Everything and Everyone has a History
graduates walking into ceremony
94% of recent Illinois history majors secure first destination
An annual study of recent alumni reports 94% of history majors who graduated during the most recent 2022-2023 period secured their first destination within six months of commencement.   Of that figure, 56% of new graduates found employment, and 38% sought further education such as...
Sundiata Cha-Jua
Why is the reparations movement gaining momentum in the U.S.? An interview with Professor Sundiata Cha-Jua
The call for reparations for people of African descent to compensate for slavery has a long history, but it has been discussed more broadly and gained support in recent years. Illinois, California and New York have established commissions to examine how to address the repercussions of slavery and...
front cover featuring Rosalyn LaPier
Read the Spring 2024 issue of History @ Illinois
The Spring 2024 issue of History @ Illinois is here!  "It’s difficult to believe that another year has flown by. As I enter the final semester of my five-year term as chair, I feel energized about the department, our faculty, and our students. This year we welcomed a new faculty member, a...
image of Laura
Professor Laura Goffman joins the Department of History
The History Department is delighted to welcome Professor Laura Goffman, our new Assistant Professor in Middle Eastern history. Goffman is an historian of public health, empire, and social change in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula. She is currently completing her first book, "Disorder and...
image of Stefan
Stefan Djordjevic Awarded LAS Award For Excellence in Undergraduate Advising
The Department of History is proud to announce that Stefan Djordjevic, associate director of undergraduate studies and director of advising, has been awarded the LAS Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising.  Out of the 14 recipients of the...
DiCianni
'Illinois laid the foundation for the rest of my life'
Matthew DiCianni (BA, ’07, history and ...

Chart Your Own Path

Our program empowers you to explore your interests and passions within history and gives you the flexibility to pair the major with advanced language study, internships, study abroad experiences, undergraduate research, and community engagement.  

History Major History Minor

image of musicians

Black Music

From African spirituals to Beyoncé, you’ll answer “What really is Black music?”

HIST 104

 image of JFK in a crowd

The President and the People

A chronological survey of the US presidency that examines individual presidents and the times in which they lived.

HIST 293

 image of the world

A History of Everything: The Big Bang to Big Data

Explore different scales of time and place human history in larger geological, ecological, and cosmic contexts.

HIST 103

 image of people protesting

Constructing Race in America

Explores the complex and intricate pursuit of multiracial and multicultural democracy.

HIST 281

 image of woman pointing

Madness and Modern Society

Learn how the diagnosis and treatment of "madness" in its many forms has been shaped through the interaction of social, political, economic, and cultural factors from roughly 1750 to the 1990s.

HIST 236

Conduct Your Own Research

Research is embedded in the history curriculum with an emphasis on transforming students from consumers of history to critical producers of it. All students have access to the resources of the second largest university library in the country. 

Learn more

Calendar

View all events
Sara Temple

Alumni Spotlight: Sara Temple (2019)

A Bronze Tablet scholar, Centenary and Burkhardt prize-winner and president of the Penny Dreadful Players during her time at Illinois, Sara is excited to begin her teaching career in secondary education and infuse her students with her infectious love and passion for history and theater.