History prepares students to be engaged citizens of Vietnam and the world. By studying history, students explore the human experience from multiple perspectives, interpret past events and examine their causes, trace the development of civilizations and cultures, and gain insight into the political, social, and economic structures that continue to shape our present. History equips students with a pragmatic and interdisciplinary skillset that emphasizes communication, collaboration, critical thinking, interpreting varied forms of evidence, analyzing patterns within large datasets, and persuasive argument-based writing. The History major also prepares students not only to better understand and analyze current events and engage with peers and colleagues around the world, but also to think deeply about how the past experiences of others can change the way they think about themselves in the present. History offers ideal preparation for future study in graduate and professional schools as well as for careers in public policy, business, consulting, management, law, journalism, and education.
History
History at Fulbright
Welcome to the History Major at Fulbright!
People are constantly weaving stories about the past to make sense of the present, but Fulbright History students learn how to do History well—meaning rigorously, ethically, critically, and with enduring curiosity toward the unknown. Our majors and minors develop historical literacy by taking Exploring the Past (HIS150) before mastering the fundamentals of research in Hands-On History (HIS200). Beyond these two gateway courses, the flexibility of the program allows students to explore time and space according to their own interests, whether they be international relations, environmental change, law and ethics, economic history, or any of the many other themes we cover. The geographical breadth and conceptual depth of the Fulbright History curriculum equip students to live as engaged citizens of Vietnam and the world.
A degree in History is preparation for a broad range of careers that involve critical thinking, analytical writing, cultural knowledge, documentary research, and/or interviewing skills. Worldwide students of History have found success as journalists, authors, legal experts, diplomats, politicians, teachers, librarians, and university faculty, and in myriad other fields. As of Fulbright’s first graduation in 2023, our major and minor alumni have already gone on to pursue careers in journalism, academia, and business, among other avenues.
For more information about the History major, please contact our Major coordinator at mark.frank@fulbright.edu.vn
Academic spotlight
Degree Requirements
A Bachelor of Arts in History is awarded following the successful completion of:
General education:
- 5 Core courses (20 credits) and 8 Exploratory courses (32 credits), of which up to two Exploratory courses (8 credits) can be counted towards the major.
- Experiential Learning (4 – 12 credits).
Regular Major Requirements:
- Exploring the Past (4 credits)
- 2 foundation courses (8 credits)
- Hands-On History (4 credits)
- 2 intermediate courses (8 credits)
- 2 advanced courses (8 credits)
- 1 History elective (4 credits)
- 2 additional research seminars (8 credits); OR
- Fulfill 8 additional credit hours of experiential learning (8 credits); OR
- 1 research seminar and 4 additional experiential learning credit hours (8 credits)
Sample Student Journey:
- Core Courses
- Exploratory Courses
- Exploring the Past
- Foundation Courses
- Core Courses
- Exploratory Courses
- Foundation Courses
- Hands-On History
- Experiential Learning
- Intermediate Courses
- Research Seminars
- Electives
- Research Seminars
- Electives
- Capstone I
- Capstone II
Minor Requirements
A History Minor allows students to master both the fundamentals of historical methodologies while also gaining the breadth necessary to understand the history of different regions in comparative perspective. Moreover, by having the freedom to choose from a wide variety of intermediary and research seminars, History Minors will have the freedom to explore and debate, in depth, the important issues that stand at the center of the human experience concerning our political systems, leadership, society, economy and culture.
A Minor in History is an excellent complement to several social science and humanities disciplines that benefit from an understanding of world history and those historical processes that continue to shape our present, such as Economics, Psychology, Literature, Art and Media Studies. Moreover, a History Minor will serve well those who wish to unlock the history behind mathematics, computer science, natural science or engineering.
A Minor in History is achieved by completing Exploring the Past, Hands-On History, and four (4) other history courses, comprising one (1) foundation course, one (1) intermediate courses, one (1) research seminar, and one (1) additional History elective at any level (24 credits in total).
Requirements for Declaring the History Major and Minor
In order to formally declare the History Major, students must have completed the two gateway courses: Exploring the Past and Hands-On History. To declare a History Minor, students must have completed Exploring the Past.
