B.A.,
History
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
What You’ll Do
Sometimes learning about the past is the way to find your future. As a History major at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, you’ll study ancient civilizations as well as more recent historical people, places, and events.
Through your history classes, you can choose to study a broad range of topics such as colonial America, medieval Europe, the Byzantine Empire, ancient Greece, Native Americans, early China, the Civil War, Russia, and the Middle East.
All History majors are encouraged to consider doing an independent study or an honors thesis for credit. Free electives make it possible for you to take a minor such as Asian Studies, Latin American Studies, Pan-African Studies, or Women’s Studies.
What You’ll Become
The Bachelor of Arts degree in History will prepare you for graduate school or for careers that require knowledge of history. Museums, national parks, official historic sites, and tourism bureaus all hire those with expertise in history. Scholarly publishers, libraries, archives, state and local historical societies, and government offices also employ history majors.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs for historians are projected to grow at an average pace through 2016. Since there will be competition for jobs, graduate degrees will enhance employment prospects. Employment of archivists, curators, and museum technicians is expected to grow 18 percent over the 2006-to-2016 decade, faster than the average for all job categories, according to the labor report. Job growth may be stimulated by the need for archivists to organize and access growing volumes of records and the financially healthy status of some museums, the report notes.
