Bachelor of Arts - History

As the American Historical Association has noted, “We all interpret and narrate the past, which is to say that we all participate in making history. It is among our most fundamental tools for understanding ourselves and the world around us.” The History Department at DePaul University embraces this idea and is committed to engaging with students, the university, and the wider community in an ongoing effort to understand the past and its varied meanings, the critical and scholarly debates through which students gain such understanding and the relationship of the past to the problems of the present.

The history program at DePaul combines a breadth of chronological and geographical coverage with the opportunity to develop a concentration in a student’s fields of interest. Instruction emphasizes the humanistic as well as the social scientific dimension of the field. One-hundred and two-hundred-level courses (lower division) provide surveys of Asian, African, European, Latin American, North American, and World and Comparative History. The main focus of these lower-division courses is teaching students how to evaluate primary sources. Three-hundred-level courses (upper division) concentrate on historical debates within specific fields. All courses stress the development of research, writing, and oral communications skills.

The history major gives students a broad base of knowledge and skills applicable to a variety of careers. Many of the graduates go on to work in the fields of education and law. Others pursue jobs in government and politics; museums, historical societies, and libraries; and business and commercial ventures. A wide range of employers finds that history majors have honed critical analytical and communications skills, making them ideal candidates for positions requiring responsibility and independent work habits.​​