2023 Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best History Bachelor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 32,731 people earned a degree or certificate in history, making the major the #31 most popular in the United States.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
The Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 418 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best History Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the history bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in History
Our analysis found Princeton University to be the best school for history students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the United States. Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Princeton.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Notre Dame. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best History Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of Pennsylvania is a great place for history students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Duke University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best History Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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Out of the 418 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Yale University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Brown University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best History Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Providence.
After completing their Bachelor's Degree, history graduates from Brown carry an average student debtload of $13,308.
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American Public University System came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best History Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. American Military University is a very large private for-profit school located in the town of Charles Town.
The average amount in student loans that history majors at American Military University take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $27,770.
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Williams College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree history programs. Williams is a small private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Williamstown.
After completing their Bachelor's Degree, history graduates from Williams carry an average student debtload of $13,193.
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With a ranking of #9, Harvard University did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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Dartmouth College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best History Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the remote town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
History majors at Dartmouth take out an average of $17,074 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
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With a ranking of #11, Amherst College did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students working on their bachelor’s degree. Amherst is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Amherst.
After completing their Bachelor's Degree, history graduates from Amherst carry an average student debtload of $13,568.
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Georgetown University ranked #12 on this year’s Best History Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.
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Northwestern University ranked #13 on this year’s Best History Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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College of the Holy Cross landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree history programs. Holy Cross is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Worcester.
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Wake Forest University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree history programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
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University of Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for history students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.
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With a ranking of #17, Tufts University did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students working on their bachelor’s degree. Tufts is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Medford.
After completing their Bachelor's Degree, history graduates from Tufts carry an average student debtload of $16,654.
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Virginia Military Institute landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree history programs. VMI is a small public school located in the distant town of Lexington.
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Vanderbilt University landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree history programs. Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
The average amount in student loans that history majors at Vanderbilt take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $19,646.
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University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree history programs. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Charlottesville.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, history majors at University of Virginia accumulate an average of around $18,713 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $227.
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Centre College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for history students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Centre College of Kentucky is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Danville.
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Boston College landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree history programs. Boston College is a large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Chestnut Hill.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, history majors at Boston College accumulate an average of around $16,488 in student debt.
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree history programs. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population.
This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $434, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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New York University landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree history programs. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
The average amount in student loans that history majors at NYU take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $19,599. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $732.
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Kenyon College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for history students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #25 on the list. Kenyon is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Gambier.
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Remaining Award Winners
This list shows the rest of the schools awarded a Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 418 different United States history schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Cornell University | Ithaca, NY |
| 52 | University of Scranton | Scranton, PA |
| 53 | Millersville University of Pennsylvania | Millersville, PA |
| 54 | University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley, CA |
| 55 | Sam Houston State University | Huntsville, TX |
| 56 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC |
| 57 | Columbia College | Columbia, MO |
| 58 | University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh | Oshkosh, WI |
| 59 | Texas A&M University - College Station | College Station, TX |
| 60 | University of California - Davis | Davis, CA |
| 61 | Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania | Slippery Rock, PA |
| 62 | University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, WI |
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for History students that almost earned our Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 63 | Towson University | Towson, MD |
| 64 | University of Maryland - College Park | College Park, MD |
| 65 | Middlebury College | Middlebury, VT |
| 66 | Boston University | Boston, MA |
| 67 | Stephen F Austin State University | Nacogdoches, TX |
| 68 | Smith College | Northampton, MA |
| 69 | University of Utah | Salt Lake City, UT |
| 70 | University of Mary Washington | Fredericksburg, VA |
| 71 | Wabash College | Crawfordsville, IN |
| 72 | Iowa State University | Ames, IA |
| 73 | Minnesota State University - Mankato | Mankato, MN |
| 74 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA |
| 75 | William & Mary | Williamsburg, VA |
| 76 | University of Houston - Clear Lake | Houston, TX |
| 77 | Kean University | Union, NJ |
| 78 | Wellesley College | Wellesley, MA |
| 79 | University of Nebraska - Lincoln | Lincoln, NE |
| 80 | University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA |
| 81 | Utah State University | Logan, UT |
| 82 | Oakland University | Rochester Hills, MI |
| 83 | North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC |
History by Region
View the Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More History Rankings
History Related Rankings by Major
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.