Global History, Bachelor of Arts
The requirements shown below take effect for the Fall 2026 semester. Students who enrolled in the program prior to that should refer to the 2024-2025 bulletin.
The Global History major is derived from the discipline of global history, which emphasizes interactions and collisions between and among cultures. This program provides undergraduates with the knowledge and research skills to better understand the world, to think critically about the past, present, and future problems facing different peoples and communities. In addition to completing required surveys in global and/or U.S. history and a methods course, Global History majors choose the degree electives on the topics or regions that most interest them. The required skills course introduces students to the main schools of historical thought, varied techniques and approaches to doing historical research, and provides them with the opportunity to do original research in their capstone seminar.
Learning Outcomes. Students will:
- Identify and explain the historical significance of critical events, trends, and themes in ancient, medieval, or modern world history.
- Identify, locate, contextualize, and evaluate the usefulness of different forms of historical evidence (primary sources).
- Effectively read historical scholarship (secondary sources) by accurately identifying the thesis, source base, organizational structure, and conclusions of academic texts.
- Identify different theories and methods used in the historical profession.
- Construct a historical argument grounded in evidence from primary and secondary sources and be able to provide a coherent defense of this thesis orally and in writing.
Credits Required.
| Global History Major |
39-42 |
| General Education |
42 |
| Electives |
36-39 |
| Total Credits Required for B.A. Degree |
120 |
Coordinators. Professors Allison Kavey (akavey@jjay.cuny.edu) and Stephen Russell (srussell@jjay.cuny.edu), Department of History
Advising information. Global History Major Advising Resources (including a Sample Four Year Degree Map). Major Checklist.
Honors option. To receive Honors in Global History, a student must complete an extended senior thesis over the course of their senior year (two semesters) while achieving a 3.5 grade point average in their major courses. Eligible students may enroll in the honors track as upper juniors (having accumulated at least 75 to 90 credits) by meeting with the major coordinator.
Experiential learning opportunities. Students in the Global History major can participate in a variety of experiential learning opportunities over the course of their studies. During the freshman and sophomore years, students in HIS 150 engage with archival resources as well as public documents. In the junior year, students in HIS 300 visit historical archives and may engage in an internship that entails use of archival research. During the senior year, students participate in an extensive research experience associated with the capstone seminar, HIS 425, culminating in a presentation of their senior thesis to the History Department. In addition, Global History students may participate in our internship for credit program where students can receive one major elective credit for an internship that is paired with an independent study.
Dual Admission/ Accelerated Program Leading to the MA in Human Rights. This program allows student an accelerated approach to earning their BA in Global History and MA in Human Rights at John Jay. Students complete 135 credits to earn both degrees. Contact the Major Coordinator for more details about requirements and applications.
Additional information. Students who enrolled for the first time at the College in September 2026 or thereafter must complete the major in the form presented here. Students who enrolled in Spring 2026 or prior to that date may choose the form shown here or the earlier version of the major. A copy of the earlier version can be obtained in the 2024-2025 Undergraduate Bulletin.
Program Codes:
IRP Program Code: 33084
HEGIS Code: 2205.00
CIP Code: 54.0101
Part One. Foundations
Choose Two
Required
| HIS 300 | Research Methods in History | 3 |
Total Credit Hours: 9
Part Two. Electives
Students will complete nine elective courses (27 credits). History majors who are in the Honors track will complete eight elective courses (24 credits). Students must meet the following requirements when selecting degree electives:
- At least three at the 200-level
- At least four at the 300-level
- At least two from other electives
A maximum of two 100-level courses may be applied to the Part Two electives.
200-Level Electives
Choose Three
| HIS 210 | Doing History | 3 |
| HIS 219 | Violence and Social Change in America | 3 |
| HIS 224 | A History of Crime in New York City | 3 |
| HIS 228 | Critical Perspectives on the Middle East | 3 |
| HIS 252 | Warfare in the Ancient Near East and Egypt | 3 |
| HIS 254 | History of Ancient Greece and Rome | 3 |
| HIS 264 | Premodern Asia: Empires, Exchanges, and the Silk Road | 3 |
| HIS 269 | History of World Slavery (to 1650 CE) | 3 |
| HIS 270 | History of Marriage | 3 |
| HIS 274 | Modern Asia: Empires, Encounters, and Globalization | 3 |
| HIS 277 | American Legal History | 3 |
| HIS 281 | Imperialism in Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East | 3 |
| HIS 282 | Selected Topics in History | 3 |
| HIS 289 | Independent Study 200-level | 3 |
300-Level Electives
Choose Four
| HIS 323 | History of Lynching and Collective Violence | 3 |
| HIS 327 | History of Genocide: 500 C.E. to the Present | 3 |
| HIS 344 | Topics in Legal History | 3 |
| HIS 354 | Law and Society in Ancient Athens and Rome | 3 |
| HIS 362 | Topics in the History of Science and Medicine | 3 |
| HIS 364/GEN 364 | History of Gender and Sexuality | 3 |
| HIS 366 | Religions of the Ancient World | 3 |
| HIS 368 | Law and Society in the Ancient Middle East | 3 |
| HIS 381 | Social History of Catholicism in the Modern World | 3 |
| HIS 385 | Faculty Mentored Research Experience in History | 3 |
| HIS 389 | Independent Study 300-level | 3 |
Other Electives
Choose Two
HIS ###
| Any HIS Course (1XX, 2XX, 3XX, 4XX) | 3 |
| AFR 150 | Origins of Contemporary Africa | 3 |
| ART 222 | Body Politics | 3 |
| HJS 215 | Race and Rebellion | 3 |
| HUM 300 | Landmark U.S. Supreme Court Cases: Criminal Justice and Humanities Perspectives | 3 |
| LLS 130 | Introduction to Latin American History | 3 |
Total Credit Hours: 27
Part Three. Capstone Seminar
All Global History majors will complete a capstone seminar in their fourth year, which unites students from all three chronological tracks in the study of a particular theme, complete a research paper, and present their work at a departmental colloquium.
Required
HIS 489: For Honors Track students only - required
Note: Students in the Honors track will enroll in an Independent Study (HIS 489) with a faculty mentor in the first semester of their senior year, and then in HIS 425 the following semester.
Total Credit Hours: 3-6
Note: Students on the Honors track will enroll in an Independent Study (HIS 489) with a faculty mentor in the first semester of their senior year, and then in HIS 425 the following semester.
Total Credit Hours: 39-42