ChooseWhy Choose This Program?

Why Study History at Goucher?


The history major and minor programs not only acquaint students with different ages, societies, and cultures but also develop powers of writing, speaking, and thinking. The curriculum is organized to provide students with general knowledge, as well as technical competencies essential in such fields as business, law, government, teaching, publishing, and museum and archival work. In Goucher's history classes,  practice and theory are linked through internships in agencies, libraries, archives, museums, preservation organizations, historical societies, governmental agencies, and at historic sites for practical experience.

LearnWhat Will You Learn?

What Will You Learn?


History is human life recreated from the tracks our ancestors left behind them. In its modern form, the study of history equips students with analytical skills and research techniques of immense practical and vocational value. History majors can choose an optional concentration in secondary education, with certification in history or social studies.

History majors will also be expected to gain geographic breadth by taking one course in each of our three major areas: the United States, Europe, and the non-Western world (Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East).  Learn More

DoWhat Will You Do?

What Will You Do?


After graduation, many Goucher history majors attend top graduate programs such as at Columbia University and American University, while others embark on careers in local, state, and federal government; law; politics; nonprofit organizations; museums and historical sites; cultural heritage associations; archives; historical societies; education; and business.

Course Curriculum

Faculty

Major & Minor Program Contact

Matthew Rainbow Hale, Associate Professor of History: Early American History, Atlantic Revolutions, Print Culture

Full-Time Faculty

Evan Dawley, Associate Professor of History: East Asia, China, Japan, Taiwan, identity, colonialism, nationalism, ethnicity, diaspora, historiography

Kami Fletcher, Associate Professor of African Diasporic History: African American, African Diaspora, deathways, women and gender studies, oral history, public history

Matthew Rainbow Hale, Associate Professor of History: Early American History, Atlantic Revolutions, Print Culture

Professors Emeritae

Jean Baker, Bennett-Hartwood Professor of History: U.S. History, 19th Century; Women’s History

Julie Roy Jeffrey, Professor of History: 19th-Century American Reform, especially Abolitionism, Religion, Gender

Study Abroad

History majors and minors study abroad in a wide variety of places, including the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Nepal, South Africa, Argentina, Costa Rica, Italy, and the Czech Republic. Students who major or minor in history are encouraged to study abroad for a full semester or through a three-week Intensive Course Abroad (ICA). A recent ICA co-led by Assistant Professor of History Evan Dawley took students to Taiwan and Japan. The course description for that history course reads as follows:

The Past in the Present from Tokyo to Taipei (5)
By visiting sites in Japan and Taiwan, this course will give students the opportunity to directly experience and assess how past histories of imperialism, occupation, and war influence the world of the present. We will seek to understand how Japan’s history of imperial expansion and occupation, and Taiwan’s experience of colonization by Japan and rule by China, are remembered today, and how they have shaped contemporary relations between Taiwan and Japan, and between both places and the United States. This course comprises both a pre-course to be held in the spring before departure (2 credits), and the three-week program overseas following spring commencement (3 credits). The pre-course is mandatory for all students who are on campus. Offered 2016 and alternate years. Dawley and White.

For more information, please visit the Office of Global Education website.

Opportunities & Internships

History major students are placed in agencies, libraries, archives, museums, preservation organizations, historical societies, governmental agencies, and at historic sites for practical experience. The variety of internships that have been completed under the supervision of this department is evidence of the flexible and creative applicability of degrees in history or historic preservation. Students find internship opportunities through the Career Education Office, through faculty and staff members, or on their own.

 

Student Employment


Student employment connects students to both on and off-campus opportunities. The Career Education Office provides resources and support to students with or without Federal Work Study to find jobs, submit applications, and learn more about the job search process. Students have access to Handshake — a website for job postings, events, resumes/cover letters, and career management.

Major & Career Exploration


Exploring career options, choosing a major, and making career decisions is a multi-step process in which all students are encouraged to engage early and often. Goucher students have a variety of resources available through the Majors and Career page to assist them in this process.

Job Search


A Goucher education prepares students for today’s job market and beyond. Students can explore job opportunities and access job search resources through the CEO Job Search page.

Graduate & Professional School


Students access resources for searching and applying to graduate and professional school through the CEO Graduate and Professional School page, through faculty and staff members, or utilizing their own resources, network and tools.

Johns Hopkins Carey Business School 4+1 BA/MS Program


Goucher College and Johns Hopkins Carey Business School are offering Goucher students a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree program. This 4+1 program combines a bachelor’s degree from Goucher with a master of science degree from Johns Hopkins in business analytics and risk management, information systems, health care management, finance, or marketing. Students can apply during their junior year. GRE or GMAT tests have been waived but applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better and have passed some quantitative reasoning courses with a grade of B or better.

 

Alumni SpotlightChevron iconDavid Woodard ’13

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History Major


“Goucher was the first place I had to start stepping outside my comfort zone. It helped my fixed mindset of ‘I’m not good at this’ start to change.”

Read My Story