If you decide to major in history at WMU, you will gain research and communication skills while learning how humans have organized their lives in multiple historical contexts.

As a history student at WMU, you will be eligible to qualify for a number of different honor societies and fellowship opportunities. The department has an active chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the international history honors society. Outstanding students may also become eligible for Phi Beta Kappa. Within the department, students with strong academic records can also graduate with honors in history and qualify for an Emeriti grant for independent research and internship opportunities.

Many of the students in WMU's history program are preparing to be secondary teachers. WMU began as a normal school in 1903 for the purpose of training teachers and it continues to be one of the best places in Michigan to prepare for this career. But, there are other options. There are teaching opportunities above the secondary level, in junior colleges, colleges and universities. Our faculty members are actively engaged in research and graduate education and can prepare you for graduate school and help place you at other institutions around the country. We also have a strong program in public history at the undergraduate and graduate levels, to prepare students who wish to work in museums, archives and public programs.Government agencies and private businesses alike are turning to their past in order to develop better policies for the future. Many federal departments and state and local governments are now mature enough to have historical data banks on which to draw, to analyze the impact of past programs and policies as a basis for new legislation. Business executives are increasingly aware of the need to organize their archives and corporate records, and to take more initiative in public relations by developing museums and related outreach activities.For history majors at Western Michigan University, these developments translate into an unprecedented variety of opportunities to practice history professionally.