WHAT Conference 2024 Call for Papers

"Frontiers in History" World History Association of Texas Call for Proposals with QR code

If interested in submitting a proposal to the World History Association of Texas' Annual Conference, held on April 6, 2024, please scan the QR code above or click on this link to learn more!

History is “what happened” — but as a History major, you’ll learn to think critically about those events, sort fact from myth, and understand what the past can teach us about building a better future.

Major Roadmap

Explore your options using the History Major Guide — classes, internships, research and study abroad. Find what interests you, discover what you love, and create a major experience that jumpstarts your future. 

You’ll develop employer-valued skills in analytical thinking, communication and working across cultures. Writing, teaching, law, museum curation, international business and diplomacy, and government all draw on the skills you’ll develop.

Take courses about the civil rights movement. Wars of the 20th century. Chinese history. Radicals and reformers. Intern with an Austin museum, archive or research library. You’ll learn critical and creative thinking and the importance of becoming an engaged citizen and making your voice heard. Whatever your career path, as a History major, you’ll understand the big picture.

What do our graduates do?

History majors go on to a variety of careers and graduate schools from St. Edward’s. Here’s a sample.

  • Archivist for the Texas State Archives and Library Commission
  • City attorney
  • Graduate student in the Master of Arts in Museum Studies at George Washington University
  • English Teaching Assistant in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program
  • Law students at The University of Texas at Austin and Duke University
  • Teach for America corps member

8 Reasons to Choose St. Edward’s

St. Edward’s is the No. 8 Best Regional University in the West in the 2020 U.S. News & World Report college ranking. In honor of our ranking, we share the top reasons to become a Hilltopper.

The Classroom and Beyond

As a History major, you’ll learn about particular places, cultures and eras of the past, but you’ll also learn research, analysis and communication skills and develop a strong sense of ethics about how information is used. At St. Edward’s, you’ll have multiple opportunities to get into the field and use Austin’s amazing archival resources to conduct your original research. 

Experiential Education

Introduction to Historical Methods and Senior Research Seminar both invite students to use local archives, such as those at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, the Briscoe Center for American History, the Texas State Archives and the Austin History Center. In these classes, you’ll engage with materials produced by the people in the era you are studying. You’ll learn how to use original documents from this time period to inform your own historical projects.

SEU to You

By studying periods of changes from the past, we have tools that can help us make sense of our own age, in which change is happening before our eyes. Students in Professor of History Christie Wilson’s Fall 2020 course study the ancient world through the 20th century to understand the complex ways that societies are transformed.

Research

As you discover which topics intrigue you most, you’ll have the chance to conduct research supervised by one of your professors to present at the St. Edward’s Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression or at a professional conference.