Become a History Teacher
Learn the past, shape the future.
History learning is at the center of how schools educate young people for the future. By exploring the past, teachers provide students with the skills and perspectives they need to take charge of their lives and to shape their futures. Every one of us is a history-making individual whose choices and decisions matter in our democratic society. By becoming a history/social studies teacher, you can participate directly in building a more fair, just and productive future for everyone in this country and world.
The History Teacher Education Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst prepares students to teach history, government, civics, geography and economics in middle and high schools, grades 5 - 12. Our graduates have become teachers, department chairs, school administrators, lawyers, museum educators, community organizers, activists and policymakers.
Our program combines academic study in history and related social science fields with field experiences and teaching internships in local schools. We stress the importance of not just covering, but uncovering and discovering curriculum standards. We foster social justice and multicultural learning in our courses. We utilize digital tools and interactive technologies to promote active learning and student-centered instruction.
Ready to get started? Fill out the Request Information form and an advisor will be in touch about the admissions process.
"History cannot give us a program for the future, but it can give us a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity, so that we can better face the future."
Robert Penn Warren
Subject Matter Requirement
A partial list of courses at UMass Amherst which meet subject matter requirements. These requirements are flexible, please talk to an advisor for further information to see if you qualify.
Non-Western Area Studies
(Two 3-credit courses)
- HIST 110 Problems of World Civilization before 1500 *
- HIST 111 World History II*
- HIST 114 History of Chinese Civilization: Ancient Origins to the End of the Mongol Era
- HIST 115 History of Chinese Civilization: Early Modern to the Present
- HIST 116 History of East Asian Civilization: Japan
- HIST 120 Latin American Civilization: The Colonial Period
- HIST 121 Latin American Civilization: The National Period
- HIST 130 Middle Eastern History I
- HIST 131 Middle Eastern History II
- HIST 160 History of Africa to 1500
- HIST 161 History of Africa since 1500**
- Any upper level or graduate non-Western area studies course
(Also consult the 390 and 600 series of Special Topics courses and the 490 and 700 series of Seminars.)
*All University of Massachusetts History majors are strongly recommended to take History 110 and History 111
**All University of Massachusetts History majors must take at least two courses (100-level or upper level, in any combination) to be selected from the following areas: Africa, Asia, Latin America, Middle East, World.)
European History
(Two 3-credit courses)
- HIST 100 Western Thought to 1600 (or HIST 102H same, Honors)
- HIST 101 Western Thought since 1600 (or HIST 103H same, Honors)
- HIST 140 European History, 1500-1815 (or HIST 142H same, Honors)
- HIST 141 European History, 1815 to Present (or HIST 143H same, Honors)
- Any upper level or graduate European history course
(Also consult the 390 and 600 series of Special Topics courses and the 490 and 700 series of Seminars.)
Pre-1500 History
(One 3-credit course)
- HIST 100 Western Thought to 1600 (or 102H Honors equivalent)
- HIST 110 Problems in World Civilization I
- HIST 112 Intro to World Religions
- HIST 114 History of Chinese Civilization: Ancient Origins to the End of the Mongol Era
- HIST 130 Middle Eastern History I
- HIST 160 History of Africa to 1500
- HIST 180 Western Science and Technology I: From the Greeks to the Scientific Revolution
- HIST 300 Ancient Greece
- HIST 301 The Roman Republic
- HIST 302 Early Middle Ages
- HIST 303 Later Middle Ages
- HIST 304 Late Middle Ages/Early Renaissance, 1300-1494
- HIST 425 History of Christianity
- Any graduate pre-1500 history course
(Also consult the 200, 300 and 600 series of Special Topics courses and the 400 and 700 series of Seminars.)
*All University of Massachusetts History majors must take one of the above courses or the equivalent. The list of appropriate pre-1500 history courses is updated each semester by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
United States History
(Two 3-credit courses)
- HIST 150 Development of American Civilization to 1876 (or HIST 152H same, Honors)
- HIST 151 Development of American Civilization since 1876 (or HIST 153H same, Honors)
- HIST 154 Social Change and the 1960s
- HIST 388 U. S. Women’s History to 1890
- HIST 389 U. S. Women’s History since 1890
- Any other upper level or graduate United States history courses
- AFRO-AM 132 Afro-American History, 1619-1860
- AFRO-AM 133 Afro-American History, Civil War to 1954
(Also consult the 200, 300 and 600 series of Special Topics courses and the 400 and 700 series of seminars.)
Methods of Historical Research
(One 4-credit course)
Each semester a variety of courses are offered that involve research and writing. This pro-seminar is numbered as History 450. The History Department offers several sections of this course each semester, with each section being about a different historical topic, taught by History faculty who are experts in their field. Any one of these will meet this requirement.*
* All University of Massachusetts History majors must take one of these pro-seminars. The pro-seminar fulfills the junior year writing requirement.
Electives in History
(Four-Six 3-credit courses)
In consultation with advisor.