What can I do with a degree in history?
History is the study of the human past as it is constructed and interpreted with human artifacts, written evidence, and oral traditions. It requires empathy for historical actors, respect for interpretive debate, and the skillful use of an evolving set of practices and tools.
- As an inquiry into human experience, history demands that we consider the diversity of human experience across time and place.
- As a public pursuit, history requires effective communication to make the past accessible; it informs and preserves collective memory; it is essential to active citizenship.
- As a discipline, history requires a deliberative stance towards the past; the sophisticated use of information, evidence, and argumentation; and the ability to identify and explain continuity and change over time. Its professional ethics and standards demand peer review, citation, and acceptance of the provisional nature of knowledge.
--Discipline Profile and Core Concepts, American Historical Association (2016)
Our History curriculum provides excellent preparation for many professions and is a solid major for developing culturally competent individuals who live rich, fulfilling lives--while also fostering durable skills in information acquisition, analytical thinking, adaptability, appreciation, and application.
As a discipline, the study of history offers widely transferable human skills that are essential to today's workforce. These include:
- Research
- Argumentation
- Analytical thinking
- Clarity of written and oral communication
- Cross-cultural collaboration
Notably, the creative skills history students develop during their college careers align closely with many of the soft skills that employers seek. As Forbes.com reported in 2024: “84% of employees and managers believe new employees must possess soft skills and demonstrate them in the hiring process. This figure was the highest in companies with over 500 employees, with 90% saying that soft skills were the most important.”
Learn more about History majors’ occupational outlook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and check out what the CEO of a Fortune 500 Index multination investment company says about hiring History majors (and other humanities majors) here.
A major in History also prepares students for graduate and professional school. Our alumni have thrived in master’s and doctoral programs in history, law school, and even medical school. Others have pursued graduate degrees in Library Science, International Relations, Archives Management, and Museum Studies.