History is a response to the eternal desire of human beings to know more about themselves. For this reason, history students experience a variety of courses, which emphasize the importance of people, their individual choices, their values and their ways of seeing themselves and their world. History majors study humans' accumulated heritage from the fossil past to the nuclear present.
This varied course of study includes fundamental survey classes, specific chronological or topical investigations, and special topic seminars. At Missouri S&T individuals who hold Ph.D. degrees and are publishing scholars teach virtually all of your history and political science courses. The hallmark of the program is individual attention. In upper-level courses, efforts are made to keep class sizes small enough to enable discussion, which in turn provides for a greater breadth of knowledge and depth of understanding, and for personal student-professor associations.
As a history major you learn to analyze information, communicate effectively, and engage in research. Such skills are useful for careers in government service, business, industry, and social service institutions, as well as being the fundamental requisites for graduate and professional studies beyond the undergraduate degree.
If you plan to become a secondary school history teacher, you can fulfill the general requirements for the bachelor of arts degree, the requirements for the history major, and the requirements for Missouri certification in the teaching of history. See education for further information. Contact the Missouri S&T history department for advising.
A minor in history is an option for non-majors who wish to complement their major field of study. This five-course option allows you to gain a broader perspective on human events and to develop your abilities in historical analysis.
In short, when you study history you not only learn important information and skills but you also are challenged to think, to communicate, and to cope with complexity.

