Academic Programs


A minimum of 11 units, at least two of which at the 300-level, with the following distribution:
Foundation Courses - 1 unit
One survey course is required
  • HI103, HI104, HI115, HI120, or HI130
    *No more than two 100-level courses will count towards a history major.
Methods Course - 1 unit
  • HI 297: The Historian as Detective: Exploring the City
    *To be taken in Spring of Sophomore year if possible or in Spring of Junior year
Core Courses - 3 units (one in each subfield of courses listed)
  • American History
  • European History
  • Non-Western History
Electives - 4 units
Any courses at the 200-level or above count as electives. Students choose electives based on their interests.
Students must have two 300-level courses in history in which they write extensive research papers based on primary and secondary sources.
Senior Learning Community - 2 units (Majors Only)
Senior Seminar - HI 490
Senior Reflective Tutorial - HI 400

History majors are encouraged to pursue a concentration, which involves taking three or more of the eleven required courses for the history major in a particular area of study and writing the thesis in the Senior Seminar in that area. Pre-law students majoring in history are encouraged to concentrate in Global Justice and Human Rights.
Media, Museums and Public History
  • HI 229 Museums, Myths, and Memories (I) and any two of the following:
  • HI 225 History of New York City (D), HI 286 On the Screen: Gender, Class, and Culture in Film (W)(I), HI 322 History of Minorities in the Media, HI 325 Immigrant NYC, 1800-Present (D) and HI 362 Renaissance Italy 1300-1600 (W)(I)
Global Justice and Human Rights -
  • HI 201 History of International Human Rights (I) and any two of the following:
  • HI 227 The Exercise of Leadership (D), HI 235 Native American History (D), HI 236 H of the Civil Rights Movement (D), HI 237 Environmental History and Change in the Modern World (I), HI 321 History of the New World Slavery (D), HI 330 Empires and Its Imperialism (I), HI 334 Nazi Germany and the Holocaust (W)(I) or HI 345 Global History of Food
Independent Concentration
Any major who can link three history courses to a theme, may create their own independent concentration with approval of the department chair.

The History major prepares future teachers with skills and a knowledge base that includes local and global perspectives, and addresses the state requirement that teachers become informed about the history of New York. The History component of the Dual Major consists of a total of 11 units, at least two of which at the 300-level, with the following distribution:
Foundation Course - 1 unit
HI 120: Global History
Methods Course: 1 unit
HI 297: The Historian as Detective: Exploring the City
To be taken in Spring of Sophomore Year if possible or in Spring of Junior Year
Core Courses - 3 units (one in each subfield)
  • American History
  • Gender and History
  • Non-Western History
Electives - 4 units
Any courses at the 200-level or above count as electives. Students choose electives based on their interests. Students must have two 300-level courses in history in which they write research papers based on primary and secondary sources.
Senior Learning Community - 2 units
Senior Seminar - HI 490
Senior Reflective Tutorial - HI 400
Must be taken in the Fall of the senior year. The Experiential Placement will be student teaching.

A minimum of 5 units with the following distribution:
1 unit at the 100 level
4 units at the 200-level or above - 4 units. It is strongly recommended that at least one of these electives be in non-Western/global history.

Selected as one of six departments to offer Civic Innovations courses, the History Department Selected as one of the nation from the conquest and colonization of North America to the reunification of the United States at the end of the Civil War. Topics include: How did Europeans, Indians, and Africans give meaning to their experiences in the “New World” created by European colonization? How were the cultures of each group transformed by their interactions? How and why did the institution of slavery begin? How was the egalitarianism of the American Revolution reconciled with the reality of American slavery? What did “democracy” mean to the Revolutionary generation and which philosophical ideas most influenced the structure of government in the new nation? How did the rise of capitalism transform gender roles in American Society? What has been the relationship between democracy and capitalism? How did the political controversy over slavery cause American Civil War. Offered as required.

The Leadership and Diversity (L&D) Certificate Program at Wagner College is designed to train students and continuing professionals to be civic-minded leaders with core competencies in the areas of inclusion, diversity and equity. Upon successful completion of the program, students will be granted a Leadership & Diversity Certificate.
Drawing upon an interdisciplinary curriculum, addressing an increasingly diverse and globalized world, the program enables students to acquire skills in: intercultural understanding, ethical decision-making, facilitation, bias-identification, self-reflection, bystander intervention strategies and empathetic listening. Students will explore the social and historical contexts of diversity and inclusion and identify exemplary models of leadership and advocacy through case studies of select political, social, economic and cultural issues that have mobilized communities in the U.S. and around the world. Students and returning professionals will build a toolkit to become better leaders in a range of careers, such as: health/medicine, human rights, social services, education, environmental justice, law, business, politics, sports, journalism, and international development.
Transfer of Credit: Any foundation classes completed at Wagner College with a grade of C or higher may be transferred to the Leadership and Diversity Certificate program. In the event that a student transfers in core courses, they would be required to take additional electives so the program remains an 8-unit requirement. Program elective classes taken at Wagner College, or any classes taken at other institutions, may not be transferred into the program.
This program is not eligible for federal or state aid.
For questions, reach out to Prof. Lori Weintrob at lori.weintrob@wagner.edu.
FOUNDATIONS
Students are required to take FOUR UNITS
  1. HI 227                         The Exercise of Leadership
  2. HI 236                        History of the Civil Rights Movement
  3. GOV 215                     Law, Justice and Diversity in the U.S.
  4. PH101                         Practical Reasoning
Note: In 2022-2023, L&D students should take HI236 and PH101 in FA22 and HI227 and GOV215 in SP23.
ELECTIVES
Students are required to do FOUR electives. These include one elective from each of the following FOUR categories:
 1. Anti-Racism and Social Inequalities
  • AN 206 People & the Environment
  • AN 325 People, Power & Place
  • EC 414 Economics of Discrimination
  • EN212 Introduction to Literary Analysis and Theory
  • EN 216 African-American Literature
  • GOV 268 African American Political Thought
  • HI 249 African-American History II, 1865-1968.
  • HI325 Immigrant NYC
  • PS240 Psychology of Prejudice
  • SO215 Race, Ethnicity and Society
  • All ASL classes

2. Gender Studies

  • AH 324 Gender in the Visual Arts
  • AN251 Sex, Gender and Culture
  • EN348 Southern Women Writers
  • GOV 272 Feminist Political Thought
  • HI 226/GOV 218 Topics in History and Politics of Gender
  • HI 286 On the Screen: Gender, Class, and Culture in Film
  • PH 204 Philosophy of Feminism
  • PS 241 Psychology of Gender
  • SO320 Sociology of Gender
  • SP 323 Contemporary Hispanic Women Writers
  • NR212 Human Sexuality
 3. Global Perspectives
  • AN 236 Cultures of the Caribbean
  • BU211 International Business
  • EN314 Decolonizing the Mind
  • GOV 251 International Politics
  • HI263 Islam in Historical Perspective
  • HI334 Nazi Germany and the Holocaust
  • ML316 (I): International Filmmakers
  • PH103 Contemporary Moral Problems
  • PH203 Ethics  and Society
  • SO 306: Crossing Borders: Immigration and American Identities
  • Any classes in Modern Languages, other than ASL
 4. Leadership
For their fourth elective, students can choose to do one of the following options:
  • Take an additional course from any of electives listed in the three categories above;
  • CE 206 Civic Engagement Leadership;
  • BU 625  Communicating Ethical Leadership in the Global Theater
  • BU 625L Communicating Leadership Lab (Must be taken concurrently with BU 625)
  • 75-100 hour internship for credit (with approval from the Director)