Why history as a second major?
- Increased job market competitiveness and improved earnings
Studies indicate that double majors earn more than single majors and that the benefits are compounded when students in STEM and vocational majors add a major in the liberal arts.
- Increased graduate and professional school competitiveness
Double majors are empirically more likely to pursue and to be successful in post-baccalaureate programs.
- Improved creative, integrative thinking
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that double-majoring “entails learning the deeper, underlying meaning of a discipline, making connections across courses and subjects, and applying different intellectual perspectives. Even better, some researchers say, is creative thinking, in which students master multiple disciplinary approaches to generate fresh and original ideas. Students who major in two fields are more apt than their single-majoring peers to think both integratively and creatively.”
- All the benefits of the history major
The study of history expands one’s career options, develops in-demand skills, and prepares graduates for leadership, regardless of their professional fields. For the details, visit “Why study history at Ohio State?”
- Complementary knowledge
Studying history is a great way to deepen one’s knowledge about one’s first major. The Department of History offers concentrations in area studies (e.g., Europe, Africa, Asia), politics, conflict and diplomacy, social justice, medicine, science, technology, gender studies, the environment, and many others.
- Value for the tuition dollar
Double-majoring increases opportunities for course overlaps. Up to six hours in each major may overlap with the GE and overlaps between history and other majors can be significant. See the list below for approved course overlaps between history and other disciplines.
Courses in other departments applicable to the history major
By University rules, each major must contain at least eighteen non-overlapping hours. The Department of History permits the use of History 2800 and up to three other 2000-level courses (twelve credit hours total) toward the history major. At least eighteen credit hours toward the history major must be taken from the history department, including History 2800, two required 4000-level seminars, and all the credit hours required for a geographic or thematic concentration. Check with other departments to see what, if any, courses from the Department of History might overlap with the first major. In some cases (e.g., political science and international studies), the numbers can be significant. Be aware, though, that some departments limit the number of credit hours that may overlap with another major.
African American and African Studies
AFAMAST 2080: African American History to 1877
AFAMAST 2081: African American History from 1877
AFAMAST 2301: African Peoples and Empires in World History
AFAMAST 2302: History of Modern Africa, 1800 – 1960s
AFAMAST 2303: History of Contemporary Africa, 1960 – present
AFAMAST 3080: Slavery in the United States
AFAMAST 3081: Free Blacks in Antebellum America
AFAMAST 3082: Black Americans During the Progressive Era
AFAMAST 3083: Civil Rights and Black Power Movements
AFAMAST 3086: Black Women in Slavery and Freedom
AFAMAST 3089: Studies in African American History
AFAMAST 3304: History of Islam in Africa
AFAMAST 3320: History of African Cinema
Anthropology
ANTHROP 3555: New World Prehistory: Ancient Maya Civilization
ANTHROP 4706: Chronic: Illness, Injury, and Disability in Modern History
Arabic
ARABIC 2798.01: Morocco May Tour: The Arab World Up Close; History, Religion, Culture and Politics
ARABIC 5611: History of the Arabic Language
Architecture
ARCH 5110: History of Architecture I
