UB Programs At-A-Glance

History

Department of History
College of Arts and Sciences
546 Park Hall
North Campus
Buffalo, NY 14260-4130

Phone: 716.645.2181
Fax: 716.645.5954
Web: www.cas.buffalo.edu/depts/history
Email: ubhistor@acsu.buffalo.edu

David Gerber
Chair

Erik R. Seeman
Director of Undergraduate Studies

About the Program

History explores how people have lived, thought, and tried to make sense of their worlds. It is cross-cultural and multidimensional, addressing the breadth of human experience and uncovering patterns that are essential in situating ourselves in the present and in preparing ourselves for the future. History deals with both continuity and change, examining, for example, what is novel and what is recurrent in human efforts to deal with such enduring matters as religion, ethnicity, class, and gender. The History department offers a wide array of courses, and stresses the development of research and communication skills, which are vital for many different careers. History graduates work in such fields as business, law, government, and journalism, as well as in librarianship, archival and museum management, and teaching at all levels. They are trained to serve wherever careful reading, critical thinking, and clear writing are recognized assets.

About Our Degrees

The History department offers a wide array of courses, and stresses the development of research and communication skills vital for many different careers. History graduates work in such fields as business, law, government, and journalism, as well as in librarianship, museum management, and teaching — wherever critical thinking and clear writing are recognized assets.

Acceptance Criteria

Minimum GPA of 2.0 overall.
Minimum grade of “C” in two history courses.

Acceptance Information

Deadlines: Rolling

Degree Requirements

See the Undergraduate Catalog.

About Our Courses

The History department offers a wide array of courses and stresses the development of research and communication skills vital for many different careers.

The typical class size for:

Freshmen/introductory courses is: 75-125
Sophomore/intermediate courses is: 30-60
Senior level/advanced courses is: 15-20

In the History department, what do teaching assistants (TA's) do?

TA’s are recitation section leaders in large surveys, teach some classes in the evening division and in summer school, and teach some senior seminar courses.

Suggested Introductory Courses


For course descriptions, please see the Undergraduate Catalog.

About Our Faculty

The History department includes faculty of national and international distinction. Faculty members have taught in many parts of the globe, including Italy, Korea, Australia, and Russia, and their published scholarship has been published in and/or translated into French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese. The department values teaching, and several faculty members have received distinguished teaching awards.

See a list of our undergraduate faculty.

Practical Experience and Special Academic Opportunities

Undergraduate Research and Practical Experience

Study Abroad
The History department encourages history majors to participate in study abroad programs. History students participate in university-wide exchange programs with Darmstadt and Beijing. There are also exchanges with schools in England, Canada and elsewhere. The SUNY Study Abroad Program also offers exceptional opportunities for our students.

Honors, Awards, and Scholarships

Honors Program
Majors who complete at least four history courses with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.33 (B+) are eligible to apply for admission to the History department Honors Program. To complete this program, students fulfill the standard requirements for the major, plus four more courses. Eight of these courses shall be at the upper-division level (300/400). This includes a two-semester sequence of research seminars: Honors Thesis I and Honors Thesis II, in which students prepare a thesis of approximately thirty to forty pages. Upon admission to the program, honors students are responsible for arranging with a faculty mentor to guide their thesis research and writing, normally completed in the senior year. Honors students may, at the discretion of their mentors and upon approval of the directors of undergraduate and graduate studies, participate in a relevant graduate seminar or seminars. Honors students who complete the thesis and attain a minimum GPA of 3.33 in the major will graduate with Honors in history. In addition to being intellectually challenging and personally rewarding, successful completion of the Honors program—indicated on the transcript and in letters of recommendation—is excellent preparation for employment or graduate study.

Plesur Scholarships
Thanks to a generous bequest from, the late Professor Milton Plesur, the department offers and array of scholarships and awards. It provides scholarships of from $1,500 to $3,000 to majors with outstanding records in history and serious interest in pursuing the discipline and a career in history. It awards scholarships of from $500 to $1,000 to majors who enroll in a recognized summer, semester, or year-long program of study abroad.

Horton Undergraduate History Essay
Each spring the History department awards the John Horton Prize, named after a late faculty member, for the best essay written by an undergraduate in a history course during the previous calendar year.

Bryan G. Argo Student Award
History majors who are residents of Niagara or Erie County, are full-time students in their junior year who also work at least part-time, have compiled an overall grade point average of 3.0, and who exhibit family values and integrity are eligible to apply for this aware made each year through the generosity of the family and friends of Bryan Argo, a History student who was devoted to family and friends, believed strongly in continuing education, and whose promising life was tragically cut short by a traffic accident.

Joyce J. and John D. Milligan and Family Scholarships
History majors from underrepresented minorities with good academic credentials and good personal characteristics are eligible for these two annual scholarships, one for a perspective junior and one for a perspective senior. These awards are made available through the generosity of John D. Milligan, a long-time History Department faculty member, his wife Joyce, who served the Department as a secretary, and their daughters Jacqueline, Elizabeth, and Polla.

Phi Alpha Theta
The History department has a chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, one of the oldest honor societies in the United States. Phi Alpha Theta's purpose is to promote the study of history through the encouragement of research, teaching, and publication. An undergraduate student must have completed at least twelve semester hours in history with a grade in all history courses averaging above 3.1, and must have an overall average of 3.0 in courses excluding history.

Extracurricular Activities

See the UB Student Association.

Complementary Programs and Courses



Courses outside History that could improve employment opportunities

Career Information and Further Study

Skills gained in this program include:

  • Making use of past experiences in reaching current decisions

  • Following trends to predict shifts in political views or consumer tastes

  • Monitoring profit cycles and changes in government policies to provide up-to-date business information

  • Reading rapidly and extracting relevant data

  • Interviewing: eliciting information from people outside an organization, and supplying it to people on the inside

  • Documenting a conclusion and presenting it clearly, either verbally or in writing


Career Choices

  • Archivist
  • Biographer
  • Business administrator
  • Consultant
  • Counselor
  • Editor
  • Foreign service officer
  • Historian
  • Journalist
  • Lawyer
  • Librarian
  • Market research analyst
  • Public official
  • Researcher
  • Teacher


Alumni in History have found employment in the following fields:

  • Archival and library management
  • Banking
  • Civil service
  • Communications
  • Education
  • Federal, state, and local government
  • Foreign service
  • Investment services
  • Law
  • Marketing and advertising
  • Museums
  • Newspapers/media
  • Non-profit organizations and “think tanks”
  • Public relations
  • University administration


What percentage of graduates goes on to find related employment?

50%

Salary Information

Salaries range greatly from one occupation, position, and work setting to another. According to the September 1998 NACE national salary for bachelor's degree graduates, history salaries averaged $24,688 with a range from $18,000 to $35,000.

What percentage of graduates goes on to graduate school?

10 – 15%

Links to Further Information About This Program

Last Modified: Tuesday, 7-Nov-2006 10:26:10 EST