History

Types of Degrees History Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many history graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	23,992
Master’s Degree	3,626
Associate Degree	2,442
Doctor’s Degree	807
Graduate Certificate	201
Basic Certificate	174
Undergraduate Certificate	13

What History Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to history and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for History Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

Skills for History Majors

When studying history, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for History Majors

History majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a History Major?

People with a history degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Archivists	14.7%	$52,240
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Curators	13.7%	$53,780
Historians	6.1%	$61,140
History Professors	10.4%	$74,590
Museum Technicians and Conservators	12.7%	$43,020
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	7.5%	$60,320
Security Managers	8.0%	$107,480

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in History?

This is one of the most frequently chosen undergraduate majors. It is the 20th most popular in the country with 25,656 students graduating with a bachelor’s in history in 2021. This major tends to be male dominated. About 58% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of history majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	867
Black or African American	1,060
Hispanic or Latino	3,651
White	16,208
International Students	398
Other Races/Ethnicities	1,808

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in History. About 1.7% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to History

Some careers associated with history require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to history have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.6%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	4.3%
Some College Courses	1.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	35.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	4.0%
Master’s Degree	33.9%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.8%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.4%
Doctoral Degree	12.3%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.3%

Online History Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	13	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	2	0
Associate’s Degree	237	45
Bachelor’s Degree	72	17
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	427	40
Post-Master’s	18	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	179	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.