Bachelor's of Arts - History

The University of Houston Department of History is home to over 40 faculty dedicated to researching and teaching all areas of history. The university offers a robust undergraduate program.

Studying history will allow students to gain a knowledge-based view of the US and world, including a systemic understanding of human institutions; strong analytical and critical thinking skills; excellent oral and written communication skills; experience using technology in research and presentation of findings; ability to work both independently and as part of a group; and the ability to both manage details and to see the big picture.

The University of Houston’s faculty has special strengths in African, East Asian, European, Latin American, Middle Eastern, Public/Digital, Transnational, and United States history, covering chronological periods from ancient days to contemporary times.

The program will allow students to look to the past using many different approaches including intellectual, social, political, economic, legal, cultural, public, environmental, medical, and urban history. The university uses a variety of lenses such as gender, race, class, and location.

The University of Houston focuses on the local, with specialists in Houston history, and considers the global, with transnational scholars exploring expansive systems that shape the world. There are many tools used in the practice, digging into archives or creating digital modes of historical storytelling.

The University of Houston’s courses are big—surveys in history—and small—seminar-style courses emphasizing discussion. In a history class, it is not unusual to encounter guest speakers, or conduct class on location in an archive or museum. A signature feature of the university’s courses is critical thinking, reading, and writing, which makes history courses exceptionally useful to hone students’ research and writing skills.

History majors are everywhere, with careers in education and government, law and medicine, journalism and the arts, business and science, libraries and museums.