Major

Students who wish to become a history major should first discuss their program with a Departmental Advisor. Although you do not need to apply to be a History major, you should consult a Departmental Advisor to approve your program before declaring your major through UBC’s Student Workday.

Read carefully the relevant sections of the UBC Calendar for departmental and faculty requirements. If you have any doubts or questions or see a problem in your Degree Navigator report at any time about your History program, see a Departmental advisor as soon as possible.

1. Twelve credits of lower-level history, including 6 credits of 200-level courses. There are no specific course prerequisites for upper-level history courses. Arts One provides six credits as a lower-level History course and may be taken in the first year.
2. Thirty credits of upper-level history, including a capstone seminar (HIST_V 490 or HIST_V 403).
3. Of the 42 total minimum history credits, at least 6 credits must be substantially pre-modern in content. A list of courses fulfilling this requirement is below.
   1. Please check with

Please check with the History Department's undergraduate advisor, Michael Lanthier to confirm if the courses you are enrolled in meet this requirement.

HIST 101     World History to Oceanic Contact (6 credits)

HIST 102     World History from 1500 to the 20^th Century (6 credits)

HIST 202     Gateway to the Middle Ages (3/6 credits)

HIST 220     History of Europe (3/6 credits)

HIST 235     History of Canada (3 credits)

HIST 237     History of the United States (3/6 credits)

HIST 240     Health, Illness and Medicine I: From the Ancient World to the Early Modern Period (3 credits)

HIST 256     History of Africa (3 credits)

HIST 259     Science, Medicine, and Technology in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds (3 credits)

HIST 270     China in World History (3/6 credits)

HIST 271     Japan and Global History, 1550-1900 (3 credits)

HIST 273     History of India (3 credits)

HIST 280     Islamic World History (3 credits)

HIST 306     History of France, 1461-1715 (6 credits)

HIST 307     French North America to 1803 (6 credits)

HIST 310     The British Empire to 1850 (3 credits)

HIST 314     Early Modern Britain (6 credits)

HIST 323     Empires, Wars, and Revolutions in Europe and the Americas, 1763-1838 (3 credits)

HIST 328     Rebels in America: Revolution to Civil War, 1763-1865 (3 credits)

HIST 334     Senegambia to South Carolina, Ghana to Georgia: African American History 1450-1850 (3 credits)

HIST 341     Medieval Jewish History (3 credits) Equivalency: RELG 331

HIST 344     Ancient Regime France (6 credits)

HIST 347     Medieval and Imperial Russian History, 998 to 1800 (3 credits)

HIST 363     Europe in the Early Middle Ages (3 credits)

HIST 364     Europe in the Late Middle Ages (3 credits)

HIST 365     Europe during the Renaissance (3 credits)

HIST 366     Europe during the Reformation (3 credits)

HIST 367     Europe in the Age of the Enlightenment (3 credits)

HIST 377     History of Cantonese Worlds (3 credits) Equivalency: ASIA 323

HIST 378     History of Early China (3 credits) Equivalency: ASIA 320

HIST 379     History of Later Imperial China (3 credits) Equivalency: ASIA 340

HIST 387     Voices from Medieval India (3 credits)

HIST 388     India in the Early Modern World: Mughals, Merchants, and Marauders (3 credits)

HIST 392     Scientific Revolution: Circulation of Knowledge in the Early Modern World (3 credits)

HIST 401     Seafaring in the Age of Sail (3 credits)

HIST 424     Economic History of Pre-Modern Europe (3 credits)

HIST 425     War and Society

HIST 436     European Social History (6 credits)

HIST 444     Slave Societies in the Americas (3 credits)

HIST 464     First Contacts in the Pacific (3 credits)

HIST 470     Seminar in Medieval History (6 credits)

HIST 473     Women in the Middle Ages (3 credits)

HIST 474     Ideas and Religions of the Middle Ages (3 credits)

HIST 476     Law and Society in the Middle Ages (3 credits)

HIST 477     Constitutional History of Medieval Europe (3 credits)

HIST 478     Medieval Portraits and Personalities (3 credits)

HIST 479     Cultural History of Imperial China (3/6 credits) Equivalency: ASIA 440

HIST 484     East Asian Military Systems and Warfare (3 credits)

All courses with a HIST number are treated toward the History Major without limitation. This includes all the following courses which are cross-listed with another department.

Subject to the approval of the Department, a maximum of 6 credits of the following courses which are taught and listed in other departments may count toward the 30 upper-level courses required for Major in History:

AMNE 306 (CLST 306), 324 (CLST 311), AMNE 325 (CLST 312), AMNE 327 (CLST 319), AMNE 323 (CLST 320), AMNE 326 (CLST 329), AMNE 318 (CLST 352), AMNE 319 (CLST 353), AMNE 318 (CLST 355), AMNE 319 (CLST 356), AMNE 420 (CLST 401)

AMNE 314 (NEST 301), AMNE 312 (NEST 302)

NEST 310

ECON 334, 336, 337, 436

GEOG 321, 327, 328, 426

ASIA 309, 310, 313, 314, 315, 317, 318, 337, 338, 344, 346, 376, 390, 393, 410, 411, 418, 428, 438, 456, 475, 484, 488

MES 300

To meet the needs of a particular student's program, the History Department will consider counting a course not specifically listed as a History course (or its equivalent) towards the requirements of a Major in History if the course can be shown to be substantially historical in content and context.

We may suggest students take such courses as an elective, but we do, however, wish to allow a legitimate degree of flexibility and imagination in the program of a History major.

The combined major in history and philosophy of science is designed for students interested in the nature and development of science, along with its many roles in contemporary society and culture. This major is for those interested in topics such as scientific evidence, scientific explanations, causal inference, scientific communities, science and values, and the evolution of scientific ideas within a social context. It might also be a suitable second major for science students with humanistic interests.

For admission into the history and philosophy of science combined major please speak with the undergraduate program advisor. In addition to Faculty requirements, the program requires the following:

First and Second Years

• Students must complete HIST/PHIL 260, and at least 9 credits of first and second year HIST or PHIL courses.
• The following are recommended: HIST 104, 105, 106, 259; PHIL 125, 220, 230, 240.

Third and Fourth Years

• Students must complete HIST 393/PHIL 360, and one (3 credits) of HIST 490 or PHIL 491. They must take an additional 15 credits from the following list, with no fewer than 6 credits in PHIL and 6 credits in HIST: HIST 392, 394, 395, 396, 398, 440, 487, 491, 493, 494, 495, 581, 589; PHIL 321, 362, 363, 427, 460, 461, 462, 464, 469.
• The remaining 9 credits will normally be taken from upper-level HIST or PHIL courses (excluding PHIL 400, 401). Students may substitute any of the following: BIOL 446; AMNE 306 (CLST 306);
  ENGL 309; GEOG 345; MATH 446; MATH 447; PHYS 340; PSYC 312.

The History Department in association with other departments in the Faculty of Arts offers a double majors program in International Relations. Visit UBC International Relations Program or contact our International Relations Co-Chair, Michael Lanthier for a program description and contact information.