BA in Environmental Studies and History

History at Northeastern emphasizes the study of local and regional histories as well as of the global exchanges between nations, regions, and cultures. Knowledge of the past is also about building the future. In a world marked by increasing exchange between peoples, cultures, and societies, history is key to understanding contemporary issues such as the future of democracy, the nature of citizenship and rights, the origins and conduct of war, the foundations of racial and ethnic conflict and tolerance, and poverty and prosperity. At the same time, history teaches crucial skills in analytical thinking, research processes, writing, oral expression, and multimedia presentation. History majors take three core seminars on historical research and choose from a broad range of courses in historical themes, periods, and regions. Students focus their studies by establishing a cluster of four courses in a particular geographical area, time period, or theme. The program emphasizes undergraduate research in the major and trains students to conduct research in archives and primary sources and to write research papers. Honors study is strongly encouraged for eligible students, and students are encouraged to take advantage of numerous options for study abroad. Advanced undergraduates have the opportunity to participate in individual directed study with members of the faculty on topics of mutual interest. Cooperative education placements, fieldwork, internships, and other experiential learning activities are also available. History majors have worked on co?op in law firms, an art auction house, the State Department, the Massachusetts State House, Newton Public Schools, and the Massachusetts State Archives, among many other institutions. Undergraduates who plan to teach in public schools may combine history with education courses that can lead to state certification in Massachusetts. History students are also encouraged to take Dialogue of Civilizations courses that engage students in short-term study abroad during the summer. The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) is the broadly based liberal arts degree in history. Students who pursue the B.A. degree must satisfy general requirements and take courses from across the social sciences and humanities core curriculum, in addition to required and elective history courses. These requirements help students develop their historical knowledge and skills within the contexts of the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences that together comprise the disciplinary sources of historical knowledge. They enable historical understanding to be culturally and linguistically sensitive to the subjects of historical inquiry.