History: it’s about time.

From how we express emotions to what we eat for breakfast, every aspect of human life is shaped by political, environmental, social, and cultural factors over time. As these factors change, people’s lives change.

At CSU, we ask historical questions and follow the evidence to understand what happened in the past and why it happened. Through historical research, we move away from judgment and assumptions about other cultures and instead learn from every historical moment, including our own.

The Major and Minor in History at CSU offer students courses that encompass human history around the world, as well as several distinct features linked to our history as Colorado’s Morrill Act land-grant university. We have led in the creation of graduate public history programs, and now have an undergraduate concentration in Digital and Public History, as well as concentrations in General History, Language, and Social Studies Teaching.

To change your major to History, you can either call the College of Liberal Arts Academic Advising Center at 970-491-3117 or send an email to cla_advising@colostate.edu. More information is available on https://advising.libarts.colostate.edu.

Our History majors work in many different careers in public history in museums, archives, state and local government agencies in historic preservation and cultural resources management, the National Park Service and Forest Service, and consulting; they work in schools as teachers and administrators; they work in public service; and they are prepared for graduate and professional school in a variety of fields. We offer internships in many of these fields for CSU credit to help students explore their interests in history.

Whichever concentration you choose, our Blaze Your Trail program will allow you to follow your interests across time and space in our curriculum. Here are the major themes we offer to help you link your coursework and create personalized pathways through the History major:

  • War & Diplomacy
  • Women & Gender
  • Revolution
  • Race & Ethnicity
  • Empire, Colonialism, & Borderlands
  • Religion
  • Environment

Learning Objectives

Students will:

  1. Analyze and interpret historical materials, such as documents, material artifacts, and images;
  2. Engage in chronological reasoning to understand causation and change over time;
  3. Examine critically how people in the past understood their own history in scholarly works and in popular forms such as myths, memorials, and other public commemorations;
  4. Interpret, write, and speak about the past using evidence and according to the standards and expectations of the historical discipline, including honest use of evidence, openness to multiple perspectives, and historical empathy; and
  5. Analyze both change and continuities over time by considering how events such as revolution, migration, war, ecological disturbance, and globalization changed societies as well as how structures like class, ethnicity, gender, race, sexuality, climate, and religion shaped societies over a longer time horizon.

Accelerated Program

The major in History includes an accelerated program option for students in the Digital and Public History concentration, General History concentration, and Language concentration to graduate on a faster schedule. Accelerated Programs typically include 15-16 credits each fall and spring semester for three years, plus 6-9 credits over three summer sessions. Students who enter CSU with prior credit (AP, IB, transfer, etc.) may use applicable courses to further accelerate their graduation. Visit the Office of the Provost website for additional information about Accelerated Programs.

Concentrations