The study of history is a distinctive and vital part of a well-rounded liberal arts education. It is essential to understanding the complex interplay of continuity and change over space and time; to explaining the development and decline of cultures, institutions and ideas; to illuminating not only how past worlds become our present but also what is possible for our future. History provides concrete and sometimes sobering lessons, but it is also a source of inspiration and hope. The History Department at Minnesota is a great place to pursue the study of the past. We are unusual in the range and variety of courses we offer, from the ancient and medieval to the history of the recent past, all around the globe. We also offer many ways to learn outside the classroom through hands-on research opportunities, internships, foreign study and service learning. As a history major, you'll acquire important critical analysis, research, and writing skills that are applicable across all disciplines and in a variety of professions. As a major, minor, or student in a single course, historical study will give you the skills, context, and perspective you need in order to think about and understand ourselves and our world. As a history major, you'll identify an area of concentration where you'll dig deeper into historical questions through primary source analysis with faculty mentors to guide your intellectual development.

Archivists; Curators; Elementary, Middle, and High School Teachers; Historians; Librarians; Private-Practice Lawyers