Degrees & Programs History
Are you interested in the past? Do you enjoy studying different peoples, places, and periods? Do stories from long ago pique your curiosity?
If so, consider a history major. Our international faculty will teach you how to read, research and write history well—and help you gain skills that will serve you in any profession. History studies human activity and its meaning from the earliest times to the present, exploring different dimensions of human interactions, including politics, economics, religion, culture and ecology. Sharpen your analytical and critical skills and learn to ask good questions, to understand situations from several vantage points, to cultivate humility, and to understand and appreciate other times, people, and cultures.
The history department offers four tracks leading to a bachelor of arts degree in history: the Standard Track provides a comprehensive introduction to historical study with considerable chronological and geographical breadth; the Graduate Track is intended for those particularly interested in pursuing graduate work in history and adds foreign language study to the Standard Track; the International Studies Track allows for geographical specialization in historical study and requires a semester abroad in the student’s region of choice; and the Secondary Education Track prepares students with the appropriate historical and social scientific content to teach at the secondary level.
History Tracks and Requirements
Requirements for a History Major Standard Track:
40 units
Required Courses: 12 units
HIS 009 World Civilizations to 1750 (4)
HIS 099 Foundations of History (4)
HIS 198 Senior Research Seminar (4)
Required Upper-Division Courses: 20 units
One of the following:(4) Modern Europe
HIS 142 European Intellectual History, 1650-Present (4)
HIS 144 Revolutionary Europe (4)
HIS 145 The Making of Modern Europe (4)
One of the following: (4) United States
HIS 173 Civil War and Reconstruction America (4)
HIS 177 Transnational America (4)
One of the following:(4) Early Modern Europe
HIS 121 Medieval Mediterranean (4)
HIS 133 Renaissance Europe (4)
HIS 134 Reformation Spirituality (4)
Two of the following: (8) Non-Western/Non-U.S.
HIS 161 Latin America to Independence (4)
HIS 162 Modern and Contemporary Latin America (4)
HIS 180 The Age of Islamic Empires, 600-1800 (4)
HIS 181 The Modern Middle East, 1800-Present (4)
HIS 182 History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (4)
HIS 188 Women in the Middle East (4)
Additional HIS Electives: 8 units
Requirements for a History Major Graduate School Track: 48 units
Completion of the Standard Track (40).
Completion of 8 units of Intermediate Modern Foreign Language (8)
Recommended: completion of a major honors project supervised by the History Department.
Requirements for a History Major International Studies Track: 52 units
Requirements in history (36)
HIS 009 World Civilizations to 1750 (4)
HIS 099 Foundations of History (4)
HIS 198 Senior Research Seminar (4)
24 additional units of history, of which 20 units must be upper division. Students must complete at least 8 units of upper-division history in their region of emphasis, and at least 8 outside their region of emphasis.
Foreign language (8)
8 units of foreign language appropriate to the region of emphasis. If the language chosen is offered on campus, 4 of the 8 units must be upper-division.
Requirements in related fields (8)
8 units of upper-division related coursework in the region of emphasis (e.g. SP/FR 150 Cross-Cultural Studies) as approved by their major advisor. These units may be in history.
Off Campus requirement
Students will complete one semester in an overseas program in the region of emphasis as approved by their major advisor and in consultation with the off-campus program office.
Requirements for a History Major Secondary Education Teacher Track: 52 units
Required Lower-Division Courses: 28 units
HIS 007 United States to 1877 (4)
HIS 008 United States 1877-Present (4)
HIS 009 World Civilizations to 1750 (4)
HIS 099 Foundations of History (4)
POL 010 American Government (4)
EB 010 Principles of Microeconomics (4)
EB 011 Principles of Macroeconomics (4)
Required Upper-Division Courses: 24 units
HIS 178 California Experience (4)
HIS 198 Senior Research Seminar (4)
One of the following upper division courses in US history (4)
HIS 173 Civil War and Reconstruction America (4)
One upper-division course in European history (4)
One upper-division course in Non-Western history (4)
One upper-division elective in history (4)
Recommended Courses:
ENG 106 Language Acquisition (4)
ED 105 Perspectives on Cultural Diversity and Education (4)
ED 130 Special Education for the Classroom Teacher (2)
ED 161 Technology for the Classroom Teacher: Secondary (2)
KNS 156 Health Education for the Classroom Teacher (2)
Additional course work in American politics, international politics, the American economy, and the global economy.
