The best history liberal arts colleges are those with rich histories of influence, proven through the work produced by the program’s faculty and alumni. Beyond demonstrating scholarly impact in the field, the best history degree programs maximize your opportunities to interact with outstanding history faculty.
A bachelor’s degree in history is an excellent starting point for a career in education, government consultation, journalism, and a host of other stimulating fields. As a history major, you’ll study philosophy, literature, language, and a number of other related fields.
Your history degree will incorporate an array of humanities as well as foundational courses in the history of Western and Eastern Civilizations, ancient history, and contemporary history. The best schools for history are those which are regionally accredited, which offer a full array of history concentrations, and which give you the chance to work with the best and most influential professors and classmates.
Degree popularity: History bachelor’s degrees are the 39th most popular undergraduate degrees across all student demographics, ranking much higher for men at 24th. It’s most popular among white and Hispanic men, for whom it ranks 18th and 26th respectively, according to the number of degree earners reported by the National Center for Educational Statistics.
A history major can provide you with the essential skills to succeed in a wide range of professional settings. As a history major, you will learn how to conduct research, cite your sources, and report on your findings. These are essential skills for finding and verifying information in life and work.
Moreover, the way we read and interpret history has a direct consequence on our everyday lives, from the way it informs behavior and policy to the way we preserve traditions and practice rituals.This means that those who tell history have enormous influence over the present day. Today, top influencers in history are exploring the connections between the environment and folk traditions [Link to https://academicinfluence.com/people/simon-schama]; the scope of human history through a macro-historical lens [Link to https://academicinfluence.com/people/yuval-noah-harari], what historian David Christian calls “Big History,” and much more.
Back to TopHistory feels like a particularly excellent major during these times of social and political upheaval. When dramatic events like wars, natural disasters, and pandemics alter our way of life, the changes can be shocking and difficult to navigate. But those with a deeper understanding of history recognize the patterns that have played out across generations. History majors often have a better sense of preparedness for such events, and a willingness to adapt as changes inevitably occur. During a time when our economic, labor market, and society are in major flux, those with a degree in history are in a unique position to understand the events around us, and make informed professional and personal choices based on this specialized insight.
Back to TopOnce you’ve declared your major in history, you will likely be required to complete a set of core courses in a number of related subject areas. While your concentration will give you a chance to choose from a wide range of highly-specialized history electives, there are a several common courses that most history majors will be required to take, including:
History majors not only qualify for highly specialized roles in education, publishing and academia, but majoring in history will provide you with a number of valuable workplace skills. As such, your history major can lead to a wide range of career opportunities, including these top jobs:
Data on history provides evidence of how families, groups, institutions, and entire countries are formed and evolve while maintaining cohesion. For some Americans, studying one’s family history is the most obvious use of history since it allows them to learn about their genealogy and gain a deeper understanding of how their family has interacted with wider historical changes.
History allows you to understand society better, including with a world history and political science perspective. To understand what is happening now, we must examine factors that were present earlier.
Major developments can sometimes be explained by fairly recent history, but we need to look back further to identify the causes. In studying history, we can understand how things change, what factors cause change, and what aspects of an institution or society persist despite change.
A student of history can hone their moral sense by studying the stories of individuals and situations in the past by comparing the complexities they have faced in difficult circumstances. There is an inspiration to be found in real-life, historical accounts of people who have faced adversity, in as far back as ancient and medieval history.
History can build your sense of citizenship. Due to our common knowledge of our history, we have a shared history and a communal identity. To understand our present as a community, we need to know how we came to be as a group. This awareness contributes to that sense of nationalism as well.
Here are some skill sets that you need to brush up on if you want to pursue a career in history:
If you think a research university may be a better fit for you, see our ranking of the best research universities for a bachelor’s in history.
Tuition + fees
$60K
Acceptance
9%
Graduation
94%
Student body
2K
Williams College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$56K
Acceptance
8%
Graduation
94%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1467/32
Swarthmore College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$61K
Acceptance
9%
Graduation
92%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1495/33
Amherst College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$62K
Acceptance
19%
Graduation
91%
Student body
3K
Wesleyan University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$57K
Acceptance
7%
Graduation
93%
Student body
2K
Pomona College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$61K
Acceptance
16%
Graduation
92%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1435/32
Wellesley College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Acceptance
11%
Graduation
84%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1325/30
United States Military Academy’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$58K
Acceptance
9%
Graduation
94%
Student body
2K
Bowdoin College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$60K
Acceptance
13%
Graduation
91%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1430/32
Middlebury College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$58K
Acceptance
11%
Graduation
93%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1415/32
Claremont McKenna College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$62K
Acceptance
17%
Graduation
90%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1385/31
Colgate University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$55K
Acceptance
18%
Graduation
90%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1380/31
Davidson College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$60K
Acceptance
11%
Graduation
93%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1434/32
Barnard College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Acceptance
12%
Graduation
86%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1325/31
United States Air Force Academy’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$63K
Acceptance
20%
Graduation
93%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1440/33
Vassar College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$60K
Acceptance
34%
Graduation
82%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1315/30
Oberlin College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$63K
Acceptance
37%
Graduation
87%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1370/31
Kenyon College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$63K
Acceptance
44%
Graduation
73%
Student body
1K
Reed College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$56K
Acceptance
30%
Graduation
91%
Student body
3K
Smith College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$61K
Acceptance
18%
Graduation
90%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1440/33
Haverford College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$60K
Acceptance
18%
Graduation
91%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1425/32
Carleton College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$62K
Acceptance
14%
Graduation
86%
Student body
2K
Colorado College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$56K
Acceptance
39%
Graduation
87%
Student body
1K
Bryn Mawr College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$59K
Acceptance
29%
Graduation
89%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1370/31
University of Richmond’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
If you want to know more about history, then check out our related content: