SUNY Potdam

Internships

Undergraduates at SUNY Potsdam are encouraged to obtain extra experience in their chosen field by doing off-campus internships. Contact the Experiential Education Office at 315-267-2803. Examples of previous internships in which History students have participated include: 

What can I do with a history major?

One modern historian answered this hoary question in the following way. See Catherine Lavender's "What can I do with a History Major?" available at http://www.eiu.edu/~history/undergrad/career_opportunities.htm.

To get a taste of the kinds of opportunities in various fields of history, see the American Historical Association at http://www.historians.org/pubs/careers/index.htm.

Further information on skills expected of job candidates in public history are covered in Philip M. Kutz, "Public History Employers--What Do They Want?" at http://www.historians.org/Perspectives/Issues/2003/0309/0309aha6.cfm.

Opportunities in the Field

About half of the department’s majors also seek certification as teachers, primarily in secondary education. The remainder seek, and receive, a broad liberal arts education that prepares them for a variety of careers. Some SUNY Potsdam history alumni enter the workforce immediately after completing their degree or education. They work in a wide variety of jobs in corporations and government agencies. Others pursue professional graduate education in fields in the discipline, completing graduate school in history. Several who have earned advanced degrees in history work in museums or historical sites, preserving the artifacts of the past and presenting them to the public. Others teach in colleges and universities.