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If you are fascinated by life in past times and places, you'll love the study of history at Bryn Athyn. Not only is our Philadelphia location ideal for exploring key events and ideas that shaped the United States, the on-campus Glencairn Museum's collection of religious art will help you examine the history of cultures around the world.

Develop Important Skills

As a history major, you will make connections between the past and the present by exploring the complex web of causes and effects in history. You'll develop your understanding and appreciation for history as well as your skills in research, analysis, oral presentation, writing, and in the ability to evaluate evidence and conflicting interpretations.

Career Fields for History Majors

• Education
• Law
• Business
• Public Service/Government
• Communications
• Archive and Museum Work
• Historic Preservation

Our students often use their history major as a comprehensive preparation for graduate or professional school.

Combining History with Education

We offer a certification program in history that prepares you to become a high school history teacher. The program combines teacher preparation with solid instruction in history, culminating in a semester of student teaching. We partner with nearby Holy Family University for certification training for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

A Range of Subjects

Studying history will help you understand, interpret, and critique historical events and movements that shaped and altered civilizations. Under the guidance of passionate professors, you'll explore the nature of human experience in a wide variety of cultures and time periods, ranging from the Ancient Near East and the Classical World, to colonial America, eighteenth century Europe, and the history of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.

Religion Throughout History

Along with your professors, you'll investigate social, political, economic, intellectual and, above all, religious facets of human history. We believe that studying a society's religious climate and its relationship with other aspects of life is important for a deeper understanding of human existence.

Integration of Art and Architecture

Increasingly, historians are using material culture as one means of understanding past societies. In addition to learning to critically examine textual evidence, you will learn how to analyze art, architecture, and artifacts as vital sources of historical evidence. Because of this aspect of the discipline, many history courses take place in Glencairn Museum, located on campus, and make use of its collections.

Related Links:

• History Faculty