Carnegie Mellon University

The Minor in Social and Political History

The Minor in Social and Political History (SPH) is open to all students at Carnegie Mellon. Minoring in SPH allows students to gain an appreciation for important historical contexts that can complement their other academic interests. The History Department offers a wide array of survey courses covering seven major regions of the world: Asia, Europe, United States, African Diaspora, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Russia and the Former Soviet States. In addition, the Department offers numerous electives that focus on topics of specialized faculty expertise, such as environment, technology, gender, culture, labor, race, science, criminal justice, education, war, public health, politics, and diplomacy. Many of these topical courses closely link analysis of past and present, with a special interest in applying historical insight to the formulation of public policy.

The SPH minor is 54 units and it requires that students complete a minimum of two 9-unit “Survey Courses” at the 79-2xx level and 36 units of History electives. Students may use any combination of 6 unit mini courses and 9 unit full semester courses to complete the 36 units of electives. Students may double-count up to 9 units between the SPH minor and any other major or minor.

Please view the undergraduate catalog for the most up to date listing of courses that satisfy this requirement.