<p>I'm interested in studying History, specifically Medieval Europe, but I can't seem to find many schools that have especially good European history progams. I'm looking to go to college in my home state of Indiana, but I'm not too opposed to going out of state if it means a better chance of getting a job. Does anybody know any good colleges for my chosen field?</p>
<p>Indiana University (Bloomington) has a very good history department. As to getting a job - as you probably know history is a liberal arts field that doesn’t directly prepare you for any job, unless you want to teach.</p>
<p>Notre Dame is another obvious option, if you have the stats to get in.</p>
<p>I would go with Indiana University mainly because a history degree doesnt usually lead to a high paying job and that would make up for out of state tution.</p>
<p>^History could lead to a very high-paying job. A history major could go on to do almost anything–law school, medical school, business, or whatever.</p>
<p>If OP went to graduate school, yes but if not, it doesnt lead to much anywhere.</p>
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Seconded. Notre Dame has far and away the best offerings in medieval studies in the US and is a strong contender (along with Toronto) for the best in North America. </p>
<p>Indiana U would be cheaper without substantial financial aid at ND, however, and it is obviously more than sufficient for an undergraduate’s needs.</p>
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History majors are hired every day, many of them doing rather well for themselves. Avoiding a large amount of debt is prudent, but that is true for any major.</p>
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<p>However, it does not have much in the way of major-specific well-paid job options, unlike some other majors. A history major would be well advised to be aggressive about seeking jobs and internships, and be very frugal to minimize cost and debt, because s/he will be facing a lot of competition from graduates in a lot of other majors (and from other history majors for the few history-specific jobs like history teacher, history museum curator, etc.).</p>
<p>Most good colleges have good history departments. They may not have specific strengths in medieval history, but college is for breadth; graduate school is for depth and specialization.</p>
<p>Indiana University, which has a top-rated history department, does seem to have both undergrad and grad-level offerings in medieval history, as well as faculty members working on that: [Medieval</a> History: Graduate Programs: Department of History: Indiana University](<a href=“Indiana University Bloomington”>Indiana University Bloomington). There’s also a minor in medieval studies and a Medieval Studies Institute. It seems like an excellent choice for an IN student who wants to major in history.</p>
<p>Purdue is also a good choice; their history course listings can be found here: [Course</a> Descriptions - History : College of Liberal Arts : Purdue University](<a href=“http://www.cla.purdue.edu/history/courses/list.html]Course”>http://www.cla.purdue.edu/history/courses/list.html). They have quite a few courses in medieval history and the opportunity to take graduate level classes at a solid history grad program. Purdue also has an undergraduate major in medieval and Renaissance studies, which cuts across English, languages & cultures, history, philosophy, political science, and the arts.</p>
<p>So both of the flagship public universities in Indiana are excellent choices for a history major interested in medieval European history. They will also likely be low-cost, which is a good choice for any major.</p>
<p>Some have already suggested Notre Dame, which has a Medieval Studies major in addition to a regular history major and has very strong offerings in medieval European history. It also has a Medieval Institute.</p>
<p>I perused the course offerings of small LACs in Indiana like Earlham and DePauw. I love LACs and I went to one, but one known weakness is a smaller diversity of classes. It’s much harder to specialize there, so those colleges didn’t have the wider range of classes in medieval history that IU, Purdue, and Notre Dame had. However, they did have some, and you would get a good solid broad historical education at either of those colleges. Honestly, though, I feel that if your real interest is in medieval history, it’d be better to pay in-state tuition at Indiana U or Purdue and get a world-class education in your chosen field than pay big bucks at Earlham or DePauw for less of what you want.</p>
<p>However, it does not have much in the way of major-specific well-paid job options, unlike some other majors. A history major would be well advised to be aggressive about seeking jobs and internships, and be very frugal to minimize cost and debt, because s/he will be facing a lot of competition from graduates in a lot of other majors (and from other history majors for the few history-specific jobs like history teacher, history museum curator, etc.).</p>
<p>That’s true of any major, though. Contrary to popular belief, even engineering majors don’t just walk out of college with no kind of prior experience and get a job. Out of curiosity, I Googled employment rates by major and many of the surveys don’t put history and engineering that far apart - engineering has an unemployment rate of about 7.5% and the humanities have an unemployment rate of about 9.4% (from a Georgetown University study on majors). I don’t even know if that difference is statistically significant, but that means that more than 90% of humanities majors are employed. Also, some majors with “major-specific” job options are also bad bets nowadays - architecture is a well-paid field for those who can make it, but the unemployment rate for those majors is about 13%. Interestingly enough, history has made some of the best and worst major lists.</p>
<p>Every college student - regardless of their major - needs to aggressively pursue internships and training opportunities. It’s a hard job market out there.</p>
<p>Here are some career surveys from colleges describing how their recent graduates are doing:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys.html</a></p>
<p>Note that there is considerable variation by major, and some majors tend to have a lot of graduates going into specific types of major-specific jobs that are not available to graduates from other majors (e.g. engineering jobs for engineering graduates, actuarial jobs for statistics graduates). Of course, general economic conditions affect all graduates, and industry cycles affect those in majors with major-specific opportunities in those industries (architecture and civil engineering are victims of the real-estate-crash-driven current downturn).</p>
<p>Im gonna throw a bump in for my school, Gettysburg College. Not just because it has a strong History program, and not just in US history-- but because one of my friends who went here recently got accepted into Utoronto for a PHD in medieval history.</p>
<p>Knox College has a web page listing what kinds of careers some of their History alumni have gone on to. 30% went into business, 25% into teaching, about 15% into law. The complete list is here: [Alumni</a> in History | Knox College](<a href=“http://www.knox.edu/academics/courses-of-study/history/alumni-in-history.html]Alumni”>http://www.knox.edu/academics/courses-of-study/history/alumni-in-history.html)</p>