2015-2016 USC Lancaster Bulletin (Archived Copy) [Archived Catalog]
History, B.A.
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Learning Outcomes
- Students will identify major events, people, themes, and historical processes in distinct major chronological, thematic, and/or geographic fields of history (e.g., Africa, Asia, history of science, Latin America, Latin America, pre-modern Europe, public history, U.S., etc.)
- Students will identify appropriate source materials through accessing search engines available through Thomas Cooper library and the internet. They will filter the overwhelming amount of material available on the web and target those sources most relevant and trustworthy.
- Students will be able to explain the main points of a primary source (whether textual or non-textual), analyze its nature or bias(es), and determine to what other primary and secondary sources it might be usefully compared.
- Students will be able to summarize interpretations of specific historical events and assess an interpretation’s validity to a given subject.
- Students will be able to produce brief essays demonstrating their abilities at comprehending, classifying, outlining, organizing, and critiquing sources provided in oral, material, and/or written form.
- Students will demonstrate their expertise in the analysis of primary sources, the integration of primary and secondary material, and the presentation of a persuasive, logical, and clearly written argument through the production of a senior thesis paper or other research project.
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Basic Degree Requirements for Bachelor of Arts Degrees (120 Hours)
Note: Bachelor of Arts degrees require 120 hours. Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees require additional hours; see Program of Study for major requirements.
- Carolina Core Plus General Education Requirements
- Major
- Cognate or Minor Requirements
- Electives
1. Carolina Core Plus General Education Requirements
Note: Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degrees follow General Education Requirements for the BA except where specified in Programs of Study for major requirements.
CMW: Carolina Core Effective, Engaged and Persuasive Communication: Writing (6 Hours)
- Must be passed with a grade of C or higher.
ARP: Carolina Core Analytical Reasoning and Problem-Solving (6-8 Hours)
SCI: Carolina Core Scientific Literacy (8 Hours)
Specified or additional College of Arts and Sciences Requirement:
- Two 4-credit hour laboratory science courses.
GFL: Carolina Core Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Communicate Effectively in More than One Language (0-9 Hours)
Specified or additional College of Arts and Sciences Requirement:
- Demonstration of proficiency in one foreign language equivalent to the minimal passing grade on the exit examination in the 122 course is required for all baccalaureate degrees. Students can demonstrate this proficiency by successfully completing Phase II of the Proficiency Test or by successfully completing the 122 course, including the exit exam administered as part of that course.
It is strongly recommended that students continuing the study of a foreign language begin college-level study of that language in their first semester and continue in that language until their particular foreign language requirement is completed.
GHS: Carolina Core Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Historical Thinking (6 Hours)
Specified or additional College of Arts and Sciences Requirement:
- Two courses in History (HIST) at the 100 level, one U.S. History and one non-U.S. History.
GSS: Carolina Core Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Social Sciences (6 Hours)
Specified or additional College of Arts and Sciences Requirement:
AIU: Carolina Core Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding (3 Hours)
Carolina Core Stand Alone or Overlay Eligible Requirements:
- Up to two of these requirements may be met in overlay courses. At least one of these requirements must be satisfied by a course not applied elsewhere in general education. (3-9 Hours)
CMS: Carolina Core Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Speech (3 Hours)
INF: Carolina Core Information Literacy (0-3 Hours)
VSR: Carolina Core Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility (3 Hours)
Other Required General Education Courses from the College of Arts and Sciences
Fine Arts and Humanities Requirements (9 Hours)
- Bachelor of Arts degrees require 3 Hours in the fine arts. (May be taken as Carolina Core Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding.)
- Bachelor of Arts degrees require an additional 9 Hours in the fine arts or humanities.
2. History Major (27 Hours)
Students may take up to 6 hours of History courses at the 200 level to fulfill major requirements; all the rest of their course hours in History must be taken at the 300 level or higher
The Historian’s Craft (3 Hours)
U.S. History (3 Hours)
- Select 1 course from U.S. History 300 or above
European History (3 Hours)
- Select 1 course from European History 300 or above
Note:
Requirement must be met by a course dealing with a time period different from that chosen for the general education requirement, i.e., modern or pre-modern.
