Majors & Minors

The Department of History and Government offers majors with different areas of emphasis to tailor the program of study to your interests. We also offer minors in both History and Social Science.

History Major

The standard history major involves 39 semester hours, six of which count toward the General Education requirements. Students may, in consultation with their academic advisor, focus their upper-division studies through their selection of elective courses within the major.

Click here to see a list of the courses making up the History Major.

History/Social Studies Composite + Teacher Certification

The standard History Major may be combined with the Teacher Certification Program in the School of Education to qualify students for the TExES certification exam and prepare them for success in the classroom. There are two paths to this goal. The first involves a pure history degree with teacher certification. The second, the Social Studies Composite path, adds an interdisciplinary social studies minor to the standard history major. This second path qualifies the student not just for the History but for the Social Studies TExES. If successful, the student would then be certified to teach any of the social studies content areas. We have found this program to be a great advantage to our graduates as they enter into the highly competitive hiring market among Texas public schools.

Click here to see a list of courses making up the Social Studies Composite Teaching Major.

(Interdisciplinary) Social Science Major

The department offers paths to careers in law, politics, international relations, and more through our innovative and interdisciplinary Social Science Major. Students may choose from three areas of emphasis: American Political Studies; Global Studies; Jurisprudence (pre-law). The Social Science Major involves 42 semester hours, nine of which count toward the General Education requirements.

Click here to see a list of the courses making up the Social Science (American Political Studies) Major.

Click here to see a list of the courses making up the Social Science (Global Studies) Major.

Click here to see a list of the courses making up the Social Science (Jurisprudence/Pre-Law) Major.

Minor in History or Social Science

A minor in History involves 24 semester hours: the US History surveys (HIS 1310 and 1320), the Western and Non-Western Civilization surveys (2310, 2320, and 2330), methods (2308), and six hours of advanced history chosen in consultation with an advisor in the department.

A minor in Social Science involves 24 semester hours: US History since 1877 (HIS 1320), American Government (GOV 2311), methods (2308), institutions (2390 and 3301), theory (3381), and six hours of advanced HIS or GOV courses chosen in consultation with an advisor in the department.

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For more information on these academic programs and/or to read specific course descriptions, please see the most recent Howard Payne University Catalog.

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