Bachelor of Arts in History

Study history. Understand the world. Be an agent for change in the world.

The study of history prepares you to think critically, argue logically, and to examine the legacies of people and events across time and space. History helps you analyze the values of their society and those of other societies, as well as grapple with the responsibilities of informed citizenship.

With a history degree, you will enter the workforce with the ability to recognize the fundamental importance of context, perspective, and contingency to the changes and continuities that occur between individual lives, communities, countries, and continents. You will acquire not just a firm knowledge of the past, but also develop an invaluable way to approach and analyze the world.

Why choose the B.A. in History at Marian?

The Department of History and Social Sciences fulfills Marian University’s mission to prepare transformative leaders with excellent teaching and learning in the Franciscan and liberal arts tradition by offering a well-rounded course of studies that promotes both academic excellence and an appreciation of humanity's diverse history.

The history curriculum is designed around specific goals:

• To cultivate a sense of the past to new generations, especially the multiple heritages of the peoples of the United States.
• Introduce and help you understand the diversity of peoples throughout the world.
• Transform academically ambitious students into lifelong, independent learners, responsible, morally committed professionals, and thoughtful members of society.
• Present new scholarly research in the classroom and in the wider world of the public to help frame local, national and global issues.

We accomplish these goals in the following ways:

• Immersive Learning Programs
  • Civil Rights History Program in Alabama
  • Applied Historical Research Methods throughout Indiana
  • Faculty-led Immersion Courses at Harlaxton College in Grantham, England
• Interdisciplinary Department
  • The Department of History and Social Sciences house five majors and five minors which affords our students multiple opportunities to engage with interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary study and research.  
• Small classes with a low student-to-teacher ratio
• Individualized advising with student's major professor
• Study Abroad Opportunities
  • United Kingdom
  • France
  • South Africa
  • Rwanda
  • Germany
  • El Salvador

What will you study?

To earn the 128-credit Bachelor of Arts in History degree, you will complete at least 36 credits of courses focused on history, including five core courses:

• HIS 100: Civics and Democratic Engagement
• HIS 101: Historical Perspective
• HIS 200: Survey of Global History
• HIS 216: American History from 1490 – 1864
• HIS 217: United States History from 1865 – Present
• HIS 301: Historical Research Methods
• HIS 490: History Senior Seminar

In addition to the core history course, you will have the opportunity to choose at least seven additional HIS courses at or above the 300 level. Working closely with your academic advisor, you can choose from courses on topics such as:

• Women’s and Gender History
• Social Movements
• Movies in Historical Perspective
• African-American History
• Genocide
• Global Slave Systems
• Politics in the Middle East
• War and Memory
• Labor History
• African History
• Modern Revolutions
• Imperialism

Sample Four-Year Plan and Checklist

History Minor Checklist

Double Major in History and Secondary Education Four-Year Plan and Checklist

Internship Opportunities

The Department of History and Social Sciences at Marian University has working relationships with a growing number of local organizations that provide our students with opportunities to develop their skills through guided internships.

• Indiana State Museum
• Indiana State Archives
• Indianapolis Museum of Art
• Indiana Historical Society
• The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis
• Governor’s Public Service Internship
• Indiana State House – Legislative Session Internships
• Non-Profits such as
  • Girls, Inc.
  • accessAbility
  • Indianapolis Urban League
  • Faith in Indiana
  • Community, Faith & Labor Coalition
  • Indiana Youth Group

"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."