Requirements for a History Minor: 20 units
Required Lower-Division Course: 4 units
HIS 099 Foundations of History (4)
Required Upper-Division Courses: 16 units
Students must complete 8 units of Western (United States, Europe) history and 8 units of non-Western (Latin America, Middle East, Asia) history.
Faculty Highlights
Teaches Modern European History and writes about religion and culture in modern Britain.
Provides historical and cultural contexts for current events in the Middle East.
Sara conducts archaeological excavations on the Peruvian south coast.
A native of France who specializes in Holocaust Studies and is also Chair of the History Department.
Specializes in the historical evolution of the U.S. political economy, with a thematic focus on the topics of slavery and abolition, US imperialism, drug addiction, Chinese migration and the Pacific world.
Dr. Minor specializes in twentieth-century African history with an emphasis on the Ghanaian cocoa industry and its transnational networks of exchange.
Meet the Staff
Career Paths
History graduates flourish in a wide range of careers:
- Education
- Marketing
- Archival Work
- Finance
- Non-Profits
- Management
- Law
- Government
- Christian Ministry
See career paths for graduates who majored or minored in history at Westmont.
Amanda Sparkman, Marianne Robins, and their colleagues were awarded a nearly half-million dollar grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, which will cover travel, room, and board costs for participants of "Faith. Climate. Action: A Workshop on Christian Climate Advocacy". Westmont will host the workshop, attracting about 40 students and faculty from the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and 10 InterVarsity student leaders to campus, this summer. The workshop is just one part of a larger program supported by the grant, funding a significant investment to position Westmont as a flagship campus for sustainability and providing valuable student internship experiences. Beyond Westmont, the program will also support and counsel workshop participants nationwide as they return home to practice what they’ve learned in their home communities.
airllevant.com/faithand-climate
Alastair Su and Daniel Gee taught a joint class titled "Singing the Great Awakening," where students explored the historic spiritual revival through American folk hymns.
Dr. Alister Chapman has a podcast entitled The Rest of the Iceberg which answers questions so you can understand and engage the world's challenges better.
Dr. Mallampalli has a new book coming out in 2023 from Oxford University Press entitled South Asia's Christians Between Hindu and Muslims.
History Alumni
Chloe Balma ’12: I earned a degree at Westmont in social sciences with an emphasis in history. My experiences and interests led me to work in health care with a focus on access and delivery of care for underserved populations. I am finishing a master’s program at UC Berkeley for Public Health in health policy and management. The social science major at Westmont allows students to blend interests in political science, history, business, and sociology, a combination that has proved relevant to the work I am doing today.”
Rachel Raven Bjork ’01: “I live and work at Jubilee Partners, an intentional Christian community that hosts recently arrived refugees and walks alongside them through friendship, ESOL classes, health and legal coordination. Thirteen years after graduation, there are still times I stop mid-task and recognize that my history studies prepared me for this work by equipping me to understand context—be it cultural, social or institutional—and training me to research, analyze and articulate ideas for very different purposes, whether documenting a legal case, starting a new program or facilitating a difficult conversation.”
Thea Brentlinger ’16: “I reside in Challis, Idaho, and serve as manager for the Watermark Inn and as a guide for Horse Creek Outfitters. My responsibilities range from domestic tasks to business transactions to guest relations, which all require organizational and communication skills I learned by studying history. Whether it is via email or in person, with my bosses or guests, I know that I can receive, interpret, and transmit information and ideas effectively.”
