Program Overview

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History Bachelor of Science Degree

Overview

A history BS that prepares you not only to become a historian, but also to succeed in fields as diverse as business, education, government, journalism, law, and public service.

Why Study History at RIT?

• Four Thematic Specializations: Choose from U.S. history; global history; Deaf and disability studies; or history of the environment, science, and technology.
• Hands-On Experience: Gain real-world career experience that sets you apart from the competition by participating in a required co-op.
• Dynamic Course Work: Study areas as diverse as digital history, computing, and quantitative data.
• Exciting Capstone Project: Further sharpen your practice and understanding of history by developing a thesis and presenting a research project.
• Teaching Partnership Program Available: 4+1 or 3+2 programs enable you to earn your bachelor’s degree at RIT and a master’s degree in education at one of our partner universities.
• Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Available: Earn both your bachelor’s and your master’s in less time and with a cost savings, giving you a competitive advantage in your field.

Bachelor of Science in History Specializations

You will choose one of four thematic specializations in which you’ll gain a deeper understanding in a particular area of history. Thematic specializations include:

• U.S. History
• Global History
• Deaf and Disability Studies
• History of the Environment, Science, and Technology

Capstone Project

The capstone project is the final core requirement of the history degree and serves as an opportunity to further develop and sharpen your practice and understanding of history. You’ll work with faculty to conceive and develop a senior thesis and present your research project in front of your peers and program faculty.

Careers in History

A bachelor's degree in history will prepare you for a variety of history careers and for study at the graduate level. Nearly half of those who major in history pursue graduate school in a related discipline. The American Community Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau shows that a significant number of history majors work in fields other than history, including law, management, and primary/secondary education. In fact, 48 percent of history majors go to graduate school.

RIT’s Pre-Law Program

Law schools welcome applications from students majoring in a wide range of academic programs. RIT’s pre-law program will help you navigate the admission process for law school, explore a range of legal careers, and guide you through course selection to ensure you build the skills and competencies required of competitive law school applicants. The program is open to students in all majors who are interested in pursuing a career in law.

Furthering Your Education in History

• Combined Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Degrees: Today’s careers require advanced degrees grounded in real-world experience. RIT’s Combined Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degrees enable you to earn both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in as little as five years of study, all while gaining the valuable hands-on experience that comes from co-ops, internships, research, study abroad, and more.
• History BS/Sustainable Systems MS: In this combined accelerated degree, you'll earn both a BS in history and an MS in sustainable systems MS. The curriculum builds on the lessons of history and prepares you to make informed decisions when applying sustainability science principles to address the world’s most challenging issues: pollution, food scarcity, public health crises, and more.
• +1 MBA: Students who enroll in a qualifying undergraduate degree have the opportunity to add an MBA to their bachelor’s degree after their first year of study, depending on their program. Learn how the +1 MBA can accelerate your learning and position you for success.

3+3 Accelerated BS/JD Programs

RIT has partnered with Syracuse University’s College of Law and University at Buffalo School of Law to offer accelerated 3+3 BS/JD options for highly capable students. These programs provide a fast track to law school where you can earn a bachelor’s degree at RIT and a Juris Doctorate degree at Syracuse University or University at Buffalo in six years. Interested students may apply to the option directly, with successful applicants offered admission to RIT and conditional acceptance into either Syracuse University’s College of Law or University at Buffalo School of Law.

RIT’s history BS is one of the approved majors for the 3+3 option.

RIT’s Teaching Partnership Programs

Whether your goal is to go into early childhood or elementary education, become a secondary education teacher with a content area specialty at the middle or high school level, or work in the higher education or counseling fields, RIT’s partnership programs with local universities provide a guided pathway to a career in teaching.

These 4+1 or 3+2 programs enable you to earn your bachelor’s degree at RIT and a master’s degree in education at one of our partner universities. As you progress, you’ll benefit from focused academic advising, career exploration opportunities, and resources for research, learning, and skill development.

RIT's history degree is eligible for RIT’s Teaching Partnership Program.