World History (3 Hours)
- Select 1 course from African, Middle Eastern, Asian, or Latin American History 300 or above
Senior Seminar or Thesis (3 Hours)
Select 1 course from the following:
Note:
Student should have had an upper-level course in a field relevant to the seminar or thesis.
History Electives (12 Hours)
- Select 4 courses from HIST 301 or above
Note:
Students can individually tailor their electives, with the advisor’s approval, around a topical, methodological, temporal, or geographical focus.
The Assistant Chair and Undergraduate Director will determine into which groups specific History courses fall in consultation with the faculty member teaching the class. The Undergraduate Committee of the History Department must approve exceptions to the distribution requirements.
B.A. with Distinction
Students who fulfill the requirements for the general major may earn a B.A. with Distinction upon the completion of the following additional requirements:
- Declare their intention to pursue a degree with distinction before the beginning of their senior year, that is, before they have begun the last 30 units of their undergraduate degree.
- Have a minimum 3.60 GPA in the major and 3.50 overall GPA at the time of declaration of intent and maintain these GPA requirements.
- Complete an additional 9 hours of History courses at the 200-level or higher (only 6 hours of 200-level History courses may count towards the requirements for the major and graduation with distinction).
- Notify the professor of their Senior Seminar or Thesis course in writing by the end of the first week of class that they intend to pursue a degree “with distinction” and complete to the professor’s satisfaction the additional research necessary for work “with distinction.”
- Public presentation of their research at Discovery Day.
Students who want a degree “with distinction” from the History Department and a degree “with honors from the South Carolina Honors College” must complete two separate research projects.
The Warwick Exchange Program
Selected history majors spend the junior year at the University of Warwick, Coventry, England, and maintain normal progress toward graduation.
3. Cognate or Minor Requirements (12-18 Hours) for B.A. Degrees
Cognate
The cognate is intended to support the course work in the major. The cognate must consist of twelve (12) hours of courses at the advanced level, outside of but related to the major. The cognate may be taken in one or more departments or programs, depending on the interests of the student and the judgment of the advisor.
Courses offered by departments and programs that are acceptable for cognate credit are outlined in the section titled Courses Acceptable for Cognate Credit in Degree Programs in the College of Arts and Sciences .
For cognate course offerings in other colleges, consult the appropriate sections of this bulletin. Some major programs have specific cognate requirements.
It should be emphasized that the cognate is not a second set of elective courses to be chosen at random by the student. The cognate must be approved by the major advisor as being related to the major field of study. Students are urged to consult their major advisors for specific requirements in their major.
Courses applied toward general education requirements cannot be counted toward the cognate.
For Bachelor of Arts degrees, all cognate courses must be passed with a grade of C or higher.
Minor
In place of the cognate a student in the College of Arts and Sciences may choose a minor consisting of at least 18 credit hours of prescribed courses. (Some minors in the sciences require a minimum of 16 hours.) The subject area of the minor may be related to the major. Students pursuing interdisciplinary minors who wish to use courses in their major department for minor credit must petition the College Committee on Scholastic Standards and Petitions for permission to do so.
The minor is intended to develop a coherent basic preparation in a second area of study. It differs from the cognate inasmuch as the courses must be concentrated in one area and must follow a structured sequence. Interdisciplinary minors can be designed with the approval of the assistant dean for academic affairs and advising.
Courses applied toward general education requirements cannot be counted toward the minor. No course may satisfy both major and minor requirements. All minor courses must be passed with a grade of C or higher. At least half of the courses in the minor must be completed in residence at the University.
A list of minor programs of study can be found at Programs A-Z .
4. Electives for B.A. Degrees and B.F.A.
No courses of a remedial, developmental, skill-acquiring, or vocational nature may apply as credit toward degrees in the College of Arts and Sciences. The College of Arts and Sciences allows the use of the Pass-Fail option on elective courses. Further clarification on inapplicable courses can be obtained from the College of Arts and Sciences.
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