Course Substitutions
History majors must take a minimum of six regularly scheduled history courses, including the comprehensive exit and disciplinary communication (DC) requirements, from members of the UCSC History Department faculty. Intensive history majors must complete a minimum of eight. Subject to the limits and restrictions indicated, courses from the categories listed below may be petitioned to satisfy history major requirements:
Grade Requirement
Only courses passed with the equivalent of a letter grade of C or better may be applied to history major or minor requirements.
- Transfer Courses (limit of 3)
- Education Abroad Program (limit of 3)
- Interdisciplinary Coursework (limit of 1)
- Independent and Field Studies (limit of 1)
- UCDC Washington Program (limit of 2)
History minors may substitute a maximum of three courses from the categories listed below, in any combination of their choosing:
- Transfer Courses (limit of 3)
- Education Abroad Program (limit of 3)
- Interdisciplinary Coursework (limit of 2)
- Independent and Field Studies (limit of 2)
- UCDC Washington Program (limit of 2)
At least five of the history minor requirements must be satisfied by regular UCSC History Department courses.
Interdisciplinary Coursework
The History Department encourages its students to take upper-division courses in disciplines related to history, including sociology, literature, history of art and visual culture, politics, Latin American and Latino studies, and others. At least 50% of the readings and written work in these courses must be historical in nature.
History majors may petition to apply a maximum of one upper-division interdisciplinary course to their elective requirement. Interdisciplinary courses may not satisfy chronological distribution requirements.
History minors may petition to apply a maximum of two upper-division courses.
Applying Interdisciplinary Courses
Submit a Petition for Interdisciplinary Coursework. You are required to upload the course's syllabus when completing your petition. You will also be asked to provide a brief explaination about how the course contributes to your understanding of history.
You will be notified about the outcome of your petition via your UCSC email address within 2-3 weeks.
Applying Courses to Multiple Majors/Minors
Upper-division courses applied to a second major/minor may or may not also be applied to the history major or minor requirements. Read the UC Santa Cruz Academic Senate "Double Counting" policy and consult with the history undergraduate program coordinator if you'd like to share upper-division courses between multiple majors or minors.
Pre-Approved Interdisciplinary Courses
The following interdisciplinary courses have been pre-approved by the History Department. You do not need to submit a Petition for Interdisciplinary Coursework: these course automatically apply to your history major or minor requirements. These courses may or may not be used to satisfy the requirements of a second major or a minor; consult with the history undergraduate program coordinator.
- CRES 173, Palestine: A History from Below
- ECON 125, Economic History of the U.S.
- ECON 126, Why Economies Succeed or Fail: Lessons from Western and Japanese History
- ECON 149, The Economies of East and Southeast Asia
- HAVC 127A, Buddhist Visual Worlds
- HAVC 137A, Northern Renaissance Art
- HAVC 151, Greek Myths Antiquity to the Present
- HAVC 155, Constructing Cleopatra: Power, Sexuality, and Femininity Across the Ages
- HAVC 157B, Italian Renaissance: Art and Architecture
(Formerly offered as HAVC 137B) - HAVC 160A, Indigenous American Visual Culture Before 1550: Mexico
- HAVC 162A, Advanced Studies in Early Indigenous American Visual Culture: The Ancient Maya
- HAVC 170, Art of the Body in Oceania
- LIT 118A, Hebrew Bible
- LIT 130B, Travel Writing and Intercultural Relations in the Middle Ages
- LIT 133D, Topics in the Literatures and Cultures of Southern Asia: Sikhism and Indian Civilization (Spring 2022)
- LIT 141A, Early Mediterranean Cultures
- LIT 141D, Classical Arabic Literature and Islamic Civilization
(Formerly offered as Arab-Islamic Literatures I: 500-1200) - LIT 141E, Arab-Islamic Literatures II: 1200-1900
- LIT 141G, Granada: The Moor's Last Sigh and the Muslim's Frontier: The City in the Mediterranean Imagination
(Course offered via UCSC Global Seminar: Muslim Granada and Its Legacy) - LIT 149C, The 1960s
- LIT 168A, The Culture of Islamic Law
- LIT 168B, Islamic Law and Society
- PHIL 100A, Ancient Greek Philosophy
- POLI/LGST 105A, Ancient Political Thought
- POLI/LGST 105B, Early Modern Political Thought
- POLI/LGST 120A, Congress, President, and the Court in American Politics
- POLI 140D, Politics of East Asia
- POLI 141, Politics of China
- SOCY 105A, Classical Social Theory
Pre-approved interdisciplinary courses may have enrollments restrictions and/or prerequisites. Consult the UCSC General Catalog for detailed enrollment information about these courses.
Independent and Field Studies
History majors may petition to apply a maximum of one upper-division independent or field study course to their elective requirement. Independent or field study courses may not satisfy chronological distribution requirements.
History minors may petition to apply a maximum of two independent or field study courses.
Applying Independent and Field Studies
1. Complete a UCSC Petition for Undergraduate Individual Studies Course (pdf). You should initiate this petition one quarter before you plan on enrolling in your independent or field study course.
2. Obtain the approval of a History faculty sponsor who will supervise your independent or field study experience. You are independently responsible for securing your own faculty sponsor, and you should initiate discussions with prospective sponsors at least one to two quarters in advance. The History faculty sponsor who agrees to supervise your independent or field study will complete the "Instructor Approval" section of your petition. A 2 credit independent or field study requires approximately 6 hours of coursework per week. A 5 credit independent or field study requires approximately 15 hours of coursework per week.
3. Submit your completed Petition for Undergraduate Individual Studies Course to the history undergraduate program coordinator. The history undergraduate program coordinator will review your petition, complete the "Course Sponsoring Agency Approval" section, and will issue you an independent or field study course class number.
4. Use this class number to enroll in your independent or field study course via your MyUCSC student portal; see step 6a of the How to Enroll in a Class guide for detailed instructions. You are independently responsible for enrolling in your independent or field study course by the quarterly Add/Drop/Swap deadline. See the UCSC Academic and Administrative Calendar for precise deadlines.
UCDC Washington Program
All students earn 12-18 credits during their UCDC Washington Program quarter. In addition to a required research seminar (UCDC 194A), students may also take one optional upper-division elective course. Elective classes are offered in several disciplines, including the social and natural sciences, arts, and humanities. All courses take advantage of Washington’s unique resources for study and research. More information about the required research seminar and the optional elective courses may be found on the UCSC Global Learning website.
History majors and minors may petition to apply up to two upper-division UCDC courses, UCDC 194A and/or the optional elective course, to their major/minor requirements. UCDC courses may not satisfy chronological distribution requirements.
NOTE: At least 50% of the readings and written work in these courses must be historical in nature. Interdisciplinary courses or courses in other fields of study (e.g., political science, American studies, sociology, etc.) are assessed in terms of whether the preponderance of the readings, lectures, and course requirements are clearly applicable to your area of study. UCDC courses most likely to be approved are those that are standard course offerings in history.
Applying UCDC Washington Program Courses
Submit a unique Petition for UCDC Washington Program Coursework per course. Your UCDC grade must be recorded in your UCSC academic record before the course may be petitioned. You are required to upload the course's syllabus when completing your petition. You will also be asked to provide a brief explaination about how the course contributes to your understanding of history.
You will be notified about the outcome of your petition via your UCSC email address within 2-3 weeks.
