The information on this page pertains to program requirements for students who matriculated in the 2023-2024 academic year. View requirements for previous catalog years here.
The discipline of history lies at the core of a liberal education. Students of history learn and analyze the major social, political, and economic forces that have caused change over time with an eye to understanding the present in the light of the past. Drake’s History Department courses focus mostly on the modern period (c.1500 to the present), have a world historical emphasis, and investigate those ideas and institutions by which people have shaped and ordered their world.
At a time when the average college graduate will work in four or more different professions during their lifetime, the History Department’s program prepares and empowers students with modular and transferable skills. Our curriculum helps students to think clearly; to research, analyze, and interpret a broad range of materials available across multiple media; and to express themselves cogently both orally and in writing. With these skills, students are prepared to pursue careers in business, industry, government service, numerous professions, and the advanced study of history.
The B.A. in History requires 37 credit hours. Students can obtain these credits by taking all history courses or by doing the 28+9 cross disciplinary option for double majors. These two options are described below.
For the history major, at least 15 hours must be completed at Drake.
This option requires students to complete the major by taking 37 credit hours of History classes.
| Course | Credits |
| Introductory-level courses (001-099) | 9 |
| HIST 011 - World History, 1500 to 1750 | 3 |
| HIST 012 - World History, 1750 - Present | 3 |
| Three hours of other introductory-level courses | 3 |
| HIST 100 - Doing History: The Historian's Craft | 3 |
| Advanced-level courses (101-149) | 6 |
| Colloquia (150-190) | 6 |
| Capstone (196-197) | 3 |
| Electives - Select twelve credits at any level | 12 |
| TOTAL (All History Option) | 37 |
This option involves taking 28 credit hours of history classes and counting 9 credit hours (100 level classes) from a second related major towards the B.A. in History. Approved majors for this option include: Politics, International Relations, LPS, Philosophy and Religion, English, Culture and Society, Economics, Art History, Journalism, and Education. Consult with your advisor to determine other disciplines that may qualify. For example, students with majors in Biology, Psychology, and ENSP have also designed interdisciplinary Double Majors in History with their advisor’s approval.
| Course | Credits |
| Introductory-level courses (004-099) | 6 |
| HIST 003 - Introducing History | 1 |
| HIST 100 - Doing History: The Historian's Craft | 3 |
| Advanced Level Courses (102 - 195) Distribution must include at least one U.S., one European and one Asian/African/Latin American/World History course. | 15 |
| Capstone (196-197) | 3 |
| Electives - Select nine credits of 100-level courses from a single related major or nine credits in HIST at any level. | 9 |
| TOTAL (28 + 9 Option) | 37 |
Students must complete 18 credit hours to earn a History minor. Students may not apply credits from a related discipline towards the minor. For the history minor, at least 12 hours must be completed at Drake.
| Course | Credits |
| Advanced-level classes (100-195) | 12 |
| History electives (6 credit hours in HIST at any level) | 6 |
| TOTAL | 18 |
The information in this catalog does not constitute a contract between the university and the student. The university reserves the right to make changes in curricula, admission policies and processes, tuition and financial aid, academic standards and guidelines, student services and any other regulations or policies set forth in this catalog without giving prior notice.