The bachelor's degree in history is meant to give students a foundational understanding of the the historical process: collecting evidence and using it to paint a picture of a past time. Upon graduation, students are capable of writing historical analyses and explaining how past events impact society today.
Undergraduate history courses mostly focus on select period and regions of history; for example, New York University has a lecture entitled "The Age of the American Revolution." Some courses examine the history of a specific cultural group, such as African-Americans during the reconstruction period; others examine an intellectual concept or movement over time, as is the case with NYU's course entitled "European Thought and Culture, 1880-1990." Finally, most undergraduate programs end with a senior seminar which requires students to write a piece of original historical research.
U.S. News and World Report, with the most comprehensive ranking system for colleges and universities, ranked Princeton, Stanford and the University of California Berkeley as the top three U.S. schools for history in 2010. In 2007, the Chronicle of Higher Education ranked Columbia, Yale and Princeton as the schools with the most productive faculty.
Most history majors pursue careers outside the field of history. Because courses in history require students to sharpen their critical thinking skills by analyzing information in order to come to conclusions about the past, history graduates are well prepared to work in a variety of industries that require analysis of trends. According to Payscale.com, some lucrative job opportunities include operations managers, legal assistants and non-profit organization coordinators.
For those who wish to make history a career they can stop at the bachelor's level and work as a K-12 history teacher; some states require an additional certification that can take up to a year to complete. In order to teach as the community college level, a master's degree in history is necessary, or at least around 18 graduate units in the field. Finally, anyone who wants to teach at the university level must be prepared to continue their education until earning a Ph.D. in history.