Making a Case for History

SCU graduate Rob Wohl ‘23 presented his award-winning research on Haiti, which was inspired by Prof. Naomi Andrews's Haitian revolution course that he took at Santa Clara.

What can you do with a history degree?

That's the $82,125 (tuition, room, and board question for Santa Clara University students majoring in history.

In a world increasingly dominated by STEM and business, an education in history and the other humanities has become less desirable. The number of history majors in American colleges is plummeting, according to a 2023 report by the American Historical Association. 

That’s why one of the themes of this year’s annual AHA conference in San Francisco in early January — the largest gathering of historians in the U.S. — was career development and exploring creative resources for journalism educators. 

Samuel Cao, a junior history major, was one of several SCU students and faculty members at the conference. He participated in the undergraduate panel, presenting his research on the history of ADA compliance in California following World War II. His desire to help a disabled family member drew him to the topic, and he spent hours digging up old legal cases and documenting legislation buried in court archives. It was great training for law school, where he is headed after graduation.

During a poster session, 2023 SCU graduate Rob Wohl presented his award-winning research on Haiti, which was inspired by Prof. Naomi Andrews's Haitian revolution course that he took at Santa Clara. He hopes to attend graduate school in the United Kingdom to continue his research in intellectual history.

While SCU students and recent alums are just getting started in the field, they were not the youngest participants. A group of high school students spearheading a new A.P. social studies course in U.S. women's history offered a glimpse of the future.

Samantha Pyle, a junior at Sacred Heart Preparatory High School in Atherton, talked about her dissatisfaction with the current AP U.S, History (APUSH) course, which covered only three women throughout the class. Samantha and a handful of teachers at Sacred Heart are hoping to pilot the program over five years and are already in talks with the College Board about rolling out the course nationally. 

"We found that a lot of students do want to take this class,” she said. “And if students want to take it, schools will adopt it." 

The conference is a reminder that even though the number of students with a formal history degree may be dwindling, that doesn’t mean history is no longer valued. The field offers obvious pathways into teaching, law, and politics. And the "historical crisis" in declining enrollment has not stopped current students from proving that an education in history can adapt to the ever-changing global landscape. It’s clear that students want to engage in historical learning, even if they may not major in history.