History Major
Students of history mine stories of the past to uncover the workings of human societies, and they use that knowledge to take on today’s world as critically engaged and analytically skilled citizens.
College of Arts & Sciences | On-Campus
Program Options
History majors analyze how and why change happens by studying the multilayered interplay of social, political, economic, cultural, and environmental forces. Build a curriculum based on your interests, such as American, European, or global history.
B.A. in History
Drake’s History program focuses mostly on the modern period (c.1500 to the present), investigating the ideas and institutions that have shaped our world.
History Minor
Studying history makes you a better thinker, researcher, and writer—skills that will serve you regardless of major. The History minor requires 18 credit hours, many from upper-level classes.
28+9 Track
It’s easy to complete a double major in this program, which lets you count classes from a related major toward your History degree. Popular pairings include Politics, International Relations, English, Sociology, Journalism, Education, and Law, Politics, and Society.
Arts and Sciences and Law 3+3 Program
Earn a B.A. in History and a Juris Doctor degree from Drake in just six years. If approved for this program, you’ll start classes at Drake Law School following your junior year.
Meet the Faculty
At Drake, you’ll receive guidance from internationally and culturally diverse faculty whose expertise extends from the local to the global. While all are active researchers, they’re just as engaged in the classroom, helping students make connections to the past.
Outside the Classroom
As you study the past, you’ll hone real-world skills through research, internships, and other opportunities that prepare you for life after Drake.
Internships and Opportunities
History majors find opportunities in diverse fields, including law, communications, business, education, non-profits, politics, and policy. At Drake you can get a professional head start by working alongside professional archivists in the University Archives and Special Collections, or find off-campus opportunities at places including the State Historical Society of Iowa, the West Des Moines Historical Society, and the World Food Prize Foundation.
Student Organizations
Build your professional network, develop leadership skills, and meet others passionate about history through student groups such as the Drake chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, a national honor society.
Service Learning
Bring history to life for others by mentoring middle schoolers for National History Day, interpreting events at Living History Farms, or working with former U.S. Senator Tom Harkin’s papers at Cowles Library.
Conference and Publication Opportunities
Share your discoveries in student-run journals such as the Drake University Social Science Journal, or present at academic gatherings such as the Missouri Valley History Conference or the Midwest Undergraduate Conference in the Humanities.
Scholarships
The Dr. Curt M. Carwell Memorial Scholarship Fund helps students gain access to digitized archival sources intended for a course, capstone, research project, or independent study.
Student Awards
Every year, the History department recognizes students with awards that honor outstanding research, leadership, intellectual curiosity, and overall accomplishment.
Careers & Skills
History majors learn to interpret sources critically as they piece together evidence, craft compelling narratives, and explain the significance of what they’ve uncovered. These skills transcend a study of events and periods—you’ll use them in many careers, including law, medicine, journalism, business, and politics.
In an age when most people have multiple careers, majoring in History gives you a foundation you can rely on no matter where you find yourself.
Opportunities
- Law
- Communications
- Business
- Education
- Non-profits
- Politics
- Policy
Skills
- Analytical, research, and interpretive skills.
- How to examine a broad range of materials, including those with conflicting points of view.
- How to think and express yourself clearly, both orally and in writing.
- How to empathize with people from different time periods, world regions, cultures, and social positions.
- Understand history as a constructed narrative that is woven together from fragmentary and incomplete evidence and shaped by the narrator’s worldview.
Salary & Growth Outlook
Median pay for historians in 2024. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Take the Next Step
Studying history helps us understand how the world came to be and allows us to transform what it may look like tomorrow.
