Core Requirements
To fulfill University Core requirements, students must take two (2) three-credit History Core courses, one pre-1800 and one post-1800.
Core Requirements FAQ
All History Core courses are marked on Agora and listed on the History Core Courses webpage. No other courses can count as a Core course unless students receive written permission from the department’s Director of the Core.
Yes! You can take a History II Core course first and then take a History I Core course.
You may take any History I Core course and any History II Core course. You may take the courses in any order. For example, you may start with Europe in the World II (History II Core) and then take African Diaspora and the World I (History I Core). Or you may start with Atlantic Worlds II (History II Core) and then take Globalization I (History I Core).
Yes. One history core course may be taken while studying aboard. Study abroad courses must be pre-approved. Submit the Study Abroad Course Evaluation Form and upload all supporting documentation, including the syllabus and full reading list, before taking the course.
For a course taken abroad to fulfill the History Core requirement, it must cover more than a century timespan: before 1800 (for History I Core) or 1800 to the present (for History II Core). It must be broad in theme and survey historical developments in a global or world-regional framework (not the history of one country or bi-national relations).
For example, "Modern China" will not count, but "East Asia 1800 to the present" will. Likewise, courses such as “History of Antisemitism” or “History of Feminism” would not count because they are narrow in theme, but “Europe in the Age of Revolutions” will count.
Note that US History courses will not satisfy History Core credit unless they are explicitly courses about America in the world (outside the national framework).
Any online courses taken at other institutions must include a synchronous component to be considered for core credit.
After returning from abroad, review your degree audit to confirm that your pre-approved course is listed as fulfilling your core requirement. If not, complete the Degree Audit Course Substitution and Waiver Form and be sure to attached record of the pre-approval to have the course fulfill the proper core requirement on the degree audit.
Yes. Students may take both History I Core and History II Core courses at BC during the summer, and BC summer courses can be used to fulfill both History core course requirements.
Students may fulfill only one History core requirement (either History I Core or History II Core) with a course taken at an outside institution during the summer. The other History core course must be taken at BC.
For a course to fulfill the History Core requirement when taken at an outside institution during the summer, it must cover more than a century timespan in the period: before 1800 (for History I Core) and 1800 to the present (for History II Core). The course must be broad in theme and survey historical developments in a global or world-regional framework (not the history of one country or bi-national relations). For example, "Modern China" will not count, but "East Asia 1800 to the present" will. Likewise, courses such as “History of Antisemitism” or “History of Feminism” would not count because they are narrow in theme, but “Europe in the Age of Revolutions” will count.
Note that US History courses will not satisfy History Core credit unless they are explicitly courses about America in the world (outside the national framework).
Any online courses taken at other institutions must include a synchronous component to be considered for core credit.
Students planning to take a summer course at another institution must receive approval before taking the course. Fill out the Course Pre-Approval Form and upload supporting documentation, including the full syllabus and reading list, before taking the course.
- A score of 4 or 5 on the AP European or World History examination fulfills the history Core completely.
- A score of 6 or 7 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Exam in history fulfills the history Core completely.
- A score of C or better on the CGE Advanced Level exam in history fulfills the history Core completely.
- A score of C or better on the CGE Advanced Subsidiary Level exam in history fulfills the second half of the history Core. Such students would still need to take the first half of the Core.
The Value of the Core
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History Core courses examine the complex historical processes that lie behind modern-day transnational relationships, values, and ideas. They introduce students to key historical concepts, methods, and controversies and examine how present concerns shape our understandings of the past. Covering several centuries, Core courses broaden students’ intellectual horizons by exposing them to new places, periods, and perspectives. Through the History Core, students will learn how to (1) use primary sources to interpret the past and (2) explain change over time.