Welcome to the UC Santa Cruz History Department’s undergraduate program. If you are looking at this website, chances are you are considering studying history. Here you will find information about courses, our outstanding faculty and staff, major requirements, and complementary programs. Before you get into the details, however, let us briefly tell you why majoring in history at UCSC is a great choice in the 21st century. If you are curious about the world around you, interested in making an impact on it, and ready to develop flexible skills that will serve you in your life and your work, the history major provides an excellent path through your undergraduate career that will give you a strong foundation for deciding where you want to go next.
Students often think of studying history as a matter of memorizing names and dates. While having a command of basic facts is important, college-level study of history shifts the focus to learning how to ask illuminating questions about the past. UCSC history majors cultivate a broad understanding of human history across time and space and develop deep knowledge of a particular region of the world. At the same time, they learn how to ask transformative questions, develop their ability to answer them through effective research, and convey their ideas clearly and persuasively through strong communication skills.
In the course of an ordinary day, we are deluged with information in varied forms: textual, visual, oral, sensory. Learning how to evaluate information as evidence is central to the history major. By cultivating critical reading, of both primary sources generated in a particular historical moment and secondary sources that present narratives about the past, students learn to identify and evaluate arguments. As students learn to think historically, they begin to recognize possibilities where others see inevitabilities, asking not just what happened, but why it happened the way it did. They cultivate empathy and imagination in order to understand multiple perspectives on past events and what gives rise to those differences. These are skills that are invaluable for almost every job and essential to meeting the responsibilities of being citizens in a complex, dynamic, and global world. That is part of why you will find UCSC history graduates making valuable contributions in a wide range of fields, including education, law, government, film, journalism, finance, business, and activism.
Studying history entails not only cultivating individual knowledge about the past but also sharing one’s insights with others. History majors at UCSC learn how to work collaboratively in developing shared knowledge, from the first steps of identifying and gathering important sources, to developing interpretations and arguments, and finally through sharing findings in a variety of forms. Writing clearly and persuasively is a skill undergraduates cultivate throughout the major by working in multiple genres ranging from brief synthetic essays to long-form papers based in original primary source research. History majors also develop innovative ways of sharing their work, including digital exhibits, oral history archives, and public presentations of their research. Students who graduate as UCSC history majors should go out into the world with confidence in their abilities to evaluate and make sense of varied kinds of information and their capacity to share their knowledge with others. These skills leave them poised to thrive both professionally and personally.
Undergraduate education should be at the heart of the mission of every university, and UC Santa Cruz has a well-deserved reputation for its dedication to that goal. The UCSC History Department is known for the strength of its undergraduate program. The campus has recognized the excellence of the department’s teaching by conferring distinguished teaching awards on multiple members of our faculty. When you study history at UC Santa Cruz, you work with scholars known not only for their scholarship, but for the quality of their engagement with students. We encourage students to get to know faculty in their fields of interest as soon as possible, and become participants in our intellectual community. Faculty and staff are here to support you through your undergraduate career and to offer guidance on postgraduate possibilities, including work and graduate school.
As you browse the website for information about the major, please feel free to contact individual faculty members in areas of particular interest to you.
Program Learning Outcomes
History
Learn a basic narrative of historical events in a specific region of the world.
Critical Reading
Distinguish primary and secondary sources.
Understand and evaluate historical ideas, arguments, and points of view.
Evaluate competing interpretations and multiple narratives of the past.
Research and Evidence
Gather and assess primary historical evidence.
Compile a bibliography.
Communication
Present clear and compelling arguments, based on critical analysis of diverse historical sources, and effectively communicate your interpretations in written essays and/or other media.
Develop a research question and complete a well-supported piece of historical writing about it.
Scope and Thematics
Through completion of a combination of courses, become familiar with the history of:
- The pre-modern world
- The modern world
- Transnational or transcultural circulations of ideas, people, and material goods
- One or more national histories
- Regional comparisons
Why Study History?
Students and their parents alike often express the sentiment that history is fascinating but sometimes raise questions about its practicality as a college major. The thing is, all sorts of studies demonstrate that history majors thrive in their careers, and employers often express a need for the skills that studying history instills. A history major isn’t just fascinating; it’s a path to success. History majors develop skills in critical reading, effective research, analytical thinking, and clear, persuasive communication. Such skills are the essential foundation for jobs directly connected with the field, like teaching, research, and working in public history venues such as museums, archives, and libraries. These skills are also invaluable to careers in law, business, government, foreign service, management, publishing, journalism, social media, and many other areas. The ability to identify and access salient information, evaluate it critically, and use it to engage in constructive debate is essential for navigating a complex, dynamic, and global world.
“Why liberal arts and the humanities are as important as engineering.”
Wadhwa, Vivek. The Washington Post, June 12, 2018
“Over Time, Humanities Grads Close the Pay Gap With Professional Peers.”
Carlson, Scott. The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 7, 2018
“That ‘Useless’ Liberal Arts Degree Has Become Tech’s Hottest Ticket.”
Anders, George. Forbes, July 29, 2015
“The surprising thing Google learned about its employees — and what it means for today’s students.”
Strauss, Valerie. The Washington Post, December 20, 2017
“Liberal Arts in the Data Age.”
Olejarz, JM. Harvard Business Review, July-August 2017
“History Is Not a Useless Major: Fighting Myths with Data.”
Sturtevant, Paul B. Perspectives on History, April 2017
“Why STEM Majors Need the Humanities.”
Koblitz, Neal. The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 6, 2017
“Meet the parents who won’t let their children study literature. Forcing college kids to ignore the liberal arts won’t help them in a competitive economy.”
Pearlstein, Steven. The Washington Post, September 2, 2016
Why America’s Business Majors Are in Desperate Need of a Liberal-Arts Education
Appelbaum, Yoni. The Atlantic, June 28, 2016
“History isn’t a ‘useless’ major. It teaches critical thinking, something America needs plenty more of.”
Grossman, James. Los Angeles Tiimes, May 30, 2016
“Digital Companies Need More Liberal Arts Majors.”
Perrault, Tom. Harvard Business Review, January 2016
“The Myth of the Unemployed Humanities Major.”
Peden, Wilson. Association of American Colleges and Universities, November 11, 2015
“To Understand Science, Study History.”
Dubcovsky, Alejandra. The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 24, 2014
“In 2013 the Association of American Colleges & Universities issued the results of a survey of 318 employers with 25 or more employees showing that nearly all of them thought that the ability to “think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems”—the precise objectives of any liberal arts education—was more important than a job candidate’s specific major.”
“STEM Education Is Vital–but Not at the Expense of the Humanities.” Scientific American, October 1, 2016
“Employers considering new college graduates for job openings are looking for strong team players who can solve problems and possess strong communication skills… three-quarters or more said they seek candidates who demonstrate strong teamwork (78 percent), problem-solving (77.3 percent), and written communication skills (75.0 percent).”
“Employers Seek Teamwork, Problem-Solving Skills on Resumes” National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), February 16, 2017
Contacts
Undergraduate Program Director
Alan S Christy
- Title
- Cowell Provost
- Campus Email
- Office Location
- Cowell College Academic Building, Cowell 121
- Office Hours
- Tuesdays 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Please sign up here for office hours https://calendar.app.google/D5tv2dcEFHkqrzV87
Undergraduate Program Coordinator
Hailey Emery
- Title
- Undergraduate Program Coordinator and Assistant Manager
- Office Location
- Humanities Building 1, 201b
- Office Hours
- Monday – Friday 8am-5pm. Working remotely during summer.