ARCH 5120: History of Architecture II
ARCH 5130: History of Architecture III
City and Regional Planning
CRPLAN 2100: Reading the City through History and Law
Classics
CLAS 2201: Classical Civilization: Greece
CLAS 2202: Classical Civilization: Rome
CLAS 2205: Sports and Spectacles in the Ancient World
CLAS 2221: Introduction to the New Testament: History and Literature
CLAS 2222: From Ishtar to Christ: The History of Mediterranean Religions
CLAS 2301: Classical Archaeology
CLAS 2798.02: Byzantium – Constantinople – Istanbul: Crossroads of East and West
CLAS 3000: From Rome to Europe and Beyond
CLAS 3212: Greece and the Mediterranean from Alexander to Cleopatra
CLAS 3215: Sex and Gender in the Ancient World
CLAS 3220: The Rise of the Roman Republic
CLAS 3221: History of Rome: Republic to Empire
CLAS 3222: The Roman Empire, 69 – 337 CE
CLAS 3223: The Later Roman Empire
CLAS 3401: Ancient Greek Religion
CLAS 3404: Magic in the Ancient World
CLAS 3408: Ancient Roman Religion
CLAS 3720: The Corrupting Sea: The Environmental History of the Ancient Mediterranean
Comparative Studies
COMPSTD 2420: American Food Cultures
COMPSTD 3072: The Newark Earthworks, An Interdisciplinary Course
COMPSTD 3360: Introduction to Globalization and Culture
Consumer Sciences: Fashion and Retail Studies
CSFRST 2374: Twentieth Century Fashion and Beyond
CSFRST 5720: Economic History of Power in Fashion
Design
DESIGN 2750: Design History
DESIGN 5750: Advanced Design History: Interiors, Contents, Communication, and Culture
Economics
ECON 4130: World Economic Development in Historical Perspective
ECON 4140: Economic History of the Americas
ECON 5140: Economic History of the United States
Education
ESPHE 4280: History of Modern Education
Engineering
ENGR 5797.13: Engineering the Castles and Cathedrals of England and Wales
English
ENGLISH 2581: Introduction to U.S. Ethnic Literatures and Cultures
ENGLISH 3273: Modernist Thought and Culture, 1880 – 1945
ENGLISH 4533: The Early British Novel: Origins to 1830
ENGLISH 4574: History and Theories of Writing
ENGLISH 5612: The History of the Book in Modernity
Entomology
ENTMLGY 3797.01E: Evolution in Darwin’s World and Ours: Context
ENTMLGY 3797.02E: Evolution in Darwin’s World and Ours: Abroad
Geography
GEOG 4100: Geographic Inquiry
GEOG 4911: Earth’s Climate: Past and Future
German
GERMAN 2102: Texts and Contexts II: 20th-Century German Language, History, and Culture
GERMAN 3101: Texts and Contexts III: Historical Perspectives
GERMAN 3353: German Intellectual History
History of Art
HISTART 2001: Western Art I: Ancient and Medieval Worlds
HISTART 2002: Western Art II: The Renaissance to the Present
HISTART 2003: The Art and Visual Culture of East Asia
HISTART 2005: History of Latin American Art: Prehispanic and Early Modern
HISTART 2301: Classical Archaeology
HISTART 3002: The History of Western Architecture
HISTART 5562: Art and History in Early Modern Latin America, 1492 – 1820
HISTART 5910: History of Documentary Cinema
International Studies
INTSTDS 3350: Introduction to Western Europe
INTSTDS 3450: Human Rights: An Introduction
INTSTDS 4515: Ethnicity, Development, and the State in Sub-Saharan Africa
INTSTDS 4700: Terror and Terrorism
INTSTDS 4701: The Development and Control of Weapons of Mass Destruction
Islamic Studies
ISLAM 2350: Islam, Politics, and Society in History
ISLAM 2351: Early Islamic Society, 610 – 1258
ISLAM 3355: The Early Islamic Conquests (CE 630 – 750)
Italian
ITALIAN 5331: History of the Italian Language
Jewish Studies
JEWSHST 2450: Ancient and Medieval Jewish History, 300 BCE – 1100 CE
JEWSHST 2451: Medieval and Early Modern Jewish History, 700 – 1700 CE
JEWSHST 2452: Modern Jewish History 1700 – Present
JEWSHST 2453: History of Zionism and Modern Israel
JEWSHST 2454: History of Anti-Semitism
