by our College Data Analytics Team
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Most Well Attended History Major” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 32,731 people earned their degree in history, making the major the 30th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, history graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $30,467 and had an average of $23,587 in loans still to pay off.
This year’s “Most Well Attended History Major” ranking looked at 1,481 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in history. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have one of the most popular history programs in the United States.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Most Well Attended History Major” list to help you make the college decision.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended History Major”.
Out of the 1,481 schools in the Most Well Attended History Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern New Hampshire University landed the #1 spot on the list. SNHU is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Manchester, New Hampshire. It awarded 493 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
Out of the 1,481 schools in the Most Well Attended History Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Liberty University landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Lynchburg, Virginia, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 364 degrees to qualified ’s history students in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend American Public University System. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Well Attended History Major list. American Public University System is a large private for-profit school situated in Charles Town, West Virginia. It awarded 398 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about History at American Public University System
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended History Major list. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school handed out 344 diplomas to qualified ’s history students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Out of the 1,481 schools in the Most Well Attended History Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Arizona State University - Skysong landed the #5 spot on the list. Arizona State University - Skysong is located in Scottsdale, Arizona and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 287 ’s history degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Columbia University in the City of New York ranked #6 on this year’s Most Well Attended History Major list. New York, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s history degrees to 218 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read full report on History at Columbia University in the City of New York
University of North Texas ranked #7 on this year’s Most Well Attended History Major list. Denton, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s history degrees to 191 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Harvard University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major ranking. This large school is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and it awarded 178 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Yale University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended History Major ranking. Yale is a fairly large school located in New Haven, Connecticut that handed out 165 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
California State University - Long Beach ranked #10 on this year’s Most Well Attended History Major list. Long Beach, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s history degrees to 164 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about History at California State University - Long Beach
University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major ranking. This large school is located in Seattle, Washington, and it awarded 163 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about History at University of Washington - Seattle Campus
With a ranking of #12, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major list. University of California - Santa Barbara is a public institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 161 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ranked #13 on this year’s Most Well Attended History Major list. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 160 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read full report on History at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
With a ranking of #14, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major list. UNC Chapel Hill is a large public school situated in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It awarded 159 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read full report on History at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major ranking. Charlottesville, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s history degrees to 159 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on History at University of Virginia - Main Campus
Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the #16 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major ranking. Columbus, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s history degrees to 155 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Central Florida landed the #17 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major ranking. University of Central Florida is a large public school situated in Orlando, Florida. It awarded 151 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on History at University of Central Florida
University of California - Berkeley came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended History Major ranking. Located in Berkeley, California, this large public school awarded 149 degrees to qualified ’s history students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #19, Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major list. Texas A&M College Station is a public institution located in College Station, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 147 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
California State University - Fullerton came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended History Major ranking. California State University - Fullerton is a public institution located in Fullerton, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 145 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
With a ranking of #20, California State University - Sacramento did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major list. Sacramento, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s history degrees to 145 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #22, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major list. Located in Austin, Texas, this large public school awarded 146 degrees to qualified ’s history students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #23, Sam Houston State University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major list. Located in Huntsville, Texas, this large public school handed out 147 diplomas to qualified ’s history students in 2020-2021.
University of North Carolina at Charlotte landed the #24 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major ranking. Charlotte, North Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s history degrees to 142 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on History at University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #25 on this year’s Most Well Attended History Major list. This large school is located in Madison, Wisconsin, and it awarded 154 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
While not in the ’top 50’, these schools make the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Brigham Young University - Provo | Provo, UT |
| 52 | Texas Tech University | Lubbock, TX |
| 53 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus | Pittsburgh, PA |
| 54 | University of Georgia | Athens, GA |
| 54 | North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC |
| 56 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | San Antonio, TX |
| 56 | San Francisco State University | San Francisco, CA |
| 56 | University of California - Irvine | Irvine, CA |
| 59 | University of Massachusetts Amherst | Amherst, MA |
| 59 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | Baton Rouge, LA |
| 59 | University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder, CO |
| 62 | California State University - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA |
| 62 | Boston College | Chestnut Hill, MA |
| 62 | Stony Brook University | Stony Brook, NY |
| 62 | Brown University | Providence, RI |
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 216 | Salem State University | Salem, MA |
| 216 | University of Nevada - Las Vegas | Las Vegas, NV |
| 216 | Santa Monica College | Santa Monica, CA |
| 216 | Mississippi State University | Mississippi State, MS |
| 220 | College of Staten Island CUNY | Staten Island, NY |
| 220 | Salisbury University | Salisbury, MD |
| 220 | Jacksonville State University | Jacksonville, AL |
| 220 | Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis | Indianapolis, IN |
| 220 | Boise State University | Boise, ID |
| 220 | Citrus College | Glendora, CA |
Read more about our data sources and methodologies