History majors acquire some usable mental habits and some basic information about the forces that affect our lives. Students who study History are forced to analyze, to look at situations outside their own experience, to broaden their ideas of what constitutes norms of acceptable behavior, and to see the past as a new field. By studying history, you emerge with relevant skills and an enhanced capacity for informed citizenship, critical thinking and simple awareness of how the real world works.

History majors sometimes go to professional school in library science, international relations, archives management or museum studies. They also go into business, foundation work and fundraising. Some history majors become successful writers. The History major is ideally suited for students planning to go on to law school, although many history students go on to become high school or college teachers.