Corey Collins ’14: “After graduating from Westmont, I continued my studies at UCLA School of Law. The writing, researching, and analytical thinking skills I gained while studying at Westmont have prepared me for many rewarding experiences in law school: working for a federal judge, leading student organizations, and serving as an editor of an academic journal. After graduation, I will join the litigation department of a large law firm in Orange County. I cannot stress enough how my experiences at Westmont—and especially those in my history classes—provided a firm foundation for my further education.”
Jordan Cunnings ’08: “After graduating from law school at UCLA, I serve as a law clerk for a judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. After my clerkship, I hope to practice immigration law. I could not have made it through law school without the rigorous academic training and intellectual preparation provided by my Westmont history degree. The reading, writing, and critical thinking skills I developed have been invaluable.”
Garrett Fahy ’04: “While I thoroughly enjoyed my history major at Westmont, the true value of the skills honed in the discipline—consuming, distilling and analyzing vast amounts of complex information, recognizing subtle distinctions in complex areas, refusing easy explanations for thorny issues—became evident during an off-campus semester in Washington, D.C., and in my post-Westmont years. I’ve been blessed to work in the U.S. Senate, attend Pepperdine Law School, work in litigation practice, write a regular political column, host a radio show and work on some interesting political campaigns. With each endeavor, I’ve been well served by the skills and knowledge gained through my Westmont history degree. The study of history develops and nurtures intellectual curiosity and a love of reading, which are invaluable elements of a meaningful life and vibrant faith.”
Rachel Hatcher ’12: “As the assistant archivist at the Provincial Archives of Mission Santa Barbara, I am privileged to work with friars on digitization projects, research requests, and museum exhibits. During my time at Westmont, I practiced the research and communication of a variety of different events in world history. I find that this foundation has been important as I help the friars write and celebrate the history of their order.”
Holly Robertson Huffnagle ’09: “I work for the U.S. State Department as a policy adviser to monitor and combat anti-Semitism in Europe. Previously I worked at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum while completing my master’s at Georgetown University in global, international and comparative history. I daily use skills developed as a history major at Westmont: critical thinking, primary-source research, analysis, and report-writing. During the EuroMaidan protests in Ukraine in December 2013, I worked in the Office of Eastern Europe and used my historical knowledge of the region to put the issues in context with colleagues and policymakers.”
Jason Huffnagle ’09: “I work for the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Studying history at Westmont has equipped me with the tools necessary to engage in policy matters of national import. This includes, but is not limited to, writing analysis, researching policies, or studying the legislative history of a particular issue. These skills inform my work daily and allow me to distill information to better inform policy-makers.”
Christopher Lim ’12: “My role as financial associate at Mercer Advisors holds me responsible for the design and implementation of financial game plans for individuals, families and companies. The work I do requires me to extract data and information from client documents or primary sources and build a financial plan or client’s life story, skills which I can undoubtedly trace back to my work in my studies as a history major.”
Corinna Ott ’15: “After finishing Westmont in December 2014, I joined Youth with A Mission, a worldwide, non-profit Christian missions organization in Newcastle, Australia. My time there included travel to various countries in Asia and work with university students, slum schools and churches, and women rescued from sex trafficking. After returning to the U.S., I worked as a substitute teacher for a local school district in the Bay Area to explore a teaching career. The Lord has now blessed me with an incredible job as a fifth-grade teacher at one of the lowest-income elementary schools in the area. I am now applying to grad school to obtain my teaching credential and master’s degree. My dream is to teach high school history, inspired by my love of history initially sparked during my time at Westmont.”
Michael Ratsamy ’09: “After graduating from Westmont with a degree in history, I worked various jobs and did some career soul-searching. I ended up going back to school and achieved a master’s degree in computer science from CSU Fullerton. I work as a software engineer at Landmark Global, a division of Bpost. My training as a history major gave me the ability to think critically, research, analyze and contextualize complex ideas and helps me navigate the complexities of global commerce and automating this process. As a history major, I learned unabashedly to ask why something works the way it does, saving me countless hours of unnecessary effort and helping me write more robust software that handles both current and future needs.”
