Tips for Community College transfer students

General History Degree

Students planning to transfer to ISU to pursue a History degree should consider the following items in preparing for the next step in their education:

• Foundation Communication:  The Department of History requires a minimum grade of C (not C-) in ISU's required Foundation Communication sequence (ENGL 150 and ENGL 250).  Making the required grades at community college will save time at ISU.

• Foreign Language:  The ISU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences requires that students either complete three years of a single foreign language in high school or one year in college.  The College minimum meets the History Department’s requirement for a Bachelor of Science.  If a student did not meet the foreign language requirement in high school, completing at least one year at community college can save a great deal of time at ISU.  In addition, as an option History students may earn a Bachelor of Arts by completing a second (intermediate) year of the same college-level foreign language.  This may be done at community college or at ISU.
  

• Prepare to take upper-level elective credits:  With the LAS GER filled, transfer students have the opportunity to explore a variety of subjects, but to finish a bachelor's degree in two years they must begin taking upper-level elective credits immediately upon transfer to ISU.  History students often mistakenly believe that once they arrive at ISU with an A.A., all they will take are History courses, but although History is their major subject it only makes up about half of the total remaining credits for a bachelor's degree.  And since we want our students to be broadly educated, we expect students to take many courses in subjects other than History.  Therefore, it is important to develop interests in a variety of subjects and, as part of the Associate's degree, complete the prerequisites for upper-level courses that may be used toward a second major, minor(s), or free electives.

For students who want a straight degree in History as preparation for law school, a professional program, or graduate school, classes that transfer as the following courses are often particularly useful as prerequisites for upper-level electives, minors, and second majors:

Anthropology (ANTHR) 201 and 202
Economics (ECON) 101 and 102
Philosophy (PHIL) 201
Political Science (POL S) 215
Psychology (PSYCH) 101
Religious Studies (RELIG) 205
Sociology (SOC) 134

To find out how classes from your Community College will transfer to ISU, see the Transfer Equivalency Guide.

Tips for History & Social Sciences Teacher Education  transfer students

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