• Historians record and analyze past and current events of human activity so that we can better understand the present and guide our future. Some, like biographers and genealogists, focus on the events of individuals, while others may address activities of groups, whether social, ethnic, political, religious, or geographic. It is the historian's challenge not only to research the facts but also to present them in the spirit of the time they occurred and in the ever-changing perspective of our own time. It is a task that requires knowledge in many areas, especially the other social sciences and the humanities.
  • In addition to Introduction to Historical Inquiry, students take required courses in American history, Western or European civilization, and world history, and a senior capstone. students also select electives representing a variety of subjects and approaches to history. Department offerings range from "The Mongol and Their World" to "Recent American History."
  • Undergraduates have opportunities to work with faculty on their research or to have faculty guide them in their own work. In the university wide Summer Scholars Program, recent history student research included "Chicago Jazz in the 1920s," "Islamic Historiography," and "Changing Economic and Subsistence Strategies of Cherokee and Chickasaw Women."
  • Miami is increasingly stressing the importance of internships. The history faculty work with the Career Services to find opportunities for students. For example, one history major recently served as an intern in the State Department's Office of Chemical and Nuclear Nonproliferation.