Highlights
- In the history program, you will have access to scholarships and awards to study abroad, complete an internship or conduct original research.
- Faculty-mentors will work closely with you to develop those skills most in demand by employers: reading, writing, and critical thinking.
- The history program will connect you with unique internship opportunities at numerous sites, including the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Lincoln’s New Salem, the Illinois State Museum, the Governor Joseph Duncan Mansion and many more.
- You can collaborate behind-the-scenes and gain hands-on experience with IC’s one-of-a-kind resources, including the Khalaf Al Habtoor Archives and the Paul Findley Congressional Office Museum. You will produce an original research project over the course of a two-semester senior capstone in your junior and senior year.
- You will experience academic innovation as you learn to use digital technologies to create collections, websites and local historical tours. You may complete student-faculty research, getting hands-on experience in archives and with primary sources, and present your research at regional and national conferences for students, such as the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research.
- Many history majors qualify for membership in the national history honor society, Phi Alpha Theta, by taking courses on diverse and unique topics ranging from US and World history, to the Holocaust, Ancient Greece and Rome, African American history, food and agriculture, public history, digital history, social movements and more.
- The history program is also home if you are seeking licensure as a secondary school teacher of history and social studies. The history-secondary education major prepares students to teach history and related social science subjects. Many students are able to complete the program and student teaching in four years, and they participate fully in the history major program, which offers excellent preparation for successful teaching at the secondary level.
Outcomes
Alumni from Illinois College’s history program have been selected for the highly competitive Fulbright Scholar and Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) programs. They have also found success in a variety of careers in history and been highly successful at being accepted into the top graduate and law schools in the country, including the University of Illinois, St. Louis University and the University of Michigan.