Overview
By majoring or minoring in history, you will come to understand the construction of historical knowledge, the nature of historical sources, and the process of historical inquiry. A degree in history will provide you with a broad but deep knowledge of the past, along with a more comprehensive understanding of its relevance to current events and issues.
The history discipline at UMN Morris covers a wide range of historical periods, themes, and geographical areas, including Asia, Europe, Middle East/Africa, Latin America, Native America, and the United States. The history program also contributes to the following interdisciplinary programs:
- Native American and Indigenous studies
- Latin American area studies
- African and Black American studies
- Medieval and ancient studies
- Gender, women, and sexuality studies
Through the student-designed senior research project and coursework, you'll learn to analyze primary and secondary sources, solve problems, conduct research, and communicate effectively.
Degree Requirements
Student Learning Outcomes
By completing a degree in history, you will be able to
- comprehend and distinguish between a diverse range of historical contexts;
- critically analyze a variety of primary and secondary source materials;
- communicate your ideas effectively in writing and through oral presentation;
- analyze sources within the various critical organizational frameworks of the field; and
- understand the broad range of interpretive approaches used by historians.
General Education Requirements
The University of Minnesota and its faculty are committed to providing an education that invites you to investigate the world from new perspectives, learn new ways of thinking, and grow as an active citizen and lifelong learner. The University’s general education requirements are designed to be integrated throughout your four-year undergraduate experience. These courses provide you an opportunity to explore fields outside your major and complement your major curriculum with a multidisciplinary perspective.
Transferring Credit
Put your credits to work for you at UMN Morris, where you’ll earn a degree from a highly ranked public liberal arts university.
Careers & Graduate School
Careers
By studying history at UMN Morris, you’ll be able to evaluate evidence, untangle conflicting information, and analyze the impact of change and innovation, which is particularly important in our changing economy. These skills will empower you to excel in your career. UMN Morris history graduates have found success in many fields, including education, banking, media, law, government, and public service. The American Historical Association is a great resource when researching careers for history majors.
Graduate School
An undergraduate history degree from UMN Morris will prepare you well for graduate studies in various fields. Some UMN Morris history alumni have gone on to become professors at other institutions, including the University of California-San Diego, West Virginia University, Washington State University, and the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Recent graduates in history have even held the nationally-competitive Truman and Killam Fellowships and an Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellowship in addition to the prestigious Katherine Sullivan Scholarship from the University of Minnesota.
Costs & Aid
The University of Minnesota Morris is a national public liberal arts college committed to making a high-quality education available to students from across the country. Expenses for housing, meals, books and supplies, transportation, loan fees, and personal expenditures can vary.
Learn more about the cost of attendance
Use our net price calculator to estimate your cost of attendance
Research & Engagement
Research
Through the Morris Academic Partnership program, the Undergraduate Research Opportunities program, and research assistantships with individual faculty members, history students have studied historical newspapers documenting Chinese immigration to Latin America, digitized records from the Indian School Service, conducted research at the National Archives in Kansas City, and published peer-reviewed academic articles. They’ve also presented at regional and national conferences, including the North Central Council of Latin Americanists, the American Society for Ethnohistory conference, and the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
The UMN Morris campus is home to the West Central Historical Research Center, a repository of unique historical documents and artifacts covering western Minnesota and the surrounding area. As a history student, you’ll be able to examine the items in this collection and the process of maintaining a professional historical archive.
Engagement
Internships are a great way to fully engage in your major. Past history students have pursued internships at the Library of Congress, the Minnesota Historical Society, and the Stevens County Historical Society.
As a history student, there are other ways to engage in your major and interests, such as guest lectures and clubs.
- Competitive Ethics Defense Team (Ethics Bowl)
- Mock Trial and Pre-Law Society
O. Truman Driggs Distinguished Lecture in History
Study Away
At UMN Morris, you will have many opportunities to study abroad or domestically through one of our many programs.
In recent years, history students have studied in:
- China
- Cuba
- the Czech Republic
- England
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Norway
- Spain
- Scotland
Presented by the Division of the Social Sciences and the University of Minnesota, Morris Alumni Association, the endowed Driggs Lecture was created in 1985 by alumni and friends of the late O. Truman Driggs, professor of history, who taught from 1963 until the time of his death in 1989. He served as the Division of the Social Sciences chair from 1968 until 1977. Annually, the lecture brings distinguished visitors to the Morris campus to speak on topics relating to history, the liberal arts, or public affairs.
Previous Driggs Lectures
- 2021-22 Elizabeth Otto, State University of New York
- 2017–18 Professor R. Marie Griffith, Washington University
- 2016-17 Erika Lee, University of Minnesota
- 2014–15 Ruth Mazo Karras, University of Minnesota
- 2013–14 Evelyn Hu-DeHart, Brown University
- 2012–13, Sterling Evans, University of Oklahoma.
- 2011–12 H Glenn Penny, University of Iowa
- 2010–11 William Rorabaugh, University of Washington
- 2009–10 Jill Doerfler, University of Minnesota, Duluth
- 2008–9 Karl Appuhn, New York University
- 2007–8 Sheldon Garon, Princeton University
- 2006–7 Kathleen Conzen, University of Chicago
- 2005–6 Marshall Eakin, Vanderbilt University
- 2004–5 Susan Stuard, Haverford College
- 2003–4 Martin Klein, Yale University
- 2002–3 Ihman Ghazalla, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
- 2001–2 Susan Armitage, Washington State University
- 2000–1 John Phillip Colletta, National Archives
- 1999–2000 Emmanuel K. Akyeampong, Harvard University
- 1998–99 John A. Lynn, University of Illinois
- 1997–98 Stanley Katz, Princeton University
- 1996–97 Robert Thompson, Syracuse University
- 1995–96 Marilyn Young, New York University
- 1994–95 Clara Sue Kidwell, University of California, Berkeley
- 1993–94 Christopher Browning, Pacific Lutheran University
- 1992–93 Carla Rahn Phillips, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
- 1991–92 Paul L. Murphy, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
- 1990–91 Richard Flacks, University of California, Santa Barbara
- 1989–90 Jack Censer, George Mason University
- 1988–89 Elaine Tyler May, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
- 1987–88 Stanley J. Idzerda, College of St. Benedict
- 1986–87 Robert M. Isherwood, Vanderbilt University
