History Minor

What you will study

Reading evidence, building an argument, and understanding how the present came to be.

The minor is 18 credits and is open to any undergraduate whose major is in a different field. Some courses may also count toward your major or general education — check your degree audit.

Representative courses

• United States History to 1877
• United States History since 1877
• World History
• Historical Methods

Exact requirements, electives, and prerequisites are set by the offering department; this is a representative path.

Who it pairs well with

This minor is a strong complement for any major — history builds the research and writing muscle. It is meant to add a focused, marketable capability without extending time to graduation for most students who plan it early.

Where it leads

Graduates use this minor toward roles such as archives, museums, research, education, law school preparation. On a résumé it signals a deliberate second competency; in interviews it gives you something concrete to talk about beyond the major.

How to declare

Meet with an adviser in College of Arts, Design & Communication to confirm the current requirements and how they fit your plan, then submit the minor declaration in MyPorter. Declaring before your final year gives you room to fit the courses without an overload. A minor is optional and can be dropped at any time.

Fitting it into your schedule

Most students who plan the History minor from the sophomore year finish it with no extra terms, using free electives and, where the audit allows, courses that double-count toward general education or the major. Starting later usually means one or two heavier semesters or a summer course. Prerequisite chains are the thing to watch: if the sequence has a course that is only offered once a year, that course sets your earliest finish date, so map it first.

Online and evening sections exist for some of the courses listed above but not all of them; an adviser can tell you which parts of the History minor can be done around a full-time schedule or an internship.

Common questions

Can courses count toward both my major and this minor? Sometimes. Porter allows a limited amount of overlap; your degree audit shows exactly how much and which courses qualify. Anything beyond the allowed overlap has to be replaced with another approved course.

Is a minor worth it over just taking the courses? The transcript notation is the difference. A declared History minor is a credential an employer or a graduate program can see at a glance; loose electives are not. If you are taking most of the courses anyway, declaring is usually worth it.

What if I change my mind? Drop it in MyPorter. The courses you already took stay on your transcript as electives and still count toward the 120 credits for the degree.