To graduate with a major in history, students must complete 33 credits (or 11 3-credit courses) of history classes. One of these courses must be the required core course for the major, Perspectives in History (50:509:299), which history majors should take as soon as they can. Perspectives will teach history majors the following skills:

1. how to analyze primary sources;
2. how to read secondary sources in a critical manner;
3. how to cite sources properly;
4. how to write to the expectations of the discipline of history;
5. how to construct an historical argument;
6. how to evaluate the integrity, reliability, and usefulness of disparate sources; and
7. how to conduct independent research.

For the remaining 30 credits besides Perspectives, majors must meet several requirements:

Eighteen of these credits must be from courses taken at Rutgers.
Eight of these credits must be from 300- or 400-level courses.
A maximum of 12 credits may be from 100- and 200-level courses, but no more than 6 credits can be counted from Western Civilization I and II (510:101 and 510:102) and Development of the United States I and II (512:201 and 512:202).
At least 3 credits must be from each of the three geographical areas: 510 (European), 512 (United States), and 516 (African, Asian, Latin American, and comparative history).
Effective fall 2016, no more than 9 credits will be accepted for the major from online courses, of which 6 credits may be at the 100-200 level, and 3 credits may be at the 300-400 level. This policy will not apply to students who declared the history major before fall 2016.

Grades lower than C do not count toward fulfillment of the history major requirement.

History internships and courses offered in the university's Honors College may also count toward the major, with the department chair's permission. If students wish, they may take more than 33 credits of history. Students who would like to immerse themselves in reading and research should consider finding a faculty member to supervise their work in the department's honors course in history (509:495), to be taken in addition to the 33 credits demanded of the major.

Those students seeking certification in teaching should be aware that a requirement is to take a course from a selection dealing with human and intercultural relations. Several history courses may be counted for this purpose and for the history major. History majors are encouraged to contact Professor Kate Epstein, undergraduate program coordinator, to discuss their course of study. She can be reached by email at kce17@camden.rutgers.edu. Students should always feel free to drop in during her office hours in Room 204, 429 Cooper Street. She is also available by appointment.

Courses may be counted toward both major and general requirements. No course, however, may fulfill two categories of general requirements. (If you use any course for both major and general requirements, be sure to count the credits only once toward the degree total.) History majors can download the worksheet found on the department's website to track their progress toward completing the requirements of the major.