JEWSHST 2455: Jews in American Film
JEWSHST 2475: History of the Holocaust
JEWSHST 3450: History of Ancient Israel (to 300 BCE)
JEWSHST 3455: Jewish Life from the Renaissance to the Early Enlightenment
JEWSHST 3465: American Jewish History
JEWSHST 3470: Messiahs and Messianism in Jewish History
JEWSHST 3505: U.S. Diplomacy in the Middle East
Kinesiology: Sport Industry and Sport Management
KNSISM 2210: History of Sport in 19th Century America
KNSISM 2211: History of Sport in 20th Century America
KNSISM 5610: Women’s Sport History
Landscape Architecture
LARCH 2367: Making and Meaning of the American Landscape
Linguistics
LING 3901: Language Evolution and Language Change
LING 5901: Introduction to Historical Linguistics
Mathematics
MATH 4504: History of Mathematics
Medieval and Renaissance Studies
MEDREN 2211: Medieval Kyoto: Portraits and Landscapes
MEDREN 2215: Gothic Paris: 1100 – 1300
MEDREN 2610: Science and Technology in Medieval and Renaissance Culture
MEDREN 2618: Travel and Exploration
MEDREN 2666: Magic and Witchcraft in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
MEDREN 5611: History of the Book Studies
Microbiology
MICROBIO 3704: HIV: From Microbiology to Macrohistory
MICROBIO 3798.05: HIV in Context: East Africa
Modern Greek
MDRNGRK 2000: Athens: The Modern City
MDRNGRK 2240: Travels to Greece: The Search for a Cultural Ideal
Music
MUSIC 2240: Music History I
MUSIC 2241: Music History II
MUSIC 2242: Music History III
MUSIC 2252: History of Rock ‘n’ Roll
MUSIC 5646: History of Music in the United States
Naval Science
NAVALSC 4510: Amphibious and Expeditionary Warfare
Near Eastern Languages and Cultures
NELC 2211: The Ancient Near East
NELC 2680: It’s the End of the World! : Apocalypticism in Christianity, Judaism and Islam
NELC 3111: Ancient Empires
Neuroscience
NEUROSC 3025: History of Neuroscience
Pharmacy
PHR 3708: Vaccines: A Global History
PHR 5500: History of Pharmacy
Philosophy
PHILOS 2660: Metaphysics, Religion, and Magic in the Scientific Revolution
PHILOS 3210: History of Ancient Philosophy
PHILOS 3220: History of Medieval Philosophy
PHILOS 3230: History of 17th-Century Philosophy
PHILOS 3240: History of 18th-Century Philosophy
PHILOS 3250: History of 19th-Century Philosophy
PHILOS 3440: Theorizing Race
Political Science
Political Science 4123: Political Crisis and Reform
Political Science 4135: American Constitutional Law
Political Science 4136: Civil Liberties
(Note: Check with the Department of Political Science about history courses that overlap with political science majors.)
Psychology
PSYCH 5505: History of Psychology
Public Affairs
PUBAFRS 2500: History of Public Administration
Religious Studies
RELSTDS 2222: From Ishtar to Christ: The History of Mediterranean Religions
RELSTDS 3666: Magic in the Modern World
RELSTDS 3680: Religion and Law in Comparative Perspective
Russian
RUSSIAN 3480.01: The Russian Spy
RUSSIAN 3480.99: The Russian Spy
RUSSIAN 3490.99: Russian Youth Culture
RUSSIAN 5701: History of Russian I
Slavic
SLAVIC 2230.01: Vampires, Monstrosity, and Evil
SLAVIC 2230.99: Vampires, Monstrosity, and Evil
SLAVIC 3333.01: The Soviet Space Age
SLAVIC 3333.99: The Soviet Space Age
Theatre
THEATRE 2367.02: African American Theatre History
THEATRE 3731: History of Performance I
THEATRE 3732: History of Performance II
THEATRE 5771.03: Out There Alone: The History of Solo Performance
THEATRE 5771.05: All Singing, All Dancing: The History of Musical Theatre
Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
WGSST 2550: History of Feminist Thought
WGSST 2750: Natives and Newcomers: Immigration and Migration in U.S. History
WGSST 4401: Asian American Women: Race, Sex, and Representations
More Information
For more information about a second major in history, please contact Dr. Ray Irwin at Irwin.8@osu.edu.