Experiential Learning

History students have undertaken a wide array of local and national internships, which reflects the diverse career possibilities for History majors. Internships invariably lead to personal growth, a stronger resume and broader professional network, and sometimes job offers.

Our faculty strongly encourages all students to consider doing at least one internship, and work proactively with the Career and Professional Development staff to help students find the best internship or externship for them.

In addition to research in regular courses, every year some History majors undertake substantial independent research projects, under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Students usually do this through the Summer Fellows program, the Honors program, or, more rarely, by taking HIST-400W.

Additionally, History faculty have begun bringing students directly into their own scholarly work as research assistants. Collaborating with faculty on professional research is just one more unique opportunity our students enjoy.

Ursinus College has a particularly strong Education Department and teaching certification program. Our majors who complete teaching certification may choose to complete a double major with Educational Studies, and they are carefully placed for student teaching with caring, experienced mentors in our best local schools.

Many History majors choose to study abroad in order to deepen their understanding of global cultures and global history. Faculty strongly encourage History majors to think big and work closely with International Education staff when planning study abroad.

Each year History students attend and present at the regional Phi Alpha Theta conference; frequently their work earns conference awards. Faculty encourage students to attend and present at other annual conferences as well, including the Undergraduate Conference in Medieval and Early Modern Studies, the Student Research Conference of the Greater Philadelphia Women’s Studies Consortium, and the Greater Philadelphia Undergraduate Conference in Asian Studies.

When students produce exceptional works of scholarship, faculty actively encourage them to boost their resumés by pursuing publication in an undergraduate journal. Opportunities for publication are highly competitive, but several Ursinus history students have been published in recent years.

Phi Alpha Theta is a nationwide history honor society with over 900 chapters and 350,000 members. Each spring the UC History faculty nominate a select group of exceptional history majors in their third or fourth year of study for membership in the Ursinus Alpha Gamma Phi chapter of Phi Alpha Theta. A new set of student officers are elected by the UC chapter annually, and graduating Phi Alpha Theta members are eligible for departmental graduation awards.

Phi Beta Kappa is the nation’s oldest academic honor society, and Ursinus is proud to host the Tau Chapter of Pennsylvania. Every year the History department nominates students for membership and some of the History faculty are themselves members.