Graduation with Honors Requirements
- Minimum GPA threshold by summer term of a student’s third year
- Student must complete Capstone I and Capstone II
- The Capstone must be graded Honors
Sample course list
Foundation Courses: Foundation courses introduce students to the grand narratives of global history from 1500 to the present.
- History of the World
- Modern Europe
- Modern East Asia
- Modern Southeast Asia
- Atlantic World
- The United States and the World
Intermediate Courses: Intermediate courses explore historical research methods in more specific national, regional, or thematic areas (e.g., intellectual history, social history, economic history, gender history, etc.).
- American Foreign Policy
- History of Capitalism and the Corporation
- The Cold War
- Rebels and Revolutionaries in Modern China
- The Global Vietnam War
- History of ASEAN
- History of International Relations Thought
- Environmental History
- Pirates, Prostitutes, and Prisoners: An Outlaw History of French Indochina
Advanced Courses: Advanced courses in History are research seminars that promote sophisticated historical analysis and immersive classroom discussion of primary and secondary sources related to a particular subject.
- America’s Nuclear Age: The United States, Nuclear Weapons, and the Cold War
- Europe on Trial: Law, Politics, and Society since Nuremburg
- This Land Is My Land: Settler Colonialism in Comparative Perspective
- Refugees: A History of the Twentieth Century
- History of Vietnamese Diplomacy
- Asian Borderlands
- Gender and Ethnicity in Modern East Asia
- Race and Empire
Capstone: Students complete the optional capstone project in the fourth year. The Capstone in History comprises one year-long research design seminar (4 credits) taken alongside two semesters of independent research and writing (2 credits each). The primary objective of the History Major Capstone is for students to produce a body of original historical research based on primary source evidence.
The project generally takes the form of an undergraduate thesis; however students may design a non-traditional project with a substantial written component (e.g., a documentary, a museum exhibit, a digital database, an oral history archive, etc.). Students will design their Capstone project in close consultation with history faculty and receive scaffolded peer-review in the research design seminar. Capstone projects should reflect student specialization in at least one geographical, temporal, or thematic historical field and are encouraged to apply historical perspectives to problems in other disciplines.
Capstone projects are eligible to be evaluated for honors.
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Exploring the Past (in year 1) -
Foundation Courses (2 required)
Foundation Courses (100-level):
- History of the World
- Modern Europe
- Modern East Asia
- Modern Southeast Asia
- Atlantic World
- The United States and the World
-
Hands-On History
-
Intermediate Courses (2 required)
Intermediate Courses (200-Level):
- American Foreign Policy
- History of Capitalism and the Corporation
- The Cold War
- Rebels and Revolutionaries in Modern China
- The Global Vietnam War
- History of ASEAN
- History of International Relations Thought
- Environmental History
- Pirates, Prostitutes, and Prisoners: An Outlaw History of French Indochina
-
Advanced Courses (2 required)
Advanced Courses (300-level):
- America’s Nuclear Age: The United States, Nuclear Weapons, and the Cold War
- Europe on Trial: Law, Politics, and Society since Nuremburg
- This Land Is My Land: Settler Colonialism in Comparative Perspective
- Refugees: A History of the Twentieth Century
- History of Vietnamese Diplomacy
Asian Borderlands - Gender and Ethnicity in Modern East Asia
- Race and Empire
-
History Elective Courses (1 required)
-
Major Requirement* (2 required)
Major Requirement:
- Additional research seminars (2 required);
- OR 8 additional credit hours of experiential learning;
- OR 1 research seminar and 4 additional experiential learning credit hours.
-
Capstone I & Capstone II** (2 required)
*Regular major requirements
**Major with Honors requirements
Meet our faculty
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Meet our Fulbrighters
Featured student
- Nguyễn Phúc Huy Bảo
- Tran Cong Dai
- Nguyen Khanh Minh Anh
- Nguyễn Ngọc Phương Anh
- Võ Linh Đan
- Nguyễn Thị Kim Hoa
- Nguyễn Thị Tú Mai
- Nguyễn Minh Hạnh
- Nguyễn Phương Anh
- Đỗ Cẩm Hoàng Hoa
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