What can I do with a degree in history?
“History should be studied because it is essential to
individuals and to society, and because it harbors beauty.”
Peter N. Stearns. Why Study History?
A History curriculum provides excellent preparations for many professions and is one of the most solid majors for creating educated individuals who live enriched lives with all the benefits that come from possessing a cultured perspective. History majors develop skills in information acquisition, analysis, appreciation and application.
As a discipline, the study of history offers the most widely transferable skills that are essential to success in a variety of professional fields. These skills include:
- Research
- Argumentation
- Analytical Thinking
- Clarity of written and oral communication
A major in History prepares you for graduate and professional school. A 2011-2012 report by the Law School Admission Council states that a humanities major (like history) has approximately 75% acceptance rate compared with a Pre-Law or Criminal Justice major acceptance rate of 52%.
Med schools accept:
-51% of humanities majors (like History)
-47% of physical science majors
-45% of social science majors
-43% of biological science majors
Placement in Other Grad School programs including:
-Library science
-International Relations
-Archives Management
-Museum Studies’
As the American Historical Association explains, “History is a set of evolving rules and tools that allows us to interpret the past with clarity, rigor, and an appreciation for interpretative debate. It requires evidence, sophisticated use of information, and a deliberative stance to explain change and continuity over time. As a profoundly public pursuit, history is essential to active and empathetic citizenship and requires effective communication to make the past accessible to multiple audiences. As a discipline, history entails a set of professional ethics and standards that demand peer review, citation, and toleration for the provisional nature of knowledge.”