WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH A DEGREE IN HISTORY?

Careers

The abilities you develop through the study of history are crucial to success in a wide variety of fields. With an undergraduate degree in history from the College of Charleston, you are well prepared for success in areas that include, but are certainly not limited to:

• business
• management
• public relations
• journalism
• politics
• government service
• the arts
• education administration
• teaching

Graduate schools

Our history majors are regularly awarded prestigious fellowships for graduate study and have recently been accepted by institutions such as:

• University of Pennsylvania
• University of York (England)
• Howard University
• Vanderbilt University
• University of California at Berkeley
• Ben Gurion University (Israel)
• Tulane University

Professional Schools

Our students are also accepted by professional schools, most recently at:

• University of Cincinnati Law School
• University of Tennessee Law School
• Northwestern University School of Journalism

Active Learning Opportunities

Study abroad. Programs administered by departmental faculty:

• England: University of Northampton, University of Nottingham, Bath-Spa University, and Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College
• France: Université de Versailles/Saint-Quentin, Université de la Rochelle, and The Abbey semester-abroad program in the Loire Valley

Summer travel courses. Courses recently offered by history professors include:

• “Royal Britain: History of the Monarchy from Alfred the Great to Elizabeth II” at King’s College, University of London. The course also incorporates visits to a number of locations relevant to royal Britons throughout England and Scotland.
• “Contemporary Europe.” The program includes visits to the corporate headquarters of companies such as BMW and Bayer and significant historical sites such as Nuremberg and the Normandy Beaches in France.

Other recent study abroad opportunities:

• “The Golden Age of Iberia,” at the College of Charleston campus in Trujillo, Spain
• A Maymester program in several West African countries

Internships provide you with valuable experience and the opportunity to earn academic credit. Some of our internship partners in the Charleston area are:

Charleston Museum
Charleston African American Museum
Charlestowne Landing
Fort Sumter
Historic Charleston Foundation
Middleton Plantation
The Old Exchange Building and Dungeon
Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum
The Preservation Society of Charleston
South Carolina Historical Society

National internship opportunities include:

National Council for Preservation Education
The Student Conservation Association
National Park Service

Independent studies are courses in which you work individually with a professor to explore in depth an area that particularly interests you. During the most recent academic year, 48 students completed independent studies in history.

Research. You’ll be encouraged to engage in undergraduate research mentored by faculty. Recently, history students were awarded College of Charleston grants for research projects on the following topics:

• “Pine Ridge, South Dakota: History and Social Consequences of Reservation Life for Oglala Sioux”
• “History of the Developing British Family since World War II: Gender Roles, Welfare, and Family Structure in Northampton, United Kingdom”
• “South Carolina in the 21st Century: A History”
• “A Different Look at the First Session of the Council of Trent through the Eyes of Venetian Friar Paolo Sarpi”
• "The Red Tape Cocktail’: Charleston and the Dispensary System”

History Club. You can join fellow history scholars in trips to historical sites, lectures, movie showings and social gatherings sponsored by this student organization.

Phi Alpha Theta (national history honor society). Top students are elected to this honor society, which offers prizes and awards for student presentations and papers as well as scholarships for graduate study.

Learning Resources

Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture maintains an archive of primary and secondary source material of nearly 4,000 holdings that encourage scholarship, research, and presentations by scholars, researchers and students. The center also operates as a small museum, a site included on the National Register of Historic Sites, and a cultural center.

Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World Program (CLAW). This College of Charleston program promotes scholarship and intellectual activities devoted to exploring the Lowcountry and its relationship with the broader Atlantic World. Activities include: international conferences, a lecture series, symposia and seminars, and a publication series.

Technology. Our department is upgrading and expanding its technology resources, with three “smart” classrooms (equipped with digital projection capabilities) in place and another soon to be added.

“One thing above all others figures most prominently in my experience as a history major: the passion of the professors. It is obvious to me that all my professors love what they are teaching and love the fact that they
get to teach it. Their passion has inspired my own. One of the many perks I enjoyed as a history major was the opportunity to travel to the UK for a summer study course. It was one of the most fantastic and rewarding experiences of my entire college career. I got to live history. College students should experience all that education has to offer and this trip truly served as a capstone of my liberal arts education.”

Heather Brady ’06