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Why UMKC?

There are many excellent resources in Kansas City available for historical research, and a number of opportunities for internships and part-time employment to help students gain practical experience in historical agencies and archives. Such places include the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, the Steamboat Arabia Museum, the John Wornall House Union Station, National Archives, Western Historical Manuscripts, UMKC Special Collections and the National World War I Museum.

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Fast Facts

  • Historical study enables the student to understand the interaction of many aspects of state, society and culture, and the dynamics of human change. It offers a valuable perspective on contemporary problems as well as providing knowledge of the past for its own inherent interest.
  • Associate Professor of History, Jim Falls, founded the Midwest region’s Mid-America Medieval Association (MAMA) to enhance medieval studies. MAMA’s annual conventions are held at UMKC every other year.
  • There are approximately 120 undergraduates in the department, and the average class size of a
    junior- or senior-level class is 20 students.

Student Organizations

  • The History Club offers programs throughout the year for history majors. These include lectures, panels, visits to historical sites.
  • Pi Phi, a chapter of the national history honor society, Phi Alpha Theta, is open to undergraduates who have completed 12 hours of upper-level history courses and have a 3.2 GPA or higher. Graduate students must have completed 12 hours and have a 3.5 GPA or higher.

Real World Experience

Careers

Historians attain lifelong skills as researchers, interpreters and communicators of information. Career options for history majors:

  • Research
  • Writing
  • Education
  • Journalism
  • Library/archives positions
  • Law
  • Business
  • Museum positions

 

 

Salaries

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

Admission Requirements

  • For the history major there are no special requirements beyond those for admission to the University.

Prerequisite Courses

  • All students must complete six hours of either Western Civilization to 1600 (201) and Western Civilization Since 1600 (202) or World History to 1600 (206) and World Civilization Since 1600 (208).

Major Courses

(See handbook on department’s Web site.)
The major totals 30 credit hours with 15 hours in a concentration. For example, the concentration could be chronological: antiquity; medieval and early modern; modern U.S.; modern Europe; and non-western. Or the concentration could be topical/thematic: class, race, gender and ethnicity; contemporary international history, material culture and everyday life; science, medicine and the environment.

 

The other 15 hours must include:

  • Historiography and Method (301)
  • Senior Capstone (498)
  • One course in non-Western history, such as Middle Eastern, Latin American, etc. (unless your concentration was non-Western)
  • Any other two courses in the history curriculum

An additional requirement for graduation is the timely completion of an electronic portfolio of the best examples of your historical scholarship which will include among other things a research prospectus (History 301) and a capstone research project (History 498). Students should contact the undergraduate advisor immediately upon the declaration of major to create the requisite online portfolio account.

 

Other Programs Available

  • A combined major in history/art history for students interested in the influence of historical developments on art.
  • A minor in classics for those interested in the ancient world.

Faculty

  • Full-time faculty members are active scholars who all hold their Ph.D.s, earned at major universities.
  • All are involved in personal research projects, many of which have carried them throughout the world.
  • A number of UMKC historians have received awards for excellence in teaching and outstanding research.

Contact information:

Phone: 816-235-1631

Fax: 816-235-5723

http://cas.umkc.edu/history

Contact us

UMKC Office of Admissions
120 Administrative Center
University of Missouri-Kansas City
5100 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, MO 64110-2499
(816) 235-1111
www.umkc.edu
Individuals with speech or hearing impairments may
call Relay Missouri at:
1-800-735-2966 (TT)
1-800-735-2466 (voice)

 

Visit us

Contact the UMKC Welcome Center at 816-235-UMKC (8652), or toll-free at 1-800-775-UMKC (8652), and we'll arrange a guided campus tour and a meeting with faculty and staff.

 

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