What You Can Do with a History Major

Many of the students in WMU history program are preparing to be secondary teachers. The university began as a normal school in 1903 for the purpose of training teachers and it continues to be one of the best places in Michigan to prepare for this career. There are other choices. There are teaching opportunities above the secondary level, in junior colleges, colleges and universities. Our faculty is actively engaged in research and graduate education and can prepare you for graduate school and help place you at other institutions around the country. We also have a strong program in public history at the undergraduate and graduate levels, to prepare people to work in museums, archives and public programs.

All three of these options are offered as formal programs of study (see next section “The History Major at WMU”), but there are still more possibilities. Students interested in careers in law, journalism, creative or scientific writing, or librarianship can prepare at the undergraduate level by majoring in history. Scratch the surface of a history major and you find someone who likes to read and write. One of the goals of the history program is to nurture interest in self-education, since the 21st century will require growth and change from all of us, not least from our secondary teachers.

For a miniguide about careers in History from the American Historical Association, CLICK HERE.