Curriculum

History, BS degree, typical course sequence

• First Year
  • HIST-101: Making History
  • Non-Western/Indigenous History Course 1
  • Thematic Specialization 1, 2
  • General Education - First-Year Writing (WI)
  • General Education - Global Perspective
  • General Education - Social Perspective
  • General Education - Natural Science Inquiry Perspective
  • STAT-145: Introduction to Statistics I (General Education - Mathematical Perspective A)
  • General Education - Mathematical Perspective B
  • YOPS-10: RIT 365: RIT Connections
• Second Year
  • ISCH-110: Principles of Computing
  • ISCH-370: Principles of Data Science
  • HIST-498: History Internship or HIST-499: History Co-operative Education
  • Non-Western/Indigenous History Course 2
  • Thematic Specialization 3
  • General Education - Artistic Perspective
  • General Education - Ethical Perspective
  • General Education - Scientific Principles Perspective
  • General Education - Immersion 1, 2
  • General Education - Elective
• Year Three
  • HIST-326: Digital History
  • HIST-421: Hands-on History (WI-GE)
  • Thematic Specialization 4
  • Program Elective 1, 2
  • General Education - Immersion 3
  • General Education - Electives
  • Open Electives
• Year Four
  • HIST-501: Capstone Seminar (WI-PR)
  • Program Elective 3, 4, 5, 6
  • General Education - Electives
  • Open Electives

Non-Western or Indigenous History Courses

• ANTH-260: Native North Americans
• ANTH-265: Native Americans in Film
• ANTH-335: Culture and Politics in Latin America
• HIST-140: History of the Modern Middle East
• HIST-150: World History since 1500
• HIST-160: History of Modern East Asia
• HIST-201: Histories of Globalization
• HIST-202: Global Histories of Epidemics
• HIST-210: Culture and Politics in Urban Africa
• HIST-252: The United States and Japan
• HIST-260: History of Premodern China
• HIST-261: History of Modern China
• HIST-265: History of Modern Japan
• HIST-266: History of Premodern Japan
• HIST-310: Global Slavery and Human Trafficking
• HIST-360: A Global History of Baseball
• HIST-365: Conflict in Modern East Asia
• HIST-370: Global History of Religions
• HIST-450: Japan in History, Fiction, and Film
• HIST-462: East-West Encounters
• HIST-465: Samurai in Word and Image
• HIST-470: Science, Technology and Imperialism

Thematic Specializations

U.S. History

• ANTH-361: Sociology of Numbers
• ANTH-385: Anthropology and History
• HIST-102: Themes in U.S. History
• HIST-103: The City in History
• HIST-125: Public History and Public Debate
• HIST-180: Information Revolution
• HIST-190: American Women's and Gender History
• HIST-191: The History of Families and Children in the U.S.
• HIST-199: Survey of American Military History
• HIST-221: Introduction to Public History
• HIST-230: American Deaf History
• HIST-240: Civil War America
• HIST-242: The American Revolutionary Era
• HIST-245: American Slavery and Freedom
• HIST-250: Origins of U.S. Foreign Relations
• HIST-251: Modern U.S. Foreign Relations
• HIST-252: The United States and Japan
• HIST-255: History of World War II
• HIST-282: Women, Gender, and Computing
• HIST-290: U.S. History since 1945
• HIST-301: Great Debates in U.S. History
• HIST-322: Monuments and Memory
• HIST-323: America's National Parks
• HIST-324: Oral History
• HIST-325: Museums and History
• HIST-340: Rochester Reformers: Changing the World
• HIST-350: Terrorism, Intelligence, and War
• HIST-351: The Vietnam War
• HIST-383: Technology and Global Relations in the American Century
• HIST-390: Medicine and Public Health in American History
• HIST-439: Biography as History

Global History

• ANTH-385: Anthropology and History
• HIST-103: The City in History
• HIST-104: Themes in European History
• HIST-140: History of the Modern Middle East
• HIST-150: World History since 1500
• HIST-160: History of Modern East Asia
• HIST-170: Twentieth Century Europe
• HIST-201: Histories of Globalization
• HIST-202: Global Histories of Epidemics
• HIST-210: Culture and Politics in Urban Africa
• HIST-231: Deaf People in Global Perspective
• HIST-252: The United States and Japan
• HIST-255: History of World War II
• HIST-260: History of Premodern China
• HIST-261: History of Modern China
• HIST-265: History of Modern Japan
• HIST-270: History of Modern France
• HIST-275: Screening the Trenches: The History of WWI through Film
• HIST-280: History of Modern Germany
• HIST-281: Global History of Technology
• HIST-310: Global Slavery and Human Trafficking
• HIST-322: Monuments and Memory
• HIST-350: Terrorism, Intelligence, and War
• HIST-351: The Vietnam War
• HIST-355: The Holocaust: Event, History, Memory
• HIST-360: A Global History of Baseball
• HIST-365: Conflict in Modern East Asia
• HIST-369: Histories of Christianity
• HIST-370: Global History of Religions
• HIST-380: International Business History
• HIST-383: Technology and Global Relations in the American Century
• HIST-391: France under Nazi Occupation: Collaboration and Resistance in World War II
• HIST-439: Biography as History
• HIST-450: Japan in History, Fiction, and Film
• HIST-462: East-West Encounters
• HIST-465: Samurai in Word and Image
• HIST-470: Science, Technology and Imperialism

