Courses

The history department offers a variety of courses in ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern history for an overall geographical scope that encompasses East Asia, Europe, North and South America, Africa, and the Middle East.

• 100-level courses are designed for students with little or no previous knowledge in a subject area with the intention of providing a broader survey necessary for later study at the upper level.
• HIST 201, the Art of Historical Detection, provides a focused study in the methods of historical investigation and serves to fulfill the College of Humanities and Sciences Area 6 (Literature and Civilization) requirement.
• 300-level courses offer a directed look at a specific geographic region, topic, or time period, and require in-depth reading and writing in the given subject area.
• 400-420 range are advanced topics courses that focus on the instructor's specific area of expertise and also require in-depth reading and writing on the specific topic.
• HIST490 is a capstone course, and provides an intense study in seminar format and is reserved for students in their final semesters in the program.
• HIST 493 (internship) may be substituted for HIST 490, provided that a placement can be found which meets needs of the student and fulfills the requirements of the internship program. Visit our capstones and internships page for more information.
• HIST 309, HIST 450, HIST 460 professional formation courses are major-based three-course sequence supporting professional development. These one-credit courses are taught by history faculty with cooperative support from Career Services.  They are designed to comprehensively prepare history majors for their launch into the professional world after graduation, from careers exploration and planning to self-representation and job search skills.

A list of history course offerings for the current semester can be found by consulting the VCU Schedule of Classes.