The University Core requirement is a two-semester sequence in modern history from late medieval times to the present. All history courses numbered between HS 001-002 and HS 093-094 fulfill this requirement, except HS 081.15 and HS 082.15, which are evening courses administered through the Woods School of Advancing Studies and not open to A&S, CSOM, and LSOE students; exceptions are made for Nursing students.

Every student must take one first half and one second half of a sequence (one of your courses needs to be even-numbered and one needs to be odd-numbered). Although students are expected to take both halves in the same sequence, switching to a different sequence at midyear is permitted.

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-day concerns shape our understandings of the past.

Covering several centuries of time, all History Core courses trace the political, social, economic, and cultural changes that created the modern world. As part of the Core Curriculum, these courses seek to broaden students’ intellectual horizons by exposing them to new places, periods, and perspectives.

Taught by historians who specialize in distinct areas, eras, and approaches, History Core courses vary in their emphases on different parts of the world. The History Core currently includes courses focused on African, Asian, Atlantic, European, Latin American, and global experiences. Students are urged to read the descriptions of the department’s Core offerings to find the choice that best suits them.

The History Core can also be fulfilled in one of the following ways:

• Advanced placement before enrolling at Boston College
  o A score of 4 or 5 on the AP European or World History examination 
     fulfills the history core completely.
  o A score of 6 or 7 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level
     Exam in history fulfills the history core completely.
  o A score of C or better on the CGE Advanced Level exam in history
     fulfills the history core completely.
  o 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
• For study-abroad courses that students would like to take for core credit, they must get permission from Prof. Rob Savage (it is strongly suggested that students seek approval before going abroad). In order for a course taken abroad to fulfill the History Core requirement, it must cover the time periods outlined above (ca. 1300-1800 for the Core I, and 1800 to the present for the Core II) and survey historical developments in a global or world-regional framework; in other words, it may not be national history or the history of binational relations. For example, "Modern China" will not count, but "East Asia 1800 to the present" will.
• Transfer credits from another institution, excluding study-abroad programs, for no more than one of the two Core courses, to be approved by the Core Moderator (see Core program description for guidelines what courses may be approved)
• No more than one of the two Core Courses may be fulfilled with a summer class, for enrichment credit only.