The Department of History at UMBC is committed to guiding students to develop critical and innovative thinking skills that will launch them into successful careers or exceptional preparation for professional schools and advanced graduate programs.UMBC History Alumni enjoy successful careers in business, government, education, law, public policy, and as entrepreneurs.
The UMBC Department of History offers an undergraduate major, minor, a minor in East Asian History, as well as the Master of Arts in Historical Studies. Undergraduates who have completed at least 60 credits may qualify for the Accelerated Bachelors/Masters Program. Graduate students interested in careers in historical sites, government agencies, museums, and other organizations may choose the Public History Track option in the M.A. program.
We urge all our students to engage in active learning experiences in the many museums, historical societies and government agencies in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. History internships may qualify for academic credit for both undergraduates and graduate students. We strongly believe that research and internships give students skills important for twenty-first century careers and preparation for graduate and professional schools. UMBC encourages students at both the undergraduate and graduate level to engage in research both inside and outside the classroom. History majors are frequent recipients of the university’s Undergraduate Research Awards and publish in the UMBC Review, an interdisciplinary undergraduate journal. Graduate students participate in the annual Graduate Student Conference each spring.
The award winning UMBC History Faculty are recipients of prestigious awards from a variety of research organizations including the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Guggenheim Foundation, the American Council of Learned Socieities, the National Science Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, and many others. The Department faculty have particular expertise in public history, policy history, early modern history, transnational history, the history of memory, the history of science, and teacher education.