The history department offers courses that are designed to serve a variety of students at VWC. In addition to those students who major and minor in history, students who are seeking Primary, Middle, and Secondary Teaching Certification, as well as students fulfilling their "Historical Perspectives" General Studies frame, will find many classes within the department who will serve their needs.
Majoring in History
The history major is a fluid construction. It is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of European, American, and non-Western history while also allowing them an ample degree of flexibility in order to pursue their own individual interests. In order to major in history, a student must submit a completed Declaration of Major form to the Registrar's Office, which must include the signature of their future major advisor . In addition, a student will need to fulfill the following requirements by their graduation:
| Major Requirements | Credit |
| Any 5 Content Courses at the 100/200 level | 15 |
| Any 5 Content Courses at the 300/400 level | 15 |
At least 3 of the 10 Content Courses must be in U.S. History |
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At least 3 of the 10 Content Courses must be in European history |
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At least 1 of the 10 Content Courses must be in a Non-Western History |
|
| History 258: Introduction to Historiography | 3 |
| History 360: Junior Research Semninar | 3 |
| History 460: Senior Project Seminar | 3 |
Geography 111: Physical Geography OR Geography 112: Cultural Geography |
3 |
| TOTAL | 42 |
Minoring in History
Students who wish to minor in history must fulfill the following requirements:
| Minor Requirements | Credit |
| Any 3 Content Courses in U.S. History | 9 |
| Any 3 Content Courses in Non-U.S. History | 9 |
One Content Course must be a Writing-Intensive ("W") course offered by the department |
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At least 3 of the 6 Content Courses must be at the 300/400 level |
|
| TOTAL | 18 |
Teacher Certification
Students who are seeking secondary education certification to teach history are required by the State of Virginia to major in Social Studies, an interdisciplinary major desgined to prepare secondary school teachers for the variety of subject matters that they will be required to teach during their tenure as high school teachers.
A student wishing to major in social studies must complete the following:
- Submit a Declaration of Major form to the Registar's Office, noting Social Studies as the intended major. Choose a member of the History department's faculty as an advisor.
- Enroll in INST 202: School and Society during the Fall semester of one's sophomore year (the student will be guided through the Education department's application process during the class).
- Complete the PRAXIS I exam before the end of one's sophomore year (a requirement for a successful application to the Education deparment), and the PRAXIS II exam before beginning to student teach.
- Complete the following courses:
| Program and Major Requirements | Credit |
| COMM 222: Speech | 3 |
| ENG 222: English Grammar | 3 |
| INST 202: School and Society | 3 |
| INST 303: Applied Technology for Innovative Teaching | 3 |
| EDUC 225: Characteristics of a Learner | 3 |
| EDUC 319: Reading in the Content Area | 3 |
| EDUC 338: Middle Education Teaching Methods | 3 |
| EDUC 340: Secondary Practicum 6-12 (note: must be taken concurrently with EDUC 375) | 3 |
| EDUC 375: Content Teaching Methods (note: must be taken concurrently with EDUC 340) | 3 |
| SPED 371: Foundations/Legal Issues in Special Education | 3 |
| EDUC 445: Secondary Preservice Teaching 1: 6-8 (note: taken concurrently with EDUC 446 during your final semester) | 7.5 |
| EDUC 446: Secondary Preservice Teaching 2: 9-12 (note: taken concurrently with EDUC 445 during your final semester) | 7.5 |
| HIST 111: World History to A.D. 1600 | 3 |
| HIST 112: World History: The Modern Era | 3 |
| HIST 113: History of U.S. to 1877 | 3 |
| HIST 114: History of U.S. Since 1877 | 3 |
| Any 4 History Content Courses at the 300/400 level | 12 |
| POLS 101/301, 105, 111, 201, or 222 | 3 |
| POLS 235/335, 207/307, 231/431, 237/337, or 239/439 | 3 |
| POLS 211/311, 215/315, 216/316, 217/317, 218/318, 228/328, or 229/329 | 3 |
| POLS 103, 210, 440, or 441 | 3 |
| GEOG 111: Physical Geography | 3 |
| GEOG 112: Cultural Geography | 3 |
| MBE 201: Introduction to Macroeconomics | 3 |
| MBE 202: Introduction to Microeconomics | 3 |
| TOTAL | 93 |