The history program is flexible and student oriented and geared to prepare majors for several careers and for graduate and professional schools. Students who graduate with a history degree find numerous options for employment and can apply for the following jobs: teacher, advertising executive, analyst, archivist, broadcaster, campaign worker, consultant, congressional aide, editor, foreign service officer, foundation staffer, information specialist, intelligence agent, journalist, legal assistant, lobbyist, personnel manager, public relations staffer, researcher and law enforcement officials.
According to two recent studies, history graduates have the highest earning potential of most liberal arts and social science majors and have mid-career earnings similar to graduates with degrees in general business or nursing.
History
is a systematic study of the human past in order to use that knowledge to help
explain the complexity and diversity of human activities, affairs, ideas, and
institutions.
The discipline of history stresses research, analysis, and
communication. In the History Program students are educated to recognize the
vast and complex range of human experience throughout the centuries, and
challenged to discover and explain patterns of continuity and change in
relation to historical events and developments. The History Program offers
a wide spectrum of courses in African American, U.S., European and wider world
history; in the pre-modern and modern eras; in cultural, economic,
intellectual, political, religious and social history; and in the specialized
areas of applied history, diplomatic history, military, oral history, urban
history, and the history of science.
History major can pursue one of two
tracks of different lengths: a major in history with a minor in another
discipline; or a major in history with a concentration in a particular area of
history that has been agreed upon by the student and a history
advisor. The History Program has prepared graduates who have pursued
graduate studies in history, divinity, law, and education.
Also
available to history majors are the option to explore non-teaching career
opportunities in the applied history field. In Applied History I students are
introduced to history professionals and potential jobs in museums, historic
sites, archives, historic preservation, interpretation, management, and many
other history-based occupations. Applied History II offers actual hands-on
internships, working with history professionals at sites throughout the
community.
The
history cognate is committed to contributing an essential link in the liberal
arts curriculum of Winston-Salem State University. The undergraduate
program in history provides an important knowledge base of history and
introduces students to the skills of the professional historian.
Objectives
1.
To
provide the means for an understanding of historical development so students
may become aware of the certainty of change and be prepared to meet it.
2.
To
provide a solid background for those students who pursue teaching professions
in both lower and higher education.
3.
To
provide a general foundation for students who plan careers in professional
fields outside of history.
4.
To
prepare students for graduate training in history.
Student
Learning Outcomes
1.
Command
of historical content
2.
Conduct
historical research
3.
Think
critically and analyze documents and artifacts
4.
Recognize
and evaluate primary and secondary sources
5.
Create
historical arguments with sufficient and appropriate evidence
6.
Utilize
multiple perspectives and methodologies
7.
Compare
and contrast historical processes
