Registration Guide

Fall 2023

Welcome to the Department of History.

Whether you arrive as a major or minor, seek classes that fit with an interdisciplinary major, or simply want to learn interesting stuff, you are welcome in our courses. This guide is to orient you to our ever-changing offerings and opportunities. Look through the guide, think about the course offerings, and ask questions of your advisor, or other historians. You will find unexpected opportunities here — new courses, new faculty, changing possibilities.

Getting started. Advising week begins March 27th. Don’t wait until the last minute to consult your advisor. Do think about your interests, requirements, and schedule before the meeting. Come in with questions, if you have them, and listen if your advisor alerts you to new class possibilities or concerns about how your plans fit together.

Registration dates. The first round of online registration will begin April 3rd. 

Click here to view the registration schedule.

Click here to view the list of Fall 2023 History course descriptions. 

Major/Minor requirements. For major and minor requirements, check the major/minor section of the History Department homepage.

IMPORTANT UPDATES TO MAJOR:

  • Please be aware that revisions to the history major were approved in 2021-2022. Most notably, we renumbered most of our HIST 199s to 200-level courses and most of these 200-level courses will receive FSHT credit. Do not hesitate to reach out to the history faculty with questions.
  • The history department will continue to offer classes under the HIST 199 category and these courses will continue to count for FSHT. However, the 199 category will be reserved for newly-hired faculty, and contingent or visiting faculty.
  • History courses taken before we renumbered them and had them approved for FSHT cannot retroactively satisfy the FSHT requirement. This is not negotiable.
  • Changes to the history major requirements only apply to UR students admitted to UR in 2021 or later. [In other words, if you have already declared your history major—NONE of the changes apply to you!]
  • There are no changes to the history minor requirements.
  • If you already took a HIST 199 class you may not take it again now that it has been renumbered to HIST 2xx.
  • The only HIST 400 in 2022-2023 will be Dr. Kahn’s HIST 400: Genocide, W 3-5:40pm. Rising seniors, plan your schedule accordingly. Instructor’s permission is required to register for this course.

Major Requirements for students admitted in 2021 or later:

Students must take at least 8 (eight) units at the HIST 200 level or above. Of those eight units, one must be a HIST 400-Research Seminar for majors and two must be HIST 300 – level courses. No more than two HIST 199 courses will be accepted for major credit. Here is the full breakdown:

  • You must have 10 units to complete the major
  • A grade of not lower than C (2.0) is required in each course of the major.
  • At least one unit at the HIST 400 - level (HIST 400 - Research Seminar for Majors)
  • At least two units at the HIST 300 - level
  • At least eight of your ten courses need to be at the 200 - level or above.
  • Regional Distributions: One course each in US history, European history, and the histories of Asia, Latin America, the Middle East or Africa.
    • History courses at the 100, 200 and 300 level may be applied to the U.S., Europe, and Asian, Latin American, Middle Eastern or African history requirement.
  • No more than two HIST 199 courses will be accepted for major credit.
  • A 5 on AP/IB on the US and European history exams will only count towards HIST 199.
  • Students may apply to the major up to two courses from study abroad for a semester’s study, three for a year’s study.
  • You cannot double up credit by taking a senior seminar in CLST and have it count as your History senior seminar. You must take a senior seminar in the History Department.

Major Requirements for students admitted before 2021:

Students must take at least 7 (seven) units above the 100-level. Of those seven units, one must be a HIST 400-Research Seminar for majors and two must be HIST 300 – level courses. No more than two HIST 199 courses will be accepted for major credit. Here is the full breakdown:

  • You must have 10 units to complete the major
  • A grade of not lower than C (2.0) is required in each course of the major.
  • At least one unit at the HIST 400 level (HIST 400-Research Seminar for Majors)
  • At least two units at the HIST 300 level
  • At least one HIST 199-Foundations of Historical Thinking course. [If you are a current history major and have not taken any HIST 199s yet, you can satisfy this requirement with an FSHT-approved HIST 200- course.]
  • At least seven units must be above the 100 level. Students may count no more than two HIST 199 courses toward a history major
  • Regional Distributions: One course each in US history, European history, and the histories of Asia, Latin America, the Middle East or Africa.
    • History courses at the 100, 200 and 300 level may be applied to the U.S., Europe, and Asian, Latin American, Middle Eastern or African history requirement.
  • A 5 on AP/IB on the US and European history exams will only count towards HIST 199.
  • Students may apply to the major up to two courses from study abroad for a semester’s study, three for a year’s study.
  • You cannot double up credit by taking a senior seminar in CLST and have it count as your History senior seminar. You must take a senior seminar in the History Department.

The History Minor:

Note: A grade of not lower than C (2.0) is required in each course of the major.
Five units, with no more than two at the 100 level. At least three of the minors five courses must be taken in residence in the history department of the University of Richmond. No more than two courses for the minor can be drawn from study abroad.

Research Seminar. The only HIST 400 research seminar will be offered in Fall 2023.

  • HIST 400 - HIST 400 - Environmental History. Professor McCommons. How do we understand the environment as its own actor in life’s drama? Climate events, changing landscapes, and environmental policies shape the world we inhabit as much as humans do, and new environmental histories are establishing the study of human interactions with the environment as fundamental parts of historical inquiry. This research seminar blends Environmental History with the field of Black Ecologies to engage issues of place, space, landscape, and climate alongside race, class, gender, and disability. By its end, students will develop their own historical interventions by writing a 25-page research paper. The seminar, required for history majors, will guide students through the process of developing an original thesis, finding and evaluating primary sources, and engaging with secondary literature through assigned readings, writing workshops, and individual meetings with the professor. Students will be encouraged to think nationally and internationally as they place the environment at the center of their analyses.

Related courses. History majors are always encouraged to take courses in such related disciplines as Religious Studies, English, Political Science, Anthropology, Philosophy, and Art History.