Historical thinking fosters creativity, insight, and analysis — the same in-demand skills needed at workplaces across the globe. Our Career Development Program provides graduate students with opportunities to leverage these skills into meaningful and productive careers.

What Can You Do With a Degree in History?

Students of history learn to think critically, analyze evidence and reach sound judgements through extensive researching, reading and writing. Historical training allows students to construct persuasive arguments based on rigorous research rather than rumor or reflex. Though education is just one aspect of launching an extraordinary career in history. Once students have mastered the material, they still must find the job they want, make the right connections and sell their knowledge and experience. The American History Association’s guide to Careers for History Majors shows the range of professional opportunities that earning a degree in history affords.

Career Diversity for Historians

Whether interning with the National WWI Museum and Memorial, working for the Missouri Humanities Council, or creating award-winning documentaries in the Kemper Humanities Digital Laboratory, UMKC history students find success in a variety of workplaces. For our historians, success beyond academia is the expectation; not the exception.

As such, the Department of History is committed to preparing students for success in a broad range of fields by providing these initiatives:

• Intensive training opportunities in career development.
• Networking events connecting our students with the cultural resource management community in the
• Kansas City region.
• A showcase for the talents of our students and graduates.