Archivist
Organizes, preserves, and helps people use records of enduring value, often with graduate preparation.
Humanities & Writing
History major, explained.
Investigate how the past was lived, recorded, and remembered.
History majors investigate change over time using primary sources, scholarship, context, and argument. Students learn to evaluate conflicting accounts, locate evidence, recognize perspective, and explain why interpretations of the past matter in the present.
You might enjoy this if
Notice what feels familiar.
You ask how current institutions or conflicts developed.
You like finding and comparing original sources.
You enjoy building an argument from incomplete records.
The study experience
What the work may feel like.
Programs differ by college. These labels describe common areas of emphasis, not a score or universal rating.
Reading
Central
Writing
Central
Quantitative work
Limited
Labs or hands-on work
Limited
Design and making
Limited
People and collaboration
Regular
Questions you may keep asking
What happened, according to whom?
Which context changes how this source should be read?
Why has this event been remembered in a particular way?
Historical methodsPrimary source researchRegional historiesPolitical and social historyPublic history
What can you do with this major?
One major. More than one direction.
These are example connections, not guaranteed outcomes. Many careers welcome more than one major, and some require additional education or licensure.
Museum Educator
Builds public learning experiences around collections, places, and historical questions.
Research Analyst
Finds, evaluates, synthesizes, and explains information for an organization or public audience.
Public Historian
Interprets history through museums, sites, media, government, preservation, or community work.
Archive, museum, and academic roles may require graduate education. History also supports careers that value research, argument, writing, context, and source evaluation.
Try it before college
Projects that make History more real.
Reading helps you understand a field. A Compass project helps you discover whether you enjoy doing the work.
Each project includes a step-by-step plan, custom AI prompts, reflection guidance, and a finished creation for the student’s portfolio.
See how Compass works
Compass project
30–56 hours
Archive a Story Before It Disappears
Preserve a living memory, tradition, place, or experience before time changes what can still be recorded.
- You will create
- oral history archive and public story
Compass project
30–56 hours
Rebuild a Landmark Court Case
Step inside a major case before the outcome felt inevitable.
- You will create
- landmark court case reconstruction
Compass project
20–42 hours
Create the Field Guide Your Neighborhood Needs
Help people recognize the living things, seasonal changes, and ecological stories around their own block.
- You will create
- illustrated neighborhood field guide
Keep exploring
Related majors worth comparing.
Sources and important context
Compass presents a curated collection of 100 widely studied and commonly searched undergraduate majors. The collection is not a statistical ranking. Major names and CIP connections follow common US college usage and the NCES Classification of Instructional Programs. Study patterns are editorial summaries of common program structures and vary by college. Career directions are examples, not guaranteed outcomes. Students should compare actual curricula, admission rules, accreditation, and licensing requirements at colleges they are considering.
NCES CIP codes: 54.0101
- NCES Classification of Instructional ProgramsNational Center for Education Statistics. Official US taxonomy for fields of study and instructional programs.
- Field of DegreeUS Bureau of Labor Statistics. Federal career exploration resources organized around broad college fields.
- O*NET OnLineUS Department of Labor. Detailed descriptions of occupations, tasks, knowledge, skills, and work activities.
Turn this interest into something real.
Explore Compass projects