulfilling a concentration in one of the three fields: United States, Europe, or World History. These credits must be distributed as follows:

Each spring semester the Department of History admits qualified students into the honors program in history. The purpose of the honors program is to provide well-qualified students with closer contact with faculty and more intensive training in historical research and writing than is normally possible.

Students may be admitted to the program in the spring semester of their junior year after formally declaring a major in history. To be admitted, students must have completed 15 credits of course work in history (at least 6 of these credits must be at or above the 300 level and must have been earned at the University at Albany). In addition, students must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 overall and an average in history of 3.50. Interested students should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of History for more information on the application process. Completed applications should be submitted no later than February 1^st of the junior year.
 
Students admitted to the honors program are required to complete a minimum of 36 credits in history, fulfilling all the “Requirements for the Major” listed above. Within the 36 credits, the student must complete the three honors courses: A HIS 495Z, 496Z, and 497Z. Credits from these honors program courses can be counted toward the above requirements and will be credited toward the concentration most appropriate to the subject of the student’s honors thesis (for example, “United States”, “European”, or “World History”).

• A HIS 497Z, Independent Research and Writing in History, 4 credits, to be taken during the fall of the student’s senior year under the supervision of a thesis adviser secured by the student.
• A HIS 495Z and 496Z, Senior Honors Thesis Seminar, 4 credits each. This seminar will meet throughout the year under the supervision of a department faculty member and will offer students a small seminar format for learning about historical research and writing, as well as for sharing and critiquing their own work. By the end of the year each student will, in conjunction with this seminar, produce a thesis based on original research that is no longer than 60 pages in length.

Students in the honors program will gain priority in registration for these upper-level history courses and will gain access to the History Department’s computing workshop to assist in writing the thesis.

Department faculty members will evaluate the students’ progress at the end of the spring semester senior year. Students will be judged eligible for graduation “with honors in history” based on the quality of their thesis as well as the satisfactory completion of all other curricular requirements with a grade point average of at least a 3.50 in history and 3.25 overall. The History Department will automatically consider students meeting these criteria for a prize for best undergraduate honors thesis in history. Students selected to graduate “with honors in history” will be honored formally at the departmental graduation ceremony in May.

The combined B.A./M.A. program in history provides an opportunity for students of recognized academic ability and educational maturity to fulfill integrated requirements of undergraduate and master’s degree programs from the beginning of their junior year.

The combined program requires a minimum of 138 credits, of which at least 30 must be graduate credits. In qualifying for the B.A., students must meet all University and college requirements, including the requirements of the major program in history described previously, the minor requirement, the minimum 90 credit liberal arts and sciences requirement, General Education, and residency requirements. In qualifying for the M.A., students must meet all University and college requirements as outlined in the Graduate Bulletin, including completion of a minimum of 30 graduate credits and any other conditions, such as a research seminar, thesis, comprehensive examination, other professional experience, and residency requirements. Up to 12 graduate credits may be applied simultaneously to both the B.A. and M.A. programs.

A cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher and three supportive letters of recommendation from faculty, one of whom must be from the Department of History, are required for consideration. Students are admitted to the combined program upon the recommendation of the department’s Graduate Committee.