Social Sciences & Humanities Department

Learn About History, Gain High-Demand Career Skills

History is much more than memorizing names and dates. It thoughtfully explores and interprets the complex interplay of people, political institutions, religions, cultures, economics, laws, education, commerce, events, and other forces that created the world we live in today.

By studying history, you learn how to put current local, state, national, and international events into perspective. You also learn critical skills that employers highly value no matter what profession you pursue – even if it has nothing to do with history. You learn how to:

• Think critically and analytically
• Express yourself effectively in writing
• Find, assess, and integrate information from diverse sources
• Document evidence and conclusions
• Make a case using evidence
• Discover solutions to current problems based on a historical perspective

Only a small percentage of history majors go on to become historians. Instead, they become lawyers, librarians, business people, writers, archivists, researchers, teachers, politicians, and even entertainers.

Leaders in every field, from business to the arts, can point to their training in history as the start of their path to success.

For your convenience, you can take University of Michigan-Flint history courses on campus or online. Some of the latter courses are mixed-mode, offering the flexibility of online learning with the immersive experience of hands-on learning.

Why UM-Flint?

The quality of our faculty is the most important reason to study history at UM-Flint. They’re scholars who are engaged in research, but they come to UM-Flint because they love teaching and helping students succeed. That commitment extends to mentoring students. As a history major, you have a faculty mentor with whom you can discuss selecting classes, internship opportunities, career possibilities, graduate school, and more.

Here are a few other reasons you should study history at UM-Flint:

• The Wyatt Exploration Program sponsors on-campus events such as guest lectures and extracurricular activities. Each year it also pays most travel expenses for selected history majors and minors to travel together to a foreign country.
• Flint offers a wealth of great internship opportunities at places like the Genesee Historical Collections Center at the Frances Willson Thompson Library, the Whaley Historic House Museum, the Applewood Estate, the Sloan Museum of Discovery, the Genesee County Historical Society, Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad, and the Flint Public Library, among others. Best of all, your internship counts as an elective course toward your degree and a scholarship covers your tuition for it.
• Work with UM-Flint faculty and other students at Flint’s oldest cemetery to identify, document, and restore the monuments at Old Calvary Cemetery.
• In a paid or volunteer role, develop your research skills while working side-by-side with faculty on state-of-the-art research in the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program or its summer counterpart, the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, which offers full- and half-time positions.
• Learn blacksmithing skills at the Forge at Factory Two, our own blacksmithing forge.
• Test your history knowledge at the annual History Quiz Night sponsored by the history program at a local tavern.