Overview

We in the History Department understand how excited many students are about building careers as teachers of history and the social sciences in California high schools and middle schools.

We now offer a state-of-the-art degree program that provides you with sophisticated knowledge, advanced analytical skills, and fresh perspectives on the relationship between the past and present. Drawing on these, you will help shape the future by providing your own students with the kinds of rich educational experiences they will need to become engaged citizens in a globalizing world.

In order to teach middle or high school social sciences, candidates must demonstrate knowledge of the relevant subjects, complete a four-year degree, and earn a teaching credential. Our B.A. in History-Social Science with a Concentration in Teacher Preparation for Middle and High Schools is approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. That means that students who complete the program will be certified as competent to teach social sciences subjects in California middle and high schools. You will then be able to bypass the California Subject Examination for Teachers (CSET) and will be prepared to apply to the credential program of your choice. Our close working relationship with the Cal State East Bay’s Teacher Education Department and Single Subject Credential Degree helps streamline the transition from undergraduate degree to teaching credential.

California public high school students generally take one year of U.S. History, one year of World History, one semester of Government, and one semester of Economics. Future social science teachers must be prepared to teach any or all of these. Additionally, they must demonstrate knowledge of geography and California history. Schools also need teachers who are able to teach Ethnic Studies courses, and our program gives you a solid grounding in Ethnic Studies as well.

Our History-Social Science B.A. is special. Here is why:

  • It is multi-disciplinary and therefore prepares you to teach any of the required subjects
  • It comes with careful 1:1 guidance each term from caring, specialized advisors
  • It is offered entirely on campus, entirely online, or in a hybrid online/on campus format
  • It includes all but 12 units of the General Education coursework you will need to graduate from East Bay
  • It is extraordinarily flexible in terms of upper division course options
  • It leaves room for you to deepen your knowledge of, or even minor in, your favorite field
  • It emphasizes cultural sensitivity and educational ethics
  • It gives you units and structure to gain the classroom hours required for application to credential programs
  • It includes courses such as History of Education and American Democracy as well as a Teaching Capstone as jumping off points for Single Subject credential programs

This program requires a total of 81-84 units.  These include: 39 units of lower division coursework; 20 units of upper division coursework; 18-21 units of upper division elective coursework; and a 4-unit assessment capstone course.

Meet some of our students as they complete their BAs, enter the credential program, and become innovative teachers!

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Meet Taylor, 8th Grade US History Teacher

Ms. Taylor Wittman graduated from the History Department in 2016 and went straight into East Bay’s credential program. Ms. Wittman won the History Department’s prestigious Rice Senior Scholarship in 2016, which helped fund her credential the following year. She has been working as a Social Studies teacher ever since, currently teaching 8th grade US History at Hart Middle School in Pleasanton. “I love it!” she says. Taylor is also the chair of her history department and hoping to become a mentor to future teachers.

Remembering her final project in the History Department, she notes, “I wrote a paper on Civil War music, and I have since turned part of it into a lesson I teach my students during our Civil War unit. The lesson has students read and analyze lyrics from a Union and a Confederate patriotic song. The students answer questions about the songs, connecting the lyrics to the reasons why each side was participating in the war. This year, I plan on focusing the lesson to be more of an assessment of students' understanding of the causes of the Civil War.” Following in her prize-winning footsteps, one of her students recently won “Junior First Place” in the National Maritime Historical Society’s annual competition, for a project on “Steamships and Ironclads.”

Ms. Wittman’s classes feature fun lessons and clear schedules. Here is her class website; check out her “important links!”

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Meet Raul, Fall ‘23 History BA

Mr. Raul Garcia Jr., pictured left at his own high school graduation less than four years ago, is currently a senior in the History Department, applying to the Single Subject Credential Program to begin this Summer. Here he offers our future teachers some words of encouragement: “The path to teaching is never easy; if anyone tells you otherwise, they're wrong. In my experience, the most crucial asset I possessed was the unwavering support I received from all my professors and counselors. Right from day one, we worked closely, month by month, on charting my path and how I would reach my goals. The advising was clear and highly efficient, and whenever I encountered an issue, I always had someone to turn to. It made me a much better writer, expanded my understanding of history and my own heritage, and even led to my first job as a teacher assistant, which allowed me to step into the classroom and learn even more. One final gift they gave me was the opportunity to return to the high school that initially inspired me to become a teacher…I arrived at Eastbay during the pandemic as an 18-year-old boy who had always been somewhat uncertain about school but possessed a heart full of determination and a clear goal. Now, at 22, I'm emerging from Eastbay as a future educator, ready to take on the world and inspire a new generation.”

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Meet Keith, Credential Student

Mr. Keith Vazquez, center, graduated from the History Department in Spring 2023, and is now in the credential program at East Bay. He began his undergraduate studies as a freshman who already knew he wanted to teach history. Over the years, he participated in the “My Housing Story Oral History Project,” run by the department’s Center for Applied History, and completed an internship archiving the papers of Barbara Lee, long-time U.S. Senator from California. In 2022 he won the History Department’s East Bay Historian of Exceptional Promise scholarship. He recently reported back from the Credential Program: “I am doing well! I am really enjoying my placement and have been learning a lot. A lot of the classes have been focused on more practical things that we are tasked with trying out in our classrooms… we take a teaching social science methods class focused on teaching history in a K-12 setting, so that’s been a really fun class.”

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the BS degree in History-Social Science Teacher Preparation for Middle and High Schools, graduates will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of Content Domain 1, World History, of the History-Social Science Content Standards for California Public Schools (hereafter HSSCS), including appropriate research skills and historiographic thinking.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of Content Domain 2, U.S. History, of the HSSCS including appropriate research skills, historiographic thinking and awareness of multiple historic perspectives.
  3. Demonstrate knowledge of Content Domain 3, California History, of the HSSCS including the relationship between California and U.S. History, while also understanding the conditions that make California unique.
  4. Demonstrate knowledge of Content Domain 4, Principles of American Democracy, of the HSSCS including ability to analyze the effect of government structures, economic conditions, and social forces on the distribution and use of power.
  5. Demonstrate knowledge of Content Domain 5, Principles of Economics, of the HSSCS including use of marginal analysis, equilibrium analysis, micro and macro analysis, and positive and normative analytical skills.
  6. Demonstrate knowledge of Content Domain 6, Geography, of the HSSCS including geographic character of landscapes, societies, and ecosystems across the earth, as well as five basic themes of geography: location, place, human and environmental interaction, movement, and regions, with particular emphasis on sustainability.
  7. Consistent with section 51226.7 of California’s Education Code (passed in 2016), develop cultural understanding of how different groups have struggled and worked together, highlighting core Ethnic Studies concepts, such as equality and equity, justice, and race.
  8. In accordance with public school credential program requirements to spend 45 hours in a classroom setting before embarking on a credential, observe, instruct, and mentor in a classroom setting, employing and inviting practice of specialized history-social science disciplinary knowledge and thinking. 
  9. Practice pedagogical strategies for effective delivery, engagement, and investigation of specialized history-social science disciplinary knowledge and thinking in middle and high schools.
  10. Analyze the history of education in the United States, especially with respect to access and equity in public schools.

If you are curious about our program, get in touch with Elizabeth McGuire at elizabeth.mcguire@csueastbay.edu.

Contact Us

Department of History
  • 25800 Carlos Bee Blvd
  • Student and Faculty Support (SF)
  • 4th Floor, Office 442
  • Hayward, CA 94542