History is the systematic study of the past. Understanding the past helps you to understand human nature, broadens your perspectives, refines your judgments, and provides insight into contemporary issues. The study of history is basic to your personal uniqueness, your professional identity, and your civic life.
About the History Program
The University of Wisconsin-Platteville offers a major and minor in history. As a student of history, you will learn important skills: reading, writing, analysis, and logic.
You will learn to do research, assess arguments, and to interpret economic, social, political, cultural, and technological change in a variety of contexts.
Career Opportunities
Your history major will provide the basis for work in many fields. Some fields are directly related to the subject matter of history, such as museum and archive work, teaching, documentary film making or historical publishing.
Other fields, such as business, advertising, journalism, public relations, public administration, planning, research, and professional fields, such as law, use the skills that the study of history cultivates.
Although there is and will continue to be an increasing demand for graduates in traditional historical areas, the most dramatic increases in demand are in the fields of public history:
- New career opportunities are evolving in the administration of cultural resource management programs.
- Agencies or organizations such as archives, museums, historic preservation offices, and historical sites need trained history graduates.
- In business, the development and management of corporate archives and other "memory" areas of the corporate sector are exciting career paths.
- History graduates can work in program development and analysis within local and state governments, and in the corporate sector.
- New teaching positions for local and public history offerings within university history departments are also available.
Preparing for Teaching
The history education program prepares you to teach history and social studies in middle school and high school. A 39-credit major with a 24-credit minor, and a professional sequence of courses in the School of Education, will certify you for the teaching license.
The social sciences comprehensive major with a history emphasis is a 60-credit program, 24 credits of which are in history and 36 in the social sciences. This program, along with the professional sequence in the School of Education, will certify graduates in the broad field of social sciences and history. Students can also use this program to become certified to teach in one or more other social science fields.
