What is the value of a degree in history? Today’s history departments need to make a case for teaching history to multiple audiences in the face of mounting pressures from inside and beyond the campus.
The AHA has assembled this toolkit to help department chairs, faculty members, and administrators pinpoint their priority issues and connect to data, strategies, advice, personal narratives, and professional networks that can help articulate the value of history teaching, learning, and research for students, higher education institutions, local communities, and the public.
"Students of history learn to reach sound judgements by reading widely and weighing evidence with care. They construct persuasive arguments based on research rather than rumor or reflex."
-Sarah Fenton, Careers for History Majors (2018)
"History is the study of the human past as it is constructed and interpreted with human artifacts, written evidence, and oral traditions. It requires empathy for historical actors, respect for interpretive debate, and the skillful use of an evolving set of practices and tools."
-Anne Hyde, Careers for History Majors (2018)
"Majoring in history is not only a wise choice if you aim to mature intellectually, participate in a deliberative and diverse democracy, and change the world—it is also a very good economic decision."
-John Fea, Careers for History Majors (2018)
"In general, history students are versatile learners who value other disciplines that help inform their work. Historians regularly move outside their own disciplines to study foreign languages, statistics, economics, politics, cultural studies, international business, the arts and humanities, and even science, technology, and medicine in order to better understand the historical context of their topic."
-Sarah Shurts, Careers for History Majors (2018)
"History is a discipline that requires both risky creativity and balance. Doing history is a fascinating exercise of letting our imagination go wild while keeping our interpretation grounded on the evidence. It is a practice that keeps you constantly curious and eager to dig deeper."
"To me, membership in the AHA is about being part of a larger community of historians and scholars. I grow the most as a teacher and researcher when I am in conversation with colleagues whose work is very different from mine, chronologically and geographically."
"More than 30 years have passed since I earned my PhD…But I still find history full of wonders; I still find in the differences in past societies a way to take stock of the present—a source of sober realism, but also a source of hope."
"History is empowering for me. It inspires me in a variety of ways."
More Resources
Resources and Workshops for Department Chairs
Regional Conferences in Introductory History Courses
AHA Annual Meeting
Careers for History Majors
With clear data and informal prose, Careers for History Majors equips readers with data, practical advice, specific strategies, and answers to common questions about the study of history and its value for individuals, their workplaces, and their communities. A resource for intellectual exploration, personal inspiration, and planning, this short volume describes the abilities and habits of mind that students develop in college history programs. Readers can see how the skills students learn in a history major line up with the skills employers are looking for. The booklet’s contributors include alumni working in a wide range of fields and occupations as well as professional historians. Together, they show how today’s college students can prepare themselves to use historical thinking to tackle tomorrow’s problems.