What Can You Do with a History Degree?

We guess you don’t want to spend your time on anything because your employer will not consider your degree as a proper one if it does not have the appropriate accreditation.

Accreditation or approval of quality is the status of the college or university which assure the reputation and high level of a quality of education provided.

This status is given to a college or the university by special accrediting agency entitled by the Departure of Education.

Accreditation is an aspect of the level of education and activity of the university, at which your future boss will definitely look, as it is the confirmation of merit and credibility.

There are regional and national accrediting agencies recognized by the Departure of Education.

It is believed that the approval by the regional accrediting agencies is of critical importance because it is very reputable and required in some fields of education.

So, regional accreditation is essential in getting higher historical degrees.

Provided that your chosen university is accredited by one of the regional agencies we will mention below, you will feel confident in the credibility of your history program.

Below you can see the list of regional agencies from which your university should have the approval.

• Middle States Commission on Higher Education
• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
• The Higher Learning Commission
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges
• New England Association of Schools and Colleges
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Moreover, there are two types of accreditation: program and institutional accreditations.

The institutional accreditation proves the reputation of all the university, while the program accreditation confirms the quality of education in a separate disciple or course.

Some programs are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).

CAEP is an accreditation agency orientated on approval of standards of certification/licensure, bachelor’s, master’s, post-baccalaureate, and doctoral degrees in the USA and internationally.

Now that you get the idea, let’s take a look at some of your degree options.

Associate Degree

Local community colleges and schools offer associate degree programs.

The course consists of 60 credits of college-level coursework.

The associate course will get you acquainted with the introduction to history as a discipline and science.

You can use the credits that you got at the associate’s level and transfer them into a bachelor’s degree at a larger college or university.

The course typically takes two years of full-time course work.

To complete the course you will need to write a coursework on any topic of the introductory material.

During the course you will take the subjects named below:

• U.S. History
• Historiography
• World History

Bachelor’s Degree

The bachelor’s degree requires 120 credits and takes four years to complete.

Such degree is provided by a private, public or online college or university.

The bachelor’s degree course in history will typically give you a profound knowledge in most historical disciplines and subjects.

To finish the course successfully you will need to write a coursework.

The topic of your coursework will be orientated on a definite part of the world history or aspect in human history that inspires you the most.

In some programs, you will be required to complete independent research or project.

So, as you have already noticed, a history degree will require a lot of writing work.

During studying at the bachelor’s level, you will take such courses, to name but a few.

• U.S. History
• World History
• Reading Seminars
• Specialized Course Work
• Historiography
• Capstone/Senior Thesis

Dual History and Education Degrees

As we have already mentioned, if you want to combine your history education with the work in the field of secondary education, you should mandatorily obtain teaching credentials as well.

According to the exact state, exact school, teaching certification requirements and dual degree courses can be different.

While one part of colleges will offer a dual bachelor’s degree, the other part will unite their degrees into a dual Bachelor’s and Master’s degree.

That approach will allow students to get more credentials more quickly and typically with less spending.

Courses that you are going to take during the dual degree course:

• U.S. History
• Specialized Course Work
• Historiography
• Capstone/Senior Thesis
• World History
• Reading Seminars

Master’s Degree

A master’s degree will be proper for you if you are planning to continue your scientific education and do doctoral work in the future.

Also if you are targeted to teach history, you should pay attention to a master’s degree program.

You can work in the field of teaching after completing the master’s degree program as well as continue to enhance your competence as a Ph.D. in history.

What Other Kinds of Dual Degree Options Do You Have?

There is also a kind of degree like dual history MA degrees.

For instance, law schools usually offer JD/MA programs, which take four years to complete.

Moreover, business schools can sometimes offer a dual degree in MBA programs.

So, if you’re searching for a master’s degree in order to prepare for a Ph.D., you’ll probably prefer independent research.

According to the aforementioned, you should rationally consider what for do you want to get your history degree?

The purposes can be teaching or professional applications.

After you made this decision, you can choose what degree path to go: dual or otherwise.

While obtaining a dual degree you will take such courses, among the others:

• World History
• U.S. History
• Specialized Course Work
• Reading Seminars
• Historiography
• Capstone/Senior Thesis
• Education Courses

Ph.D. Degree in History

PhD degree is a doctoral degree.

It is worth mentioning that the Ph.D. in the USA is different from the international one.

In the USA doctoral programs include language requirements, coursework, and a dissertation.

Two or three years of additional courses during the doctoral program will be required.

And that’s regardless, whether you’ve already got a master’s degree, or not.

Most PhD degree programs combine language requirements, for example, French and German.

However, some programs usually allow replacements or demand additional languages, according to one’s dissertation.

After completing all the required aspects, you will be accepted to write a dissertation.

The writing of the dissertation typically takes three years to finish.

Furthermore, a lot of Ph.D. degree programs in the USA include health insurance, full educational scholarship and expense stipends.

What’s the Difference Between the U.S. and International Ph.D. Programs?

International PhDs usually requires coursework.

The completed master’s degree will give you a good opportunity to fulfill most of the requirements to enter the master’s degree.

However, to enter the international Ph.D. you will need to complete some additional coursework.

The duration of an international Ph.D. is usually three years, however, such a degree will provide you with the scholarship grants.

That’s the reason why the price tag on international Ph.D. programs in history is often lower than it is in the U.S.

Courses that you will have during your study:

• Reading Seminars
• Specialized Course Work
• Dissertation Credit

To become a history teacher you will need to go through the requirements of jurisdiction desires, including educational degree as well as time spent for teaching.

If you completed a law degree and studied history together with the law, then you will need to complete your Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, after that you need to pass the Bar exam, and eventually, be accepted to practice by the committee.

If you want to become a historian, then it is better to complete a doctorate degree, after that you will be able to publish in papers. journals, or teach students at the university.

The knowledge which you will obtain during your studying at the historical faculty will be extremely valuable and will help you to find a reputable position.

Among the jobs related to historical aspects, you can choose to apply for work in courtroom debates, board room negotiations, classroom lesson plans, and elevator pitches.

Your history degree will be an enormous advantage which you can apply in a variety of fields, such as:

• Teaching
• Human Resources
• Marketing
• Public Policy
• Law
• Business
• Research
• Archiving, Curating
• Library Science
• Publishing
• Media and Journalism
• Public Relations
• Theology
• Social Work

Getting a history degree will give you an opportunity to build a good career and earn good money.

Your salary will depend on your position, experience and working schedule.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics gives the following statistics about the salary size:

• Lawyers: $118,160
• Social Work: $46,890
• Post Secondary History Teachers: $80,880
• Editors: $57,210
• Public Relations Specialists: $58,020
• Writers and Authors: $61,240
• Library Science: $57,680
• Archivist, Curators, and Museum Workers: $47,230

 Probably the best way to get new connections in your professional sphere is to join one or some professional associations or societies.

You will also get a chance to visit professional seminars and lectures, as well as take part in some of them.

There are a lot of specific historical communities where you can exchange your professional views and experience with your colleges.

For instance, there are groups and associations dedicated separately to the history of science or history of the philosophy of science.

There are some of them:

First, Organization of American Historians that was founded in 1907, is the guiding professional society for American history teachers.

The organization is dedicated to the integrity of history professionals, the advancement of scholarship and historical rights protection.

The second one, the American Historical Association (AHA) was founded in 1884.

AHA is the biggest and well-known historical community in the USA.

This organization is responsible for networking and research activity through a great number of seminars, publications, conferences, and other scholarly meetings.

The third one, the World History Association was founded in 1982.

World History Association is a young professional society which continues to grow rapidly.