Michael Ratsamy ’09: “After graduating from Westmont with a degree in history, I worked various jobs and did some career soul-searching. I ended up going back to school and achieved a master’s degree in computer science from CSU Fullerton. I work as a software engineer at Landmark Global, a division of Bpost. My training as a history major gave me the ability to think critically, research, analyze and contextualize complex ideas and helps me navigate the complexities of global commerce and automating this process. As a history major, I learned unabashedly to ask why something works the way it does, saving me countless hours of unnecessary effort and helping me write more robust software that handles both current and future needs.”
Myrna Perez Sheldon ’06: “I earned my doctorate from the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University in 2014, and I also spent time as a research fellow with the Darwin Correspondence Project at Cambridge University and at the Huntington Library in Pasadena, Calif. I am now a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Women, Gender and Sexuality at Rice University.”
Emalie Diaz Sundale ’10: “I’m in my second year of law school at UC Hastings College of the Law and will likely do transactional tax or corporate law after graduation. It’s no exaggeration to say that I use my history skills every day. Studying the law requires reading vast quantities of complicated—and at times contradictory—material, digesting it, and communicating it in a cohesive, succinct and clear manner. My studies in history gave me a four-year head start on this practice and helped me feel confident and prepared when I started my legal education.”
Tara Tran ’10: “Since parting with Westmont and leaving California, I experimented on the East Coast, returned to my hometown, went back to Santa Barbara, and then worked in Asia. After pursuing a research project in Cambodia on a Fulbright scholarship, I decided to continue those interests further in graduate school at Johns Hopkins, where I am in a doctoral program for history.”
Emily Whitman ’14: After graduating, she spent four months in Jordan volunteering at a children’s trauma center for displaced Syrians and for multiple medical and humanitarian missions throughout the refugee camps of Jordan with nonprofit Salaam Cultural Museum (SCM). After a stint working as a copyeditor for the Los Angeles Review of Books, she felt called to return to humanitarian work on the Greek island of Lesvos, where she assisted in SCM’s efforts to provide humanitarian aid to refugees and migrants fleeing to Europe by boat. She has contributed to the Middle East Journal as a publications intern for the Middle East Institute and now works as the institute’s program assistant and graphic designer for a new initiative that will bring Saudi entrepreneurs to the U.S. for a yearlong series of TED Talk-style lectures.
Danielle Willard-Kyle ’11: After graduating from Westmont, I earned a master’s in history in collaboration with Jewish studies at the University of Toronto and a Master of Studies in Jewish studies at the University of Oxford. I am a doctoral student in the History Department at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where my research focuses on post-Holocaust refugees, migration and families in Western Europe and North Africa. I volunteer at a local, federally approved refugee resettlement organization, Interfaith-RISE (Refugee and Immigrant Services and Empowerment), where I bring together many of the skills I’ve learned as a historian: organization, analysis, writing, and, perhaps most importantly, compassion.”
Mike Willbanks ’92: “For the past 10 years I’ve been on the pastoral staff at Santa Barbara Community Church and oversee worship, men’s, and young-adult ministries. Studying history at Westmont helped me to think critically about the world we live in, making connections between events and ideas, and sharpened my ability to communicate clearly.”
Ryan Zoradi ’08: “I work for Unitus Impact, a social-impact investment firm headquartered in San Francisco. Our mission is to invest in scalable businesses that improve the livelihoods of low-income populations throughout Asia. Studying history at Westmont piqued my curiosity about the world outside of present-day Santa Barbara and through rigorous research assignments challenged me to quickly get my head around novel subject matter and then construct and defend logical arguments.”
Jayne Avendano '19: Jayne graduated from Westmont with a degree in History in 2019. She received a scholarship to American University, School of International Service. On May 7, 2022 she graduated with a Masters Degree in International Relations. She is also excited to share that she has accepted a position as a Foreign Affairs Officer in the U.S. Department of State in the Office of Foreign Missions.