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Federated Department of History

The history faculty at Rutgers University-Newark and NJIT are joined in a single federated department that offers an integrated curriculum and joint undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

The Federated Department of History offers its students a wide range of excellent resources for the study of history, including:

  • an outstanding faculty with nationally and internationally known scholars and teachers
  • a broad selection of undergraduate and graduate course offerings, with extensive coverage of major historical periods and regions, from the ancient Middle East to contemporary America, Africa, and China, and a unique undergraduate and graduate program in the history of Technology, Environment and Medicine/Health
  • opportunities for original research and writing, with particular emphasis upon the craft of historical writing
  • internships with the New Jersey Historical Society, the Newark Museum, and other local cultural institutions
  • eligibility to participate in teacher certification programs offered by the Education Department at Rutgers University, Newark
  • opportunities to share in the resources and facilities of both institutions, including the extensive library holdings of the Rutgers University system

How You Will Learn

The Department's undergraduate mission is twofold: to introduce students to the breadth and depth of the human experience by a comparative study of past and contemporary societies and cultures, and to develop their ability to conduct research, analyze and assess evidence, and articulate sound conclusions both orally and in writing.

The Department is also committed to a curriculum that explores the diversity resulting from such factors as ethnic, social, and gender differences. All our students thus acquire knowledge and skills that help them develop as informed, engaged, and thoughtful citizens. The study of history plays therefore a distinctive and central role in any strong liberal arts curriculum. History majors in particular will be prepared to pursue successful careers as teachers, academics, lawyers, civil servants, journalists, and of course historians in private or public agencies.

The mission of all our graduate programs is to prepare students to engage in the most rigorous historical inquiry and debate. All our students learn how to design and conduct archival research and hone their skills in responding to historiographical debate in both academic and public contexts. MAT students also pursue skills that will translate into pedagogical success in the classroom.

Accordion Content

  • The major in history sets students up for a wide range of careers. Pursuing this major gives students a broad grasp of world history and the cultural backgrounds of many segments of contemporary society. In addition to this content knowledge, students learn to read critically, think analytically, and write clearly. Students learn methods of historical research and exposition that may be applied not only by the professional historian but also by those interested in pursuing careers in government, education, law, the media, business, and other fields.

    Key Skills Developed by the History Major

    • Ability to read, critically evaluate, and interpret the academic work of scholars and a wide range of historical source material, including political tracts, laws, diaries and personal papers, speeches, reports, letters, journalistic projection, art, literature, and film
    • Analysis of long-term social, political, and economic trends and their effect on current affairs
    • Data collection and data analysis
    • Critical evaluation of evidence and pattern recognition
    • Organization of information into a substantial report or paper
    • Analysis of causal factors, political structures, social and motivational influences, and decision-making processes

    Employment

    Some of the jobs currently held by our majors include:

    • High School and Middle School Social Studies Teachers in many schools, including in Orange Township, Foundation Academy, Uncommon Schools, Washington Middle School, North Bergen High School
    • Professors at Brown University, Oakland University, Borough of Manhattan Community College, Bergen Community College, Essex County College
    • Attorneys at several firms, including Lowenstein Sandler, Freeman & Bass, Wanda M. Akin & Associates, The Law Office of Piotr Rapciewicz
    • Archival Assistant, Newark Public Library
    • Business Analyst, IMS Health
    • Organizer, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance
    • Financial Marketing Professional, Prudential
    • Systems Analyst, RLM Apparel Software Systems
    • Academic Program Manager, Georgia Institute of Technology
    • Township Clerk, Township of Teaneck
    • Program Director, Move for Hunger
    • Family Service Specialist, Child Welfare Services
    • Logistics Analyst, LG Electronics
    • Hedge Fund Operations, U.S. Bank
    • Senior Library Assistant, Montclair Public Library
    • Spanish Language Interpreter, New York City Housing Authority

    Internships

    In recent years, our majors have interned with the following employers:

    • Bergen County Department of Parks: Division of Cultural and Historical Affairs
    • Boys and Girls Club of Newark
    • Denville Historical Society
    • Department of Education: Office of Charter Schools
    • Ellis Island
    • Essex County Prosecutor’s Office
    • Gunn Historical Museum
    • Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites
    • Jersey City Museum
    • Macculloch Hall Historical Museum
    • Margaret Sanger Papers Project, New York University
    • Meadowlands Museum
    • Montclair Art Museum
    • Morristown National Historic Park (Archival Ambassadors Program)
    • Newark Archives
    • Newark Museum
    • New Jersey Historical Society
    • New York Public Library
    • North Jersey History and Genealogy Center
    • Queer Newark Oral History Project
    • Passaic County Historical Society
    • Vivat International (NGO with consultative status at the UN)

    Our program also sponsors an Archaeological Field School in Italy, through which students can gain hands-on experience while earning credit toward the major over the summer.

    Graduate and Professional Schools

    Some of the prestigious graduate and professional schools that our majors have recently attended include:

    • Columbia University
    • Duke University
    • Lehigh University
    • New York University
    • Rutgers University School of Law
    • Rutgers-New Brunswick
    • Stony Brook University
    • Temple University
    • University of New Mexico
    • University of Pennsylvania
    • University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
    • Yale University

    Additional Resources

    • The Career Development Center (CDC) is staffed by professional career counselors, who are available to administer vocational assessments and discuss results; offer targeted career workshops, alumni/employer career panels; resume critique, and interviewing strategies.
    • "History Is Not a Useless Major"
      Paul B. Sturtevant's essay "History Is Not a Useless Major: Fighting Myths with Data" in Perspectives on History offers data on the career paths of history majors.

    In preparation for a career in business, or for life generally, I can think of no more suitable academic major than history. History is the study of people, what they do, and why they do it: the perspective that's necessary for future success.

    Brian Hamilton
    Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Sageworks, Inc.

  • History majors at Rutgers-Newark and NJIT are eligible to apply for admission to the teacher certification program in social studies offered by the Department of Education at Rutgers-Newark. Students accepted into this program use free elective slots in their curriculum to take appropriate courses in education, as listed in the Rutgers-Newark undergraduate catalog. Upon satisfactory completion of the program, they are qualified to apply for state certification in social studies.

    For more information, visit the Urban Education website.

  • Rutgers history majors and minors can easily enroll in the history courses offered at NJIT (space permitting). Simply fill out the NJIT Cross Registration Application form available on the Registrar's exchange page and return it electronically to history@newark.rutgers.edu.

    Visit njit.edu/registrar/schedules to access NJIT's course schedule.

Message from the Chair

The Federated Department of History at Rutgers-Newark and NJIT includes 25 and 9 members respectively. As a Federated Department, students from Rutgers and NJIT are able to take history courses offered on both campuses during the academic year as well as during the two summer terms. {Read More}

Kornel Chang
Associate Professor and Chair of History

Kornel Chang headshot

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