2024 Best History Schools
393
Colleges in the United States
32,731
History Degrees Awarded
$30,467
Avg Early-Career Salary
History is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #30 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
College Factual looked at 393 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best History Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 32,731 degrees in history to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great History School

Your choice of history school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for history schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
History Rankings by Degree Level
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best History Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Read more about College Factual's methodology.
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Featured History Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
BA in History
Gain a rich foundation of knowledge ranging from early history to modern times with this online bachelor's degree in history from Southern New Hampshire University.
Learn More
MA in History
The online Master of Arts in History degree program can deepen your understanding of how history is made.
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Best Schools for History in the United States
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the history degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
25 Top Schools in History
Harvard University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in history. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Harvard is a great university overall.
There were about 178 history students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent data year. History degree recipients from Harvard University receive an earnings boost of around $26,287 above the typical income of history graduates.
More information about a degree in history from Harvard UniversityYale University is a good option for students interested in a degree in history. Yale is a large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of New Haven. A Best Colleges rank of #8 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Yale is a great university overall.
There were about 165 history students who graduated with this degree at Yale in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the history major at Yale University earn $21,890 above the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in history from Yale UniversityAny student pursuing a degree in history needs to check out University of Pennsylvania. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.
There were roughly 71 history students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent year we have data available. Those history students who get their degree from University of Pennsylvania receive $19,913 more than the average history student.
More information about a degree in history from University of PennsylvaniaPrinceton University is a great decision for students pursuing a degree in history. Located in the city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Princeton is a great university overall.
There were about 76 history students who graduated with this degree at Princeton in the most recent year we have data available. Those history students who get their degree from Princeton University make $20,308 more than the standard history graduate.
More information about a degree in history from Princeton UniversityUChicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.
There were roughly 103 history students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the history degree program at University of Chicago earn $9,879 above the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in history from University of ChicagoDuke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.
There were roughly 61 history students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the history major at Duke University make $14,624 more than the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in history from Duke UniversityNotre Dame is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame. This university ranks 1st out of 42 colleges for overall quality in the state of Indiana.
There were approximately 48 history students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent year we have data available. Those history students who get their degree from University of Notre Dame earn $16,972 more than the average history grad.
More information about a degree in history from University of Notre DameLocated in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #19 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Vanderbilt is a great university overall.
There were approximately 73 history students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent year we have data available. Those history students who get their degree from Vanderbilt University receive $9,991 more than the average history grad.
More information about a degree in history from Vanderbilt UniversityGeorgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington. A Best Colleges rank of #15 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Georgetown is a great university overall.
There were about 76 history students who graduated with this degree at Georgetown in the most recent data year. History degree recipients from Georgetown University receive an earnings boost of approximately $16,224 over the typical earnings of history majors.
More information about a degree in history from Georgetown UniversityColumbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.
There were roughly 218 history students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the history major at Columbia University in the City of New York make $11,466 above the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in history from Columbia University in the City of New YorkBrown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Providence. This university ranks 1st out of 9 colleges for overall quality in the state of Rhode Island.
There were approximately 91 history students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the history degree program at Brown University earn $12,117 above the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in history from Brown UniversityLocated in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were roughly 82 history students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the history degree program at Northwestern University get $8,524 above the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in history from Northwestern UniversityNYU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York. This university ranks 4th out of 142 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were about 141 history students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent year we have data available. Those history students who get their degree from New York University make $15,523 more than the standard history student.
More information about a degree in history from New York UniversityLocated in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were about 90 history students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. After graduating, history degree recipients usually make around $29,963 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in history from University of Southern CaliforniaLocated in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were about 159 history students who graduated with this degree at University of Virginia in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the history degree program at University of Virginia - Main Campus make $8,423 above the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in history from University of Virginia - Main CampusUIUC is a very large public university located in the small city of Champaign. This university ranks 3rd out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 117 history students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Those history students who get their degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign receive $9,015 more than the average history graduate.
More information about a degree in history from University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignLocated in the suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were approximately 43 history students who graduated with this degree at Tufts in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the history program at Tufts University get $16,776 more than the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in history from Tufts UniversityEmory is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Atlanta. This university ranks 2nd out of 68 colleges for overall quality in the state of Georgia.
There were approximately 47 history students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent year we have data available. Those history students who get their degree from Emory University receive $6,819 more than the average history grad.
More information about a degree in history from Emory UniversityUW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the city of Madison. This university ranks 1st out of 46 colleges for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.
There were approximately 154 history students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, history degree recipients usually make about $28,843 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a degree in history from University of Wisconsin - MadisonLocated in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.
There were approximately 160 history students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the history program report average early career wages of $31,870.
More information about a degree in history from University of Michigan - Ann ArborUCLA is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles. This university ranks 5th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 344 history students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the history program make about $25,829 in their early career salary.
More information about a degree in history from University of California - Los AngelesLocated in the town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population. This college ranks 1st out of 17 colleges for overall quality in the state of New Hampshire.
There were about 59 history students who graduated with this degree at Dartmouth in the most recent data year. Those history students who get their degree from Dartmouth College make $12,218 more than the standard history grad.
More information about a degree in history from Dartmouth CollegeLocated in the small city of Chestnut Hill, Boston College is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population. This college ranks 8th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were approximately 91 history students who graduated with this degree at Boston College in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the history program at Boston College get $16,902 above the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in history from Boston CollegeLocated in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 8 schools for overall quality in the state of District of Columbia.
There were approximately 78 history students who graduated with this degree at GWU in the most recent year we have data available. Those history students who get their degree from George Washington University make $11,701 more than the typical history student.
More information about a degree in history from George Washington UniversityLocated in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were about 149 history students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the history program earn an average of $31,678 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a degree in history from University of California - Berkeley