College of Letters and Sciences

HISTORY

Bachelor’s Degree Programs

Find your future in the past.

History is our social memory. Studying it tells us who we are, where we belong and where we seem to be going. History takes us out of the present, broadens our horizons and makes us aware of human possibility.

A History degree equips you with a capacity for critical thinking and a fundamental understanding of human society — assets that add value to a breadth of career paths, from business to teaching and from journalism to law.

4-year plan

CAN WE BRAG A LITTLE?

A student lays in the dirt over a skeleton that he's uncovering with a toothbrush.

Warhawks dig History. Literally.

History education major Cameron Cudnohowski discovered 1,000-year-old remains during an archaeological dig in England.

Read the story

100% career and graduate school placement

All recent history majors were employed or pursuing an advance degree after graduation (2020-21 research survey respondents).

A person leans over a large sheet of paper in the Milwaukee County Deeds Office.

Why study History at UW-Whitewater?

We pride ourselves on providing our students with rigorous training in writing, research and analytical thinking, and our history degree program is flexible enough to allow you to pursue your own interests, whether it’s a geographical area, culture, chronological period, or historical movement or event.

Our History Department is especially unique among UW System schools for its focus in public history. Armed with deep knowledge and practical skills, many of our alumni pursue graduate degrees in museum studies and go on to lead and influence historical and cultural sites, agencies and programs.

History is also a popular minor for International Business, International Studies, Geography, and Political Science majors looking to gain valuable insight and context into their area of study. And we’re No. 1 in the UW System for graduating social studies teachers.

What our History students do

Participate in undergraduate research

Immerse themselves in history through travel study

Curate campus and traveling exhibits

Hands-on learning experiences

As you pursue your degree in History at UW-Whitewater, you will gain hands-on experience in many ways, from field experiences and internships to traveling abroad.

Internships
Our public history majors intern with historical agencies and societies in Wisconsin and beyond.

Community-based learning
A community-based learning course allows you to use history as you engage with the public.

Undergraduate research
History majors gain excellent writing and analytical skills through undergraduate research, and they get the chance to share their discoveries at our annual History Symposium.

Students gather around to look at an artifact.

Cross-cultural experiences

One of the best ways to explore history — and understand how the past influences us today — is to immerse yourself in it. UW-Whitewater has an excellent Global Experiences program with offerings that will appeal to history and public history majors.

A student stands among the remains of stone architecture in Scotland.

Travel Study
Take a semester-long course that culminates in a faculty-led international trip with your classmates. Courses and locations vary by year and semester.

Study Abroad
Spend a year, semester or summer abroad in an area rich in history such as Athens, Rome, London, Berlin, Lima, Havana, Seoul and Cape Town.

Campus and community involvement

In our department and across campus, you’ll find history-related organizations like:

Public History Club
Phi Alpha Theta (national honor society)

UW-Whitewater is also home to several language and cultural clubs, including those celebrating Chinese, French, German and Japanese culture.

Hired Before Graduation

Anna Kuhtz, from Whitewater, Wisconsin, earned a B.A. in history from UW-Whitewater and was hired as a PR and events assistant with Rock County Historical Society in Janesville, Wisconsin.

Hired Before Graduation

Piper Miles, from Inverness, Illinois, earned a B.A. in history from UW-Whitewater and was hired as a customer service representative with Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, Illinois, and now works for the Air Traffic Control Administration.

What our graduates do

Purple icon with people at a whiteboard.

History teachers and professors

Curators and archivists

Program managers and directors

What can you do with a History degree?

Jobs for a History major are more varied than you might think. Our students take their history careers in many directions:

Collections manager/curator/assistant curator
Community planner
Foreign service
Government relations
Interpretive programs manager/interpreter
News reporter
Program director/coordinator
Non-profit management
Teacher (social studies; AP history)

… and many other professions! Our graduates work in a variety of careers using their excellent writing and research skills, and to places like:

American Family Insurance
Beloit College
Epic
Federal Aviation Administration
First State Heritage Park (Dover, Delaware)
Great Plains Art Museum at University of Nebraska
The Historical Society of the New York Courts
Janesville Gazette
Minnesota Historical Society
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts (Alabama)
Princess Grace Foundation (New York City)
Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau
Wisconsin Maritime Museum
Wisconsin Historical Society
Whitewater Historical Society

Graduate and professional school

Many History majors go on to master’s-level or Ph.D. programs in museum studies, public affairs, urban and regional planning, archaeology and more:

American University
Cooperstown Graduate Program, SUNY Oneonta (history/museum studies)
Illinois State University (history)
Marquette University (early American history)
University of Chicago (Middle Eastern studies)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (art history/museum studies)
University of Leicester (museology)
University of Toronto (museum studies)
UW-Madison (U.S. history)
University of York (U.K.) (medieval studies)
West Chester University of Pennsylvania (Holocaust and genocide studies)

Our Faculty

Our department has highly engaged faculty who are active in local, regional and national public history endeavors. They seek out partnerships to enrich the undergraduate student experiences, such as digitizing oral histories of indigenous peoples or bringing in notable speakers for our lecture series.

Our faculty are experts in a wide range of historical topics and periods, including: