Careers For History Students

A degree in History prepares you to understand the past and present and to acquire valuable skills that are applicable to many careers. Our graduates—majors and minors—also report that studying history taught them how to learn throughout their lives. But how does studying history prepare you, the student, for a life of personal and professional growth?

The abilitity to evaluate, organize, and synthesize extensive materials and to write with clarity and precision are essential to success in a variety of jobs in fields such as education, law, business, writing, research, information management, politics, and other positions in government.

Can you see yourself in a career where someone—possibly you—says, “Find out why that happened?” Or perhaps: “Gather the information we have going back 15 years and write a report on why these trends are continuing?” In order to complete those tasks, you will practice history. You’ll collect data and other forms of evidence and use your training to decide what information will help you make sense of the problem. You’ll sort through the evidence to piece together exactly how something happened. Finally, you’ll need to write down your findings, supported by your evidence, in a way that is easy to understand and convincing.

Perhaps you’re interested in law. In many ways, attorneys are historians. As an attorney, you’ll need to gather evidence, analyze it, and make a case for how or why something happened in the past. You may also use your research about past legal cases to argue for why a judge should decide a future case in your favor.

These are just a few ways that studying history prepares you for a successful career and a more fulfilling life. It’s true, what our students say, that history teaches you how to learn.

What Can I Do with a History Degree?