History (B.A./B.S.)

The past is today.

The study of history seeks to answer the question “how did we get to today?” Historians study the “great men” of the past, but also the ordinary men and women whose collective actions propel the world into the future. History students at SDSU act as historians, answering the questions of how civilizations rose and fell, how wars began and ended, how humans progressed from being hunter-gatherers to establishing complex societies based on agriculture, industry and ideas. Along the way, we look at human motivations and behaviors, and the evolution of ideas and the physical world of inventions and technologies. We examine the ways individual countries developed and the ways that nations interacted with each other.

The skills that history students build—the ability ask meaningful questions, to conduct research to answer them, and the ability to explain them clearly in oral and written form—prepare them for a wide variety of careers in education, law, journalism, public service, library sciences and business, as well as graduate work and other specialized training.

To learn more about careers for history majors please visit the American Historical Association for further information.