Welcome!
Students may declare history as a Major or a Minor for their Bachelor of Arts degree. The department also offers a BA Honours in History. As well there are several Joint-Majors with other programs. Finally, the Internship course may be attractive to students looking for a more hands-on approach to history.
The faculty members of the Department of History are more than happy to advise you about our program and our courses. Check out their bios and research interests on our faculty page.
Our courses focus on a wide range of themes and continents, and will help you make sense of current events. The skills and the knowledge learned through the study of history make us better citizens of democratic societies and informed members of a global community.
History courses prepare students to excel in many careers, including in teaching, law, journalism, the civil service, politics, museums, libraries and archives, and universities.
Admission Requirements
The History department has no specific requirements for admission into the program. General Admission into the Bachelor of Arts at UNBC requires a minimum 65% average as well as course in English Studies 12 or English First Peoples 12, three “approved” academic Grad 12 courses and one additional Grade 12 Course.
For more information see the Undergraduate Admissions page.
https://www.unbc.ca/calendar/undergraduate/high-school-admissions
Learning Goals
- To develop historical consciousness: taking perspectives, historical humility, historical empathy, multicausality, the complexity of context, relationship of past to present, agency and structure as engines of historical change, privilege primary sources.
- Cultivate social and political literacy for informed citizenship
- Engage in independent research utilizing the diverse tools of the ever-changing historical research ecosystem.
- Disseminate knowledge through multiple modes of communication.
- Build camaraderie and community and collaborate with peers.
- Articulate the value of historical education to a variety of audiences.
- Acquire deep historical content knowledge of diverse regions, periods, cultures, and historical trends and processes.
Required Courses
For complete degree requirements (including required courses and electives) see the university course calendar. There are four foundational courses for all history degrees: HIST 190 & 191, HIST 200 and HIST 300.
HIST 190 & 191
HIST 190 and HIST 191 (World History to 1550 and World History Since 1550) are designed as an introduction to the discipline of history. They focus on teaching students the foundational tools that historians use: how to read, think about, discuss orally, and write about primary and secondary sources; how to research specific topics using article databases, the web, and the library catalogue; and how to develop research questions. HIST 190 and HIST 191 cover broad time periods and geographical spaces, providing students with an overview of important issues, debates, events, and people in the past. The aim of these courses is to give students the necessary tools to succeed in more specialized history courses in their second, third, and fourth years. At the same time, these two courses provide students planning on majoring in another discipline with important writing and research skills and general knowledge about human societies. We encourage students to take HIST 190 and HIST 191 in their first year so that they develop these important tools right at the beginning of their university careers.
HIST 200
This is a course in basic and essential methodology in historical analysis. Students learn how to develop research questions, identify and use sources in diverse formats, read primary and secondary sources critically, analyze and interpret evidence, and communicate the results of their research orally and in scholarly writing.
HIST 300
HIST 300 (Historiography: The Nature of the Historical Discipline) is intended for students in their third year. This course examines the nature of history as a discipline and will focus on teaching students how historians approach their craft.
Other History Courses
Internships in History (HIST 440)
This is not a required course, but the department is particularly proud of its Internship program. It is part of the broader experiential learning project at UNBC and the university's goal to engage with communities in northern British Columbia. Students can earn three credits for doing 110 of non-remunerated work with northern organizations and institutions. In the past students have created exhibits for the Railway and Forestry Museum, or worked at the Northern BC Archives and Special Collections hosted at the UNBC library. Future projects could include archival and digitization projects with local organizations, clubs, government departments, or aboriginal communities.
This program is intended for keen and strong students who have already developed a project idea. Faculty members provide students supervision and support while personnel at the local organization provide guidance and mentorship. Students need to create their own project and set up the relationship (with faculty support) with a local organization.
Interested students should begin by consulting with the department chair.
Honours in History (HIST 500, 501 & 505)
At the Undergraduate level, strong students may elect to complete upper level course work developed in consultation with a faculty member in the History program. The Honours level courses are typically focused on a specialized research project that results in a paper of between 7,500 to 10,000 words and defended in an oral examination.