A common misconception is that education and law are the only answers to the old question, “What are you going to do with your history degree?” Even students who love history often think that they need a different major to succeed after graduation. But decades of data from the Alumni Office show otherwise. Rhodes history alumni excel across an astonishing range of occupations: they are doctors, journalists, politicians, lawyers, judges, CEOs, filmmakers, small business owners, urban planners, teachers, professors, musicians, account managers, military officers, social workers, non-profit founders, novelists, real estate developers — the list goes on.
Our majors develop highly marketable skills that employers and graduate school entrance committees desire in their candidates. These include excellent writing, research, critical thinking, oral presentation, and interpersonal skills.
A degree in History improves your ability to articulate significant questions, find and evaluate evidence, weigh alternative methods and interpretations, appreciate complexity and ambiguity, draw sound conclusions, and articulate substantive arguments with clarity and precision. These skills prepare you for the global information-based economy while allowing you to pursue your interest in learning about the past.
Name it and our history alumni are doing it. “What are you going to do with your history degree?” Whatever you want to do!
