College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools

389 Colleges in the United States
25,656 Bachelor's Degrees
$29,648 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #20 in popularity, history is one of the most sought-after bachelor's degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 389 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for history students pursuing a bachelor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 25,656 bachelor's degrees in history to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great History School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools The history bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality history program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for history students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More History Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.


 

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study History in the United States

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in history. 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 for a Bachelor's in History

1
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
118 Annual Graduates
$50,411 Median Starting Salary
$12,721 Median Student Debt

Harvard University is a good decision for students interested in a bachelor's degree in history. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Cambridge.

History bachelor's degree recipients from Harvard University earn a boost of about $20,763 over the typical income of history majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Harvard University

2
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, CT
100 Annual Graduates
$52,357 Median Starting Salary
$12,000 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat Yale University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in history. Located in the city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

History bachelor's degree recipients from Yale University get an earnings boost of around $22,709 over the average earnings of history majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Yale University

3
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
53 Annual Graduates
$50,380 Median Starting Salary
$11,000 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat University of Pennsylvania if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in history. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Those history students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Pennsylvania receive $20,732 more than the average history grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of Pennsylvania

4
Princeton crest
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ

It's difficult to beat Princeton University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in history. Princeton is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Princeton.

Those history students who get their bachelor's degree from Princeton University earn $21,127 more than the average history student.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Princeton University

5

Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the history major at University of Chicago earn $10,698 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of Chicago

6
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
46 Annual Graduates
$45,091 Median Starting Salary
$13,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Those history students who get their bachelor's degree from Duke University earn $15,443 more than the average history grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Duke University

7
36 Annual Graduates
$47,439 Median Starting Salary
$19,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

History bachelor's degree recipients from University of Notre Dame get an earnings boost of around $17,791 above the average earnings of history majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of Notre Dame

8
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
62 Annual Graduates
$40,458 Median Starting Salary
$15,000 Median Student Debt

Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Nashville.

Those history students who get their bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University receive $10,810 more than the typical history graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Vanderbilt University

9
133 Annual Graduates
$40,546 Median Starting Salary
$22,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

History bachelor's degree recipients from Columbia University in the City of New York receive an earnings boost of around $10,898 above the average earnings of history majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Columbia University in the City of New York

10
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC
43 Annual Graduates
$46,691 Median Starting Salary
$16,640 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Those history students who get their bachelor's degree from Georgetown University make $17,043 more than the typical history graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Georgetown University

11
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
68 Annual Graduates
$42,584 Median Starting Salary
$13,491 Median Student Debt

Located in the midsize city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

History bachelor's degree recipients from Brown University get an earnings boost of about $12,936 above the typical income of history majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Brown University

12
67 Annual Graduates
$38,991 Median Starting Salary
$15,917 Median Student Debt

Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston.

History bachelor's degree recipients from Northwestern University get an earnings boost of around $9,343 over the typical income of history graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Northwestern University

13
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
79 Annual Graduates
$45,990 Median Starting Salary
$19,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Those history students who get their bachelor's degree from New York University earn $16,342 more than the typical history student.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from New York University

14
78 Annual Graduates
$29,963 Median Starting Salary
$12,638 Median Student Debt

USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles.

After graduation, history bachelor's recipients usually make around $29,963 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of Southern California

15
137 Annual Graduates
$38,890 Median Starting Salary
$19,352 Median Student Debt

University of Virginia is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Charlottesville.

Those history students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Virginia - Main Campus make $9,242 more than the average history graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of Virginia - Main Campus

16
116 Annual Graduates
$28,843 Median Starting Salary
$20,909 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the history program report average early career earnings of $28,843.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of Wisconsin - Madison

17
97 Annual Graduates
$39,482 Median Starting Salary
$19,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those history students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign receive $9,834 more than the average history graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

18
Emory crest
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
38 Annual Graduates
$37,286 Median Starting Salary
$21,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Those history students who get their bachelor's degree from Emory University make $7,638 more than the standard history grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Emory University

19
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, MA
37 Annual Graduates
$47,243 Median Starting Salary
$15,750 Median Student Debt

Tufts is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Medford.

Those history students who get their bachelor's degree from Tufts University make $17,595 more than the standard history graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Tufts University

20
142 Annual Graduates
$31,870 Median Starting Salary
$19,494 Median Student Debt

U-M is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.

History bachelor's degree recipients from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn a boost of approximately $2,222 over the average income of history majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

21
319 Annual Graduates
$25,829 Median Starting Salary
$14,277 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the history program report average early career earnings of $25,829.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of California - Los Angeles

22
Boston College crest
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA
81 Annual Graduates
$45,345 Median Starting Salary
$19,000 Median Student Debt

Boston College is a large private not-for-profit college located in the small city of Chestnut Hill.

Bachelor's recipients from the history major at Boston College make $15,697 more than the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Boston College

23
Dartmouth crest
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH
59 Annual Graduates
$42,685 Median Starting Salary
$19,000 Median Student Debt

Dartmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the remote town of Hanover.

Those history students who get their bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College make $13,037 more than the standard history graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from Dartmouth College

24
66 Annual Graduates
$42,168 Median Starting Salary
$23,250 Median Student Debt

GWU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington.

Those history students who get their bachelor's degree from George Washington University make $12,520 more than the standard history grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from George Washington University

25
131 Annual Graduates
$31,678 Median Starting Salary
$13,068 Median Student Debt

UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the city of Berkeley.

History bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley earn a boost of about $2,030 over the typical earnings of history graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in history from University of California - Berkeley

Rest of the Top Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools

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31
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
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35
William & Mary crest
William & Mary
Williamsburg, VA
36
37
38
Amherst crest
Amherst College
Amherst, MA
39
40
41
Williams crest
Williams College
Williamstown, MA

42

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44
45
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
46
Wake Forest University crest
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC
47
48
U of U crest
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
49
50

Remaining Award Winners

This list represents the rest of the schools awarded a Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 389 different United States history schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 Iowa State University Ames, IA
52 Barnard College New York, NY
53 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
54 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
55 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL
56 Middlebury College Middlebury, VT
57 Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ
58 Clemson University Clemson, SC

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for History students that almost earned our Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
59 Illinois State University Normal, IL
60 Gonzaga University Spokane, WA
61 University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC
62 The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL
63 Brandeis University Waltham, MA
64 Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA
65 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC
66 University of Georgia Athens, GA
67 University of California - Riverside Riverside, CA
68 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
69 University of California - Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA
70 Kenyon College Gambier, OH
71 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA
72 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
73 Centre College Danville, KY
74 Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN
75 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
76 University of Connecticut Storrs, CT
77 Citadel Military College of South Carolina Charleston, SC

History by Region

View the Best History Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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One of 0 majors within the History area of study, History has other similar majors worth exploring.

History Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General History 24,961
Other History 375
History and Philosophy of Science and Technology 123
Military History 98
Public/Applied History 48
American History (United States) 36
European History 14
Asian History 1

Notes and References

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