Welcome to the Department of History
Our undergraduate program trains students in the methods of history and provides a solid basis for students to go on to graduate programs in history or to careers in a variety of fields. We oversee the social science subject matter competence program that will qualify students to apply to secondary education credential programs in the social sciences.
Students interested in the graduate study of history will be happy to learn of the excellence of our M.A. program. A recent survey by the American Historical Association has noted that more of our M.A. students go on to Ph.D.programs than from any other stand-alone M.A. program in the nation. Students may specialize in the fields of U.S. history, European history before 1500, European history since 1500, Latin American history, and Gender in history. In addition, the recently adopted concentration in Modern World history gives our students an opportunity to study an important emerging field of history. Students interested in applying to our graduate program should review the SFSU graduate application procedures as well as the History Department Graduate Program website.
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Events
Sixth Annual Gaudeamus Lecture
Mark Sigmon on
"History and Baseball," Science Building 270
Friday, May 10th, 3:15 - 5:00
History Students' Pre-Commencement Reception
Graduates, their families and friends are all invited to gather in the Student Lounge before commencement. SCI 270, History Lounge
Saturday, May 25th, 11:00 - 12:30
News
Bay Area Social Justice Project
Bay Area Social Justice Project
Newly published: Almost Free
In Almost Free, Newly published from Univ. of Georgia Press, Eva Sheppard Wolf uses the story of Samuel Johnson, a free black man from Virginia attempting to free his family, to add detail and depth to our understanding of the lives of free blacks in the South.
Newly published: The Rise of Global Powers

Does a system of great powers necessarily imply a struggle for world primacy? Do great states merely hold onto what is theirs, or do they reach for more? SFSU History Professor Anthony D'Agostino offers a fascinating new answer to these questions through a fundamental reassessment of the international history of the first half of the twentieth century. From the spatial limits of a purely European great power politics the book looks out to the new horizon of world politics.
Cambridge University Press (December 26, 2011)


