A major in history is one of the most flexible liberal arts degrees you can obtain. In addition to history, you’ll learn critical reading, writing and thinking skills that prepare you for any position requiring research, writing and analysis. You will learn to examine historical forces, people and events from multiple perspectives and with global awareness, all while honing your communication skills.
Location:
Chicago
Start Term:
Fall, Spring, Summer
Program Type:
Major, Minor, Accelerated Masters Option
With an opportunity to study social and cultural history in the heart of downtown Chicago, history students at Roosevelt will explore the dynamic histories of race, class and gender with a faculty committed to social justice. Transformational learning projects, internships, visits to Chicago neighborhoods and institutions, study-abroad courses and lectures by outside scholars and activists encourage students to see how history is applied in local, national and global communities. Small class sizes allow students to work closely with faculty on research projects and forge close mentoring relationships with them.
History majors in the College of Arts and Sciences can participate in the History, BA to Secondary Education, MA Accelerated Program to a BA in History and a Master of Arts degree in Secondary Education. The program allows students to take three graduate-level education courses as part of their undergraduate degrees. Once students are admitted to the MA in Secondary Education, the courses will apply toward completion of the MA degree.
Expectations & Requirements
Standards
Students can expect a curriculum that emphasizes research and writing; close engagement with primary sources, the building blocks of history; and the development of oral presentation skills. In their courses, they will explore the causes and consequences of past events; discover how to contextualize sources; and learn to question assumptions about how and why the world looks the way it does.
Minor Requirements
The minor in history requires 18 semester hours (see minor requirements for details). It makes an excellent companion to majors in criminal justice, economics, journalism, international relations, political science, policy studies, psychology, sociology, women's and gender studies, among other disciplines.
Sample Courses
- Lives & Times of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
- Lives, Memories, Stories, History (oral history)
- History of Mental Illness
- History of Epidemics
- Rebels, Witches and Monarchs
- The Atomic Bomb
- Immigration, Ethnicity and the American Experience
- History & Memory of the Civil War
- History of the Future
- Work and Play in Chicago History
- History & Memory of World War Two in the U.S. and Europe (Travel Abroad Course)
Outcomes
Career Options
Grad Schools Attended By Our Alumni
Faculty
Testimonials
The Roosevelt history department shaped my understanding of the history of work in the United States, which helps me in my job as a union organizer where I help higher education faculty and staff organize. At Roosevelt, I took an intersection of classes on slavery, women, African Americans, feminism, the environment and labor. Faculty members taught these classes to me as a unique individual and not just a student learning outcome.
Haley Leibovitz
2010
History BA,
Studying history at Roosevelt, founded on the principles of equity and justice, in the center of a city with a vibrant history of democratic social movements, provides our students with a sense of not only what was, but what is — and what can be — possible.
Margaret Rung
Professor of History, Roosevelt University