FAQ's
1. What can I do with a History major?
- While over half of our majors go into teaching at either the secondary or
college levels, nearly half pursue other professions. Here are some paths
that our graduates take:
- Teaching
- Public history, such as museums and archives
- Government, local, state and federal, from legislative research to FBI
- Publishing, both print and web
- Business
- Documentary films
- For more discussion of the above, see What
Can I Do With a History Major
2. Are there jobs for teachers in history?
- You bet! The Illinois State Board
of Education estimates that over 40% of all social science teaching positions
will come open and have to be filled in the next five years. Every single
high school in the state of Illinois teaches history. And all EIU history
majors seeking teacher certification will also be certified to teach all of
the social sciences, not just history. Those facts, combined with EIU's long-standing
reputation as the region's premier producer of history and social science
teachers mean that our History with Social
Science Teacher Certification majors will be highly marketable!
3. Why should I come to EIU's History department?
- Quality. For example, EIU's History department has been chosen three years
in a row (along with English and Biology) as one of EIU's three "flagship
departments." Our student journal, Historia,
has won "best student journal" in a nation-wide competition sponsored
by Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honors society, two out of the last
three years.
- Faculty. Our faculty are true scholar-teachers.
All have Ph.D.'s and are active in their fields of research. With over twenty
faculty and around two hundred and fifty students in all our programs, we
are able to maintain small classes of ten to forty students at the most. This
means there is plenty of opportunity for one-on-one interaction. And all of
our classes are taught by the professors; we do not use graduate assistants
to teach classes. We also have quality centralized advising.
- Curriculum.
Our faculty includes specialists in the history of the United States, Europe,
Russia, Asia, Africa and Latin America, on periods from the Merovingians through
the Vietnam War, so you will have a wide range of classes to choose from.
- Extra-curricular activities. We have
an active History Club that sponsors field trips,
book sales and film festivals, as well as Epsilon
Mu, a regional chapter of Phi Alpha Theta (the national history honors
society), which sponsors conferences and competitions. We also publish an
annual student journal, Historia.
- Scholarships. We offer over a
dozen scholarships for students in History from those for incoming freshmen
and transfer students to those earmarked for advanced juniors, seniors and
graduate students.
4. Do you have a graduate program?
- Yes, in fact we have two. The M.A. in History is a
one-year academic program that is especially suitable for teachers seeking
an additional degree, or for those who intend to go on into a Ph.D. program
in History or other advanced professional degrees. The M.A.
in Historical Administration is an applied program for those who would
like to work professionally in public history (museums, archives, living history
sites, etc.). This program requires two semesters of coursework and a six-month
internship.
5. What are the requirements for a History major?