History

Through the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences, the Department of History offers a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in History. Our graduates have gone into exciting careers in international business, government service, law, education, communications, library science, tourism and much more.

The program offers high-quality instruction and personalized attention from experienced professors who have diverse expertise and engaging teaching styles. Collaboration with other departments allows you to explore a wide range of interesting topics. As a history student, you may also study the following related fields:

• American studies
• International studies
• Latin American studies
• Religious studies
• Women’s studies
• Military science
• Naval science
• Aerospace studies

If you have a deep interest in history, but you also want to build a career in international business, for example, you may want to consider a double major. With its foreign language requirement, the B.A. History degree option also gives you a competitive advantage in our global economy.

Through lectures, seminars and varied course work, you’ll explore the entire sweep of human experience – spanning centuries, continents and cultures. You’ll also learn valuable research, writing and critical thinking skills that you can apply to many careers. As a graduate of our program, you’ll have the ability to evaluate events, people and ideas by using a historical perspective, and you'll learn to apply a systematic approach to solving problems in any number of fields, such as law, business, academia and communications.

We offer hard-to-find history courses that will expand your horizons and pique your interests. Some of our most popular and more unique courses include:

• Pirates of the Caribbean and Beyond
• The Medieval Church
• Public History
• Disease and Culture: History of Western Medicine
• Conspiracies and Secret Societies

Prepare for Success

If you’re fascinated by other cultures and you enjoy museums, traveling and a good biography, a degree in history may be for you. To be successful in our program, you should be interested in understanding the past and in uncovering how cultural values and political, social and economic activities have influenced where we are today.

Your First Year

In addition to general university requirements, you'll also take the following introductory-level history courses in your first year:

• History of Civilization (Hist 101-102)
• Introduction to U.S. History (Hist 111-112)
• Introduction to East Asian History (Hist 180)
• The Historian's Craft (Hist 290)

View our four-year plan for history majors.

What You Can Do

With a degree in history, you may become a:

• Museum director
• International business consultant
• Teacher
• Librarian
• Military officer
• Public relations consultant
• Tourism and recreation director
• Intelligence analyst
• Broadcaster
• Writer
• Editor
• Political analyst
• Lawyer
• Freelance researcher
• Employee for a nongovernmental organization (NGO)
• Diplomat

Opportunities

History majors learn to think critically, evaluate problems and situations, and reach logical conclusions, so they are considered valuable contributors in many workplaces. While some of our graduates have opted to go on to graduate school or earn a law degree, there are many other diverse career options for those with a bachelor’s degree in history. You may pursue opportunities in: 

• International business
• Government
• Military service
• Education
• Library science
• Corporate communications

Current Research

There are eight full time faculty members in the Department of History. All are passionate about history and they consistently earn top marks for the quality of their teaching and their expertise in the field. Below is a brief description of faculty specialties and research interests:

• Ian Chambers, Assistant Professor – American Colonial and Revolutionary History, Early Republic, American Women, Piracy, Native American History
• Rebecca Jager, Assistant Professor - Modern America, U.S. West, Gender & Social History
• Dale Graden, Professor – Latin America, Brazil, Comparative Slavery, History and Film
• Ellen Kittell, Associate Professor – Medieval Europe, Renaissance & Reformation, European Women, England, Africa
• Sean Quinlan, Associate Professor – Modern Western Europe, France, History of Biology and Medicine
• Adam Sowards, Assistant Professor – American West, Pacific Northwest, Environmental History
• Richard Spence, Professor – Modern Europe, Russia, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Military History, Secret Societies and the Occult
• Pingchao ZHU, Associate Professor – East Asia, China, Japan, U.S. Diplomatic, U.S. Wars in Asia

Hands-On Experience

Special conferences and guest speakers offer you greater insight and new perspectives on important historical topics. Courses in public history provide a chance to collaborate with community members and organizations.

You will be encouraged to participate in study-abroad programs and other work experience opportunities. Many of our students have traveled across the globe to explore and experience new cultures, practice foreign language skills, visit other universities and much more.

Facilities

The history program is supported by a state-of-the-art library system, which contains traditional and electronic texts and has excellent holdings in American history, including a large collection of American newspapers pertaining to the western region of the United States. The library also has an impressive number of online sources and unique special collections.