History is the heart of a liberal arts education.
Students of history develop an understanding of change—how it happens and why it happens the way it does—that enables them to engage the world they inhabit and to participate fully in civic life. Department of History courses engage the diversity of American life and bring a global consciousness that helps students navigate the streets (and the news) from Iowa City to Berlin to Dar es Salaam.
Explore undergraduate programs
Thinking about majoring in history?
Did you know that...
- History majors’ mid-career salaries are on par with those of business majors.
- Employers in tech, business, law, communications, health care, and public policy want people with humanities backgrounds.
- Double majoring makes you even more versatile (BA in History requires 36 hours; many combine with political science, journalism and mass communications, international studies, anthropology, and others).
- Political experts consider historical education to be key to a successful democracy.
"The most rewarding aspect of the major was that it developed my research and critical thinking skills."
2024 History BA graduate
"Being a history major taught me how to view the world differently."
2024 History BA graduate
History Writing Center
The History Writing Center is available to any student in a history course needing assistance with a writing assignment.
Undergraduate program key personnel
Elizabeth Yale
Title/Position
Associate Professor
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Honors Director
Tom Collins
Title/Position
Academic Advisor
2151
Considering a History Major
Introduction to the History Major
- "That '70s Show"
- Global Asia
- Urban Life in Colonial and Modern India
American History
- HIST:1040 - Diversity in History: Inequality in America Since WWII
- HIST:1262 - American History 1877-Present
- HIST:2151:0001 - Introduction to the History Major: "That '70s Show"
- HIST:2268 - African American History Since Civil War
- HIST:3242 - The United States in World Affairs
- HIST:3264 - Technology in American Culture & Society
- HIST:3289 - The Atlantic World c. 1450-1850
Global History
- HIST:1010:0005 History Matters: The first Crusade
- HIST:1101 The Modern World
- HIST:1115 The History of Oil
- HIST:1166 Rapid Response History
- HIST:2150 Jews, Judaism, and Social Justice
- HIST:2151:0001 Introduction to the History Major That '70s Show
- HIST:2151:0002 Introduction to the History Major Global Asia
- HIST:2155 Global Jewish History
- HIST:3108 History of Human Rights
- HIST:3147 The Global Cold War
GE
- HIST:1010 History Matters
- 0001 The French Revolution
- 0003 Reading the British Empire
- 0005 The First Crusade
- HIST:1016 The History That Made Our World
- 0001 Russia and the World from Peter I to Putin
- 0003 War and Peace in Africa
- 0004 Fashioning European Empires
- HIST:1040 Diversity in History
- 0002 Inequality in America Since WWII
- HIST:1101 The Modern World
- HIST:1115 The History of Oil
- HIST:1262 American History 1877-Present
- HIST:1402 The West and the World: Medieval
- HIST:1607 Civilization of Asia: Korea
- HIST:1708 Civilization of Africa
- HIST:2155 Global Jewish History
- HIST:2268 African American History Since Civil War
- HIST:2461 Middle East & Mediter Alexander-Suleiman
Non Western History
- HIST:1016.0001 The History That Made Our World: Russia and the World From Peter I to Putin
- HIST:1016.0003 The History That Made Our World: War and Peace in Africa
- HIST:1607 Civilizations of Asia: Korea
- HIST:1708 Civilizations of Africa
- HIST:2151:0004 Urban Life in Colonial and Modern India
- HIST:2760 The Making of Modern Africa
- HIST:2804 Middle East Through Graphic Novels/Films
- HIST:3504 Mexico From Independence to Today
- HIST:3508 Disease and Health in Latin America
- HIST:3522 Indigenous Women & Rural Unrest Latin America
European History
- HIST:1010:0001 History Matters: The French Revolution
- HIST:1010:0002 History Matters: Reading the British Empire
- HIST:1016:0004 The History That Made Our World: Fashioning the European Empires
- HIST:1402 The West and the World: Medieval
- HIST:2431 Roman Law, Order, and Crime
- HIST:2461 Middle East & Mediter Alexander-Suleiman
- HIST:2465 Europe Since 1945
- HIST:3403 City of Athens Bronze Age to Roman World
- HIST:3470 France from 1789 to Present
- HIST:4400 The Roman Empire: 31 BCE to 565 CE
- HIST:4406 Warfare in Ancient Mediterranean Society