Note that lower-division US History is included in D2.
VIII. Upper Division American Institutions: US History
The following Course Expectations and Student Learning Outcomes will be used to approve and assess upper division courses fulfilling the American Institutions (AI) requirement. The Area D sub-committee of the Baccalaureate Requirements Committee (BRC) or the Lower Division Certification Committee (LDCC) will use this document to approve courses for use in meeting the AI requirement. Courses meeting the AI requirement may be in upper division GE, the major, minor or an elective.
Course Expectations for Upper Division American Institutions: US History
To be certified by the Baccalaureate Requirements Committee as an upper-division course that meets the Graduation Requirements in United States History, Constitution and American Ideals (as stipulated in CSU EO 1061):
1. The course must be upper division and open to all students. Courses in American Institutions should meet one or more of the following requirements: U.S. History, U.S. Constitution, and/or California Government.
2. As mandated by CSU Executive Order 1061, the U.S. History component of the American Institutions requirement may be met either by examination (AP, CLEP, or SF State competency exam) or by taking a course meeting the following content requirements and their corresponding student learning outcomes. All courses approved for the US History requirement must cover:
- Significant events over a minimum time span of approximately one hundred years and occurring in the entire area now included in the United States of America, including the relationships of regions within the area and with external regions and powers as appropriate to the understanding of those events within the United States during the period under study.
- The role of major ethnic and social groups in such events and the contexts in which the events have occurred.
- The events presented within a framework that illustrates the continuity of the American experience and its derivation from other cultures, including consideration of three or more of the following: politics, economics, social movements, and geography.
3. The course syllabus must list the university-approved student learning outcomes for the U.S. History or U.S. and California Government component and link them to activities and/or assignments that students complete to demonstrate they have met the outcomes.
Student Learning Outcomes for Upper Division American Institutions: US History
Courses in American Institutions should meet one or more of the following requirements: U.S. History, U.S. Constitution, and California Government.
After completion of a course in upper division U.S. History to meet the American Institutions requirement, students will be able to:
- demonstrate an understanding of the significant events of an approximately one hundred year time-span, and occurring in the entire United States, including relationships of regions within that area as well as with external regions and powers as appropriate to the understanding of those events within the US during the period under study;
- explain the role of major ethnic and social groups in the significant events during the one hundred year time span, and the contexts in which the events occurred; and
- analyze the significant events within a framework that illustrates the continuity of the American experience and its derivation from other cultures, including consideration of three of more of the following: politics, economics, social movements, and geography.