°®½´ÊÓƵ

Some career paths will require an advanced degree beyond your four-year undergraduate education. If you are considering graduate study (a master's or doctoral program) in a field, it is advantageous to have an undergraduate degree in the same or closely-related disciplinary subject.

Master's (MA) Programs in History and Political Science

For some career fields, such as public history or applied public policy, the master's degree is the preferred credential. A master's is a specialized professional program, generally consisting of a two-year course of study culminating with a thesis or major research project.      

Doctoral (PhD) Programs in History and Political Science

A doctorate of philosophy (or PhD) is the required credential for teaching at the college or university level and is required for most advanced research positions. Most doctoral candidates will earn an MA on the path to the PhD (although some programs do accept students straight into the PhD program).  A doctorate is generally a 5-to-8 year course of study with specialization in 2 to 3 major disciplinary subfields, and requires completion of oral/written comprehensive examinations and the successful defense of a doctoral dissertation (a book-length original research project).

Application Advising

Applying to graduate school is a major undertaking. If you are contemplating graduate school you will want to work closely with your undergraduate faculty and faculty advisor to discuss undergraduate course selection and the requisite knowledge and skill development during your undergraduate years. Advanced graduate study requires a high GPA, strong research and writing skills, high quality letters of recommendation and a strong score on the GRE (Graduate Record Exam). You will also want to work closely with your undergraduate faculty when choosing a graduate school and applying to graduate programs.

If you want to be a practicing attorney, you will have to attend law school after you complete your undergraduate degree. Law schools do not require or recommend any specific major or course of study—that is, you can major in any discipline. To be accepted, you will need a strong GPA and competitive score on the LSAT (Law School Admission Test), so you definitely want to choose an undergraduate major in which you are interested and will do well, and which builds the critical reasoning, logic and strong writing skills that law schools demand. You may also want to consider having multiple, possible career paths, so consider majors and minors that give you flexibility beyond the study of law.

History and Political Science are popular majors for prospective law school students, and a high percentage of students with those majors are accepted (according the the Law School Admission Council). Majoring in History or Political Science also gives you multiple, alternative career paths.

Whatever your undergraduate major, you may wish to take a few law-oriented courses to help you determine whether a career in law is the right choice for you and to build necessary skills and knowledge. Our provides rigorous, structured bundling of courses and our active hosts an annual Moot Court Experience. Law schools prefer broadly trained, well-rounded applicants, so you should balance your interest in law with other undergraduate experiences and a broad range of skills-building course work. Experiential learning and work experiences are also highly valued by law school admissions committees.

You should speak directly with the °®½´ÊÓƵ College Pre Law Advisors, Dr. Lisa Parshall (History & Political Science) or Associate Professor Bridget Niland (Business Administration) when it comes time to take the LSAT and begin the application process. 

Teaching at the high school level requires a degree from an accredited education program (like History & Political Science: Adolescent Education), and state certification. Our major in includes substantial Education coursework.

If you are interested in teaching History or Political Science at the college level you will need a PhD in the teaching area (or a master's degree with unique professional qualification).

Graduate schools, law schools, and future employers value experience outside of the classroom. As a History or Political Science major, you are required to complete an internship and must fulfill a Service Learning requirement in the core curriculum. We strongly encourage our majors to pursue multiple internships, study abroad opportunities and to engage in experiential learning opportunities (like our Model UN and Moot Court simulations). Several of our recent graduates have successfully coordinated their internship experiences with their senior research projects, and are now employed or pursuing graduate studies in these same areas of interest.