Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in History - Public History Concentration

The Department of History supports the academic mission of James Madison University by providing the highest quality educational experiences within the liberal arts tradition that meet students' needs and prepare students for meaningful careers and active citizenship. The department focuses on the student as individual learner and global citizen. Our dedicated faculty members are classroom innovators and scholars who work responsibly and supportively with students to expand their knowledge and skills, and to create a foundation for their lifelong learning. Career Opportunities: A history degree provides individuals with skills that are sought after by a wide-range of employers. Career opportunities for those with a B.A. in history include: Advertising Archival work Education Government Information Management Legal work Museum Curator Social Media and Technology Writing and Editing With additional training, many graduates pursue careers in law or academia. Many graduates also have pursued careers in the health and technology professions. Students completing an undergraduate degree in history possess marketable abilities applicable to a variety of professions, such as: Analyzing Researching Writing Most also possess skills in: Digital humanities Statistical analysis Website development Social media. Public History Historians today practice their discipline in a variety of careers as well as in more traditional academic settings. Those historians who work in museums, archives, government agencies, libraries, historic preservation organizations, businesses, contract history firms, cultural resource management firms and historic sites are known as public historians because they use their skills as historians to serve a public audience. The concentration in Public History trains students in the broad range of skills and issues associated with public history while providing them with a solid general background in history. Students pursuing the public history concentration augment their foundation of traditional history courses by taking introductory and specialized public history courses and completing a semester-long internship. History majors opting to pursue the public history concentration will complete seven elective courses, six of which must be 300/400 level history courses. The public history concentration consists of five courses (15 credit hours). Students are required to complete two public history core courses and three elective courses. Two of the three elective courses should be chosen from the list of primary electives; the remaining elective course may be chosen from either the primary or secondary list of elective courses.