2023 Best History Schools
Finding the Best History 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 Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 418 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best History Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for history majors pursuing a .
Top 25 Top Schools in History
Our 2023 rankings named Princeton University the best school in the United States for history students. Princeton is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Princeton.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Notre Dame is a great place for history students. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
The average amount in student loans that history majors at Notre Dame take out is $22,048.
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Out of the 418 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pennsylvania landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
The average amount in student loans that history majors at UPenn take out is $12,950.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Duke University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best History Schools list. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
The average amount in student loans that history majors at Duke take out is $12,250.
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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 large student population.
After completing their degree, history graduates from Yale carry an average student debtload of $12,000.
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Brown University ranked #6 on this year’s Best History Schools list. Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Providence.
After completing their degree, history graduates from Brown carry an average student debtload of $13,491.
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Williams College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for history students. It came in at #7 on the list. Williams is a small private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Williamstown.
While working on their degree, history majors at Williams accumulate an average of around $12,978 in student debt.
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Harvard University ranked #8 on this year’s Best History Schools list. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Dartmouth College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best history programs. Located in the remote town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
After completing their degree, history graduates from Dartmouth carry an average student debtload of $16,285.
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Amherst College ranked #10 on this year’s Best History Schools list. Amherst is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Amherst.
The average amount in student loans that history majors at Amherst take out is $13,350.
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Georgetown University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best history programs. Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.
After completing their degree, history graduates from Georgetown carry an average student debtload of $14,750.
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Northwestern University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best History Schools ranking. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
History majors at Northwestern take out an average of $17,200 in student loans while working on their egree.
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College of the Holy Cross landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best history programs. Holy Cross is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Worcester.
After completing their degree, history graduates from Holy Cross carry an average student debtload of $27,000.
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With a ranking of #14, Wake Forest University did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students. Located in the city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average amount in student loans that history majors at Wake Forest University take out is $25,000.
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Virginia Military Institute ranked #15 on this year’s Best History Schools list. VMI is a small public school located in the distant town of Lexington.
On average, history graduates from VMI take out $20,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Tufts University ranked #16 on this year’s Best History Schools list. Tufts is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Medford.
On average, history graduates from Tufts take out $18,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
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American Public University System landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best history programs. American Military University is a very large private for-profit school located in the fringe town of Charles Town.
On average, history graduates from American Military University take out $20,854 in student loans while working on their degree.
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University of Chicago ranked #18 on this year’s Best History Schools list. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.
After completing their degree, history graduates from UChicago carry an average student debtload of $13,000.
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With a ranking of #19, Vanderbilt University did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students. Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
The average amount in student loans that history majors at Vanderbilt take out is $18,297.
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With a ranking of #20, University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Charlottesville.
History majors at University of Virginia take out an average of $20,390 in student loans while working on their egree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $227.
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Centre College came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best History Schools ranking. Centre College of Kentucky is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Danville.
History majors at Centre College of Kentucky take out an average of $25,191 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Boston College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for history students. It came in at #22 on the list. Boston College is a large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Chestnut Hill.
After completing their degree, history graduates from Boston College carry an average student debtload of $18,000.
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New York University ranked #23 on this year’s Best History Schools list. Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
History majors at NYU take out an average of $20,106 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $732.
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for history students. It came in at #24 on the list. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population.
After completing their degree, history graduates from UIUC carry an average student debtload of $20,991. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $434, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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With a ranking of #25, Kenyon College did quite well on this year’s best schools for history students. Kenyon is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Gambier.
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Remaining Award Winners
This section shows the rest of the colleges awarded a Best History 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 | University of Scranton | Scranton, PA |
| 52 | Millersville University of Pennsylvania | Millersville, PA |
| 53 | Cornell University | Ithaca, NY |
| 54 | University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley, CA |
| 55 | University of Nebraska at Kearney | Kearney, NE |
| 56 | Columbia College | Columbia, MO |
| 57 | University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh | Oshkosh, WI |
| 58 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC |
| 59 | Texas A&M University - College Station | College Station, TX |
| 60 | Minnesota State University - Mankato | Mankato, MN |
| 61 | Norwich University | Northfield, VT |
| 62 | Towson University | Towson, MD |
Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best History Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 63 | University of California - Davis | Davis, CA |
| 64 | University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, WI |
| 65 | Middlebury College | Middlebury, VT |
| 66 | University of Maryland - College Park | College Park, MD |
| 67 | Boston University | Boston, MA |
| 68 | Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania | Slippery Rock, PA |
| 69 | Sam Houston State University | Huntsville, TX |
| 70 | Smith College | Northampton, MA |
| 71 | University of Mary Washington | Fredericksburg, VA |
| 72 | University of Utah | Salt Lake City, UT |
| 73 | Wabash College | Crawfordsville, IN |
| 74 | Iowa State University | Ames, IA |
| 75 | Stephen F Austin State University | Nacogdoches, TX |
| 76 | Kean University | Union, NJ |
| 77 | Wellesley College | Wellesley, MA |
| 78 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA |
| 79 | William & Mary | Williamsburg, VA |
| 80 | University of Houston - Clear Lake | Houston, TX |
| 81 | University of Nebraska - Lincoln | Lincoln, NE |
| 82 | Oakland University | Rochester Hills, MI |
| 83 | University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA |
History by Region
View the Best History 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.
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