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Major · Education

Single-subject licensure for the secondary history classroom

History Teacher Education prepares you to teach history specifically at the middle and high school level, ending in supervised student teaching that feeds a state-issued single-subject endorsement. About 591 degrees are awarded each year across 191 colleges, with bachelor's completers reporting $51,376 in median five-year earnings.

Schools offering
191
Annual completions
591
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$50k

About this major

History Teacher Education prepares you to teach history specifically — not general social studies, but history as a single subject — to students at the middle and high school level, with the curriculum designed around state teaching licensure. The program splits between deep content coursework in U.S. history, world history, and historiography, and education courses covering adolescent development, classroom management, curriculum design, literacy across content areas, and methods specific to teaching history at the secondary level. A supervised student-teaching placement, typically a full semester in a real middle or high school classroom under a mentor teacher, is the capstone and the gate to your initial license.

The major fits students who already know they want to teach and have a genuine interest in history rather than a general interest in 'social studies' subjects. The sibling major — Social Studies Teacher Education (CIP 13.1318) — spreads coursework across history, civics, economics, and geography, while History Teacher Education concentrates on history with deeper content depth. That depth is the selling point for AP U.S. History, AP World, IB History, and dual-enrollment courses, and it's the structural reason many of the same programs offer or strongly encourage adding a social studies endorsement on top of the history major: single-subject history alone narrows your hireable footprint.

On the destinations side, 591 degrees are awarded annually across 191 colleges, with bachelor's completers reporting about $51,376 in median five-year earnings. The standard career path leads to secondary school teaching ($64,580 BLS median, -1.6% projected growth) or middle school teaching ($62,970 median, -2% growth). Both list a bachelor's as the typical entry credential, which means the degree itself — paired with the state license it qualifies you for — is the working credential. The two postsecondary options in the BLS data (education teachers at $72,090 and history teachers at $81,500) require doctoral or professional degrees and represent a longer-term ramp through graduate school rather than a direct destination from this major.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education $65k -1.6% Bachelor's degree
Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education $63k -2.0% Bachelor's degree
Education teachers, postsecondary $72k +2.1% Doctoral or professional degree
History teachers, postsecondary $82k -0.2% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$50k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$34k

Bachelor's

$51k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if history is genuinely your subject — not just a college interest but the thing you'd want to spend years teaching from the same textbooks — if you have already spent time around classrooms as a tutor, coach, or camp counselor and found you liked the rhythm, if you can hold attention in a room for a full class period, if the $42,000–50,000 entry pay band feels workable in the part of the country where you plan to live, and if the structure of a school year (fixