HIST 296
Careers in History
1. Catalog Entry
HIST 296
Careers in History
Prerequisites: Requires Sophomore standing to enroll.
Credit hours (3)
This course helps students explore and prepare for what is next after earning their
degree in History. Students will learn about the variety of career tracks available
to them and the steps necessary to enter these paths.
Detailed Description of Course
Topics:
- Managing Your Online Identity & Creating Personal Websites
- What appears when someone Googles you?
- Career tracks: Graduate School in History
- Demystifying Graduate School: Programs, terminology, and outcomes.
- Application deadlines, application process, funding, terminal MA in Digital/Public
History, Digital History programs, History PhD programs, career possibilities and
likely outcomes.
- Career tracks: Graduate School in related disciplines
- MLIS (Librarians & Archivists), Law School, American Studies, Cultural Studies, Religious
Studies, English, Education/teaching, etc.
- Career tracks: Public History
- Museums (overview of large museum departments and their roles/responsibilities: education,
curatorial, conservation/preservation/design, accessioning, management/marketing/social
media), government (NPS/Federal, state and local government), community organizations,
local historical societies, job requirements and gaining work experience.
- Career Tracks: Business
- Managing a Job, Internship, or Graduate Program Search
- Scheduling and data collecting techniques/spreadsheets, job boards, managing deadlines
(how far ahead must I take the GRE before my application deadlines? When/who to ask
for letters of recommendation? Follow-up email post-interview? etc.)
- Writing Application Materials: Graduate programs
- Writing Application Materials: Public History Jobs & Internships
- Gaining work experience, different types of museum departments and intern responsibilities
(library/archives, conservation, education, curatorial, management); where to find
internship postings.
- Building an academic resume
- Undergraduate research, conferences, and poster presentations, looking for on-campus
and off-campus research assistant/archival assistant opportunities & how to highlight
skills on a resume.
Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
This class will consist of lectures and, when appropriate, guest speakers who work
in the career tracks or job industries focused upon that week. Guest speakers likely
will attend via Zoom. After student reflection upon their personal goals, emphases
of course will be arranged. This may include reflection papers and assignments as
well as in-class writing reflections and exercises. Class time will also include opportunities
for students to workshop ideas, ask questions, and clarify the process of applying
for jobs in the historical profession.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Students will demonstrate knowledge of the range of opportunities and career tracks
available to them as a History major.
- Students will demonstrate knowledge of the steps necessary to apply for their preferred
job or career track.
- Students will demonstrate knowledge of how to create application related materials.
Assessment Measures
Knowledge and understanding of the material covered in this course will be measured
using an array of assessment tools that may include, among other things, class attendance
and participation, written examinations, formal writing assignments of various types,
informal writing assignments, and classroom discussion responses.
Other Course Information
This new class is part of the History Department's curriculum lifecycle major revision
and will be a required class for History majors.
Review and Approval
February 27 2025