About
About the Department
About the History Department
About the Department
The Department of History at UCCS offers a program that prepares students for a variety of careers by cultivating skills such as critical thinking, clear writing, logical thinking, independent learning, and the ability to work with people from different backgrounds. Additionally, studying history develops empathy, scientific investigation skills, and creative expression and interpretation.
The department recognizes that people often have multiple jobs throughout their lives and emphasizes the importance of possessing transferable skills to be successful in any field. The UCCS History major provides a pathway to develop these skills and opportunities for future careers.
Academic Focus
The academic focus of the History Department at UCCS is to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the past, including the cultural, social, economic, and political aspects of human history.
The department aims to develop critical thinking skills, research abilities, and effective communication skills in students. Students can choose from a variety of courses, including American, European, and world history, as well as specialized courses on topics such as gender, race, and ethnicity.
The department also encourages students to participate in research projects and internships, providing them with valuable hands-on experience and networking opportunities.
Department Research
The Department of History at UCCS has active research agendas for faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students, which are presented in academic venues such as peer-reviewed publications, academic conferences, and public lectures.
The department also support interdisciplinary research initiatives that focus on digital humanities, including the Deciphering Secrets Project and Augmented Reflections. These projects aim to better understand the inter-religious history of Spain and generate virtual reality worlds to study Spanish conquest and exploration.
Mission Statement
The mission of the UCCS Department of History is to:
- Offer historical education of the highest quality at both Bachelor's and Master's levels;
- Prepare students in the methods and skills of historical research, while emphasizing that the study of human beings in various times and places require empathy in regard to different values, ideas, and beliefs;
- Support students as they develop their abilities of clear and creative self-expression in writing and speaking;
- Open doors for their future work as teachers, public or academic historians, or professionals in other fields where the skills and abilities they have gained through historical study can be applied;
- Demonstrate how essential the historical discipline is to understand the world around us.
Vision Statement
Our vision is to embody a passion for research in and teaching about the histories of all peoples across the globe, and in doing so to cultivate in our students habits of critical reflection, historically grounded self-understanding, and clear self-expression.
DEI Statement
The principles of community, diversity, equity, and inclusion for the UCCS History Department are rooted in our sense of the critical mission of imparting honest, ethical, rich, and inclusive accounts of history. These principles shape and inform our practices of teaching, research, and service. Every member of our community, including faculty, students, and staff, plays an important role in sustaining vibrant, collegial, and humane environments in which these values can thrive.
Members of the Department of History at UCCS share a passion for critical inquiry, research, teaching, debate, collaboration, and individual and collective discovery. We endorse the Statement of Standards of Professional Conduct of the American Historical Association, including our sense of a collective enterprise best accomplished within an environment that supports ethical conduct, diverse perspectives, equitable treatment of individuals, and robust standards of professional practice:
Historians strive constantly to improve our collective and diverse understandin of the past through a complex process of critical dialogue--with each other, with the wider public, and with the historical record--in which we explore former lives and diverse worlds in search of answers to the most compelling questions of our own time and place.
Central to this “complex process” is the inclusion of a diversity of perspectives within a community which condemns discrimination, intolerance, and hate. We invite inquiry and expression across a full spectrum of views held by members of our community. We expect civility, respect, and ethical practices in our individual and collective interactions. We strive to model to students how to conduct one’s professional life in an ethical and responsible manner. We seek continually to improve our practices in our collective goal of promoting intellectual rigor and inclusive practices. We aim to broaden democratic and educational access to learning, debate, and dialogue in our classrooms, in our interactions with each other and with students, and in our presentation of history to varied publics, from specialized professional societies, to community and religious groups, to students in educational institutions, and to members of the public at large.
For further reference, please see the Statement of Standards of Professional Conduct of the American Historical Association, and the Statement on Diversity of the Organization of American Historians.