Deaf and Disability Studies

• ANTH-361: Sociology of Numbers
• HIST-230: American Deaf History
• HIST-231: Deaf People in Global Perspective
• HIST-238: History of Disability
• HIST-330: Deafness and Technology
• HIST-333: Diversity in the Deaf Community
• HIST-335: Women and the Deaf Community
• HIST-430: Deaf Spaces
• HIST-431: Theory and Methods of Deaf Geographies

History of the Environment, Science, and Technology

• ANTH-361: Sociology of Numbers
• HIST-180: Information Revolution
• HIST-281: Global History of Technology
• HIST-282: Women, Gender, and Computing
• HIST-323: America's National Parks
• HIST-330: Deafness and Technology
• HIST-345: Environmental Disasters
• HIST-383: Technology and Global Relations in the American Century
• HIST-390: Medicine and Public Health in American History
• HIST-470: Science, Technology and Imperialism
• HIST-480: Global Information Age
• STSO-246: History of Women in Science and Engineering
• STSO-325: History of the Environmental Sciences
• STSO-326: History of Ecology and Environmentalism
• STSO-335: Industry, Environment, and Community in Rochester
• STSO-345: Makers of Modern Science
• STSO-346: Technology in American History
• STSO-425: Nature and Quantification
• STSO-445: The Natural Sciences in Western History

Combined Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degrees

History, BS degree/ Sustainable Systems MS, typical course sequence

• First Year
  • HIST-101: Making History
  • Non-Western/Indigenous History Course 1
  • Thematic Specialization 1, 2
  • General Education - First-Year Writing (WI)
  • General Education - Global Perspective
  • General Education - Social Perspective
  • General Education - Natural Science Inquiry Perspective
  • STAT-145: Introduction to Statistics I (General Education - Mathematical Perspective A)
  • General Education - Mathematical Perspective B
  • YOPS-10: RIT 365: RIT Connections
• Second Year
  • ISCH-110: Principles of Computing
  • ISCH-370: Principles of Data Science
  • HIST-498: History Internship or HIST-499: History Co-operative Education
  • Non-Western/Indigenous History Course 2
  • Thematic Specialization 3
  • General Education - Artistic Perspective
  • General Education - Ethical Perspective
  • General Education - Scientific Principles Perspective
  • General Education - Immersion 1, 2
  • General Education - Elective
• Year Three
  • HIST-326: Digital History
  • HIST-421: Hands-on History (WI-GE)
  • Thematic Specialization 4
  • Program Elective 1, 2
  • General Education - Immersion 3
  • General Education - Electives
  • Open Electives
• Year Four
  • HIST-501: Capstone Seminar (WI-PR)
  • ISUS-702: Fundamentals of Sustainability or ISUS-706: Economics of Sustainable Systems or ISUS-806: Risk Analysis
  • ISUS-704: Industrial Ecology or ISUS-808: Multicriteria Sustainable Systems or PUBL-810: Technology, Policy, and Sustainability
  • Program Elective
  • General Education - Electives
  • Open Electives
• Year Five
  • ISUS-702: Fundamentals of Sustainability Science or ISUS-706: Economics of Sustainable Systems or ISUS-806: Risk Analysis
  • ISUS-704: Industrial Ecology or ISUS-808: Multicriteria Sustainable Systems or PUBL-810: Technology, Policy, and Sustainability
  • ISUS-780: Graduate Sustainability Capstone or ISUS-790: Thesis
  • Graduate Sustainability Elective

Admissions and Financial Aid

First-Year Admission

First-year applicants are expected to demonstrate a strong academic background that includes:

• 4 years of English with a strong performance is expected.
• 3 years of social studies and/or history with a strong performance is expected.
• 3 years of math is required and must include algebra, geometry, and algebra 2/trigonometry.
• 2-3 years of science.

Transfer Admission

Transfer applicants should meet these minimum degree-specific requirements:

• A minimum of college algebra is required.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

100% of all incoming first-year and transfer students receive aid.

RIT’s personalized and comprehensive financial aid program includes scholarships, grants, loans, and campus employment programs. When all these are put to work, your actual cost may be much lower than the published estimated cost of attendance.