History Careers
See Where a WCU History Degree Can Take You
Brian Keogh, Class of 1994
Stephanie Sena, Class of 2001
Stephanie Hurter, Class of 2002
Thomas Neville, Class of 2006
Cheryl Nagle, Class of 2006
James Padilioni Jr., Class of 2013
Alyssa Day, Class of 2009
Danielle Lehr, Class of 2012
Amanda Derrickson, Class of 2011
Adam Farence, Class of 2015
Nicole Strunk, Class of 2019
So, you ask… "What can I do with a degree in history?" As Katherine Brooks, author of You Majored in What, observes, a humanities degree like History enables you to answer, "I'm going to do whatever I want." History majors are versatile! A recent article published by the Association of American Colleges & Universities recently made this point as well, demonstrating that a history major "will not condemn you to a lifetime of unemployment and poverty."
History Skills
With your history degree, you can do anything and go anywhere, because the skills you learn here can take you far:
- Investigation: One of the most important skills our history students learn is the skill of investigation, from the art of asking good questions that help define the problem at hand, to the research skills in finding sources, to the skills of analysis and interpretation historians apply to our subject. Perhaps most importantly, you will learn the skill of effectively using evidence to draw conclusions.
- Collaboration: We all must learn to play nice with others. The skills of collaboration, communication, and compromise are all significant ones that you must gain to join any sort of future work force. We practice them here in the classroom, working on group projects and presentations, leading and following while gaining skills in flexibility and adaptation.
- Problem Solving: Our students leave campus as creative problem solvers, who can think imaginatively not only about past events, but about the world today. The ability to think critically and creatively about the past will give you the skills to help solve the problems we face today and in the future.
- 21st Century Skills: History majors also learn many digital skills necessary for any future job. Our students work on digital history projects, building websites and creating multimedia presentations, editing video and audio. You can claim ownership of the projects you create, listing them on resumes and talking about them in job interviews. Students also become savvy online researchers, capable of discovering, evaluating, and aggregating the vast wealth of available sources.