History at Toronto Metropolitan University
You may study History at TMU in our innovative Honours History BA; or as a History Option student in Arts & Contemporary Studies BA; or as part of a Double Major BA with History and one of Criminology, English, Philosophy, Politics and Governance or Sociology; or in our History Co-op BA.
If you enroll in a different program, you may complete a Minor in History, choose from a wide variety of History courses to meet your Liberal Studies requirements, or select one or more courses that interest you as electives. In addition, Arts and Contemporary Studies BA options beyond the History option, as well as various minors, incorporate History courses as part of their offerings.
In addition to regular fall and winter courses, you may take some of your courses online, at night, or during the spring and summer at the Chang School of Continuing Education. It also welcomes part-time students, but note that the History degree programs are open only to full-time students.
I am privileged to have many faculty mentors within the department and across the university. I have also gained valuable work experience serving in various capacities such as: teaching and research assistantships, an internship, serving as a Volunteer Coordinator for the Law Practice Program, and even as a guest lecturer.
Ways to study
TMU’s BA in History degree is a four-year program. It is comparable to a “Specialist” degree in History at other Ontario universities. Students take 40 one-semester courses:
· 20 History courses;
· 3 first-year Faculty of Arts “Common Platform” skills development courses;
· 6 Liberal Studies courses;
· 11 elective courses.
History students also can pursue a Minor in another subject within this 40-course matrix.
In your first year of study, you will take foundational History courses alongside “Common Platform” courses with students from other Faculty of Arts programs, such as Politics and Governance, Geographic Analysis, English, Criminology, and Philosophy.
In your second year, you will begin taking specially designed classes in the “Historian’s Craft” (H-Craft) in addition to other History courses on various themes, regions, and time periods of interest to you. H-Crafts introduce you to the ways history has been used – and abused – in the service of ideology, politics, and governance by historical actors such as nation states, political leaders, reformers, and corporations. You also will learn how to analyze both archival and non-written sources (such as artifacts, landscapes, architecture, archaeology, and oral traditions), as well as contemporary methods of making and maintaining cultural memory through forms such as storytelling, performance, visual arts, and new media.
In the third and fourth years of your degree, you will take your research, analytical, and communications skills to a higher level through advanced History courses, senior seminars, and additional H-Craft courses. You also may choose a thesis option to deepen your understanding of a topic that particularly interests you, and you may undertake work placements to gain experience in relation to your career ambitions.
BA History students may develop a second field of expertise by choosing to pursue a Double Major BA in History combined with one of Criminology, English, Philosophy, Politics and Governance, or Sociology. The Double Major consists of 13 courses in History and 13 in the partner program, along with 14 other courses.
Students may transfer into a Double Major at the end of their first year
The History Co-op program provides students with 12 to 16 months of paid work experience, interspersed between their study terms. The co-op experience enriches classroom learning by offering students opportunities to apply their skills to work environments and build professional networks that will help with their careers after graduation. Students may apply to the program at the end of their first year of studies.
Students can take a History Option (12 credits) within Ryerson’s interdisciplinary Arts and Contemporary Studies (ACS) degree program.
Students in the Faculty of Arts "Common Platform" can transfer between Arts programs at the end of their first year.
The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education offers a wide range of History courses for part-time and full-time students.
Note: Part-time students may take History courses for credit in other university programs; however, the History BA program is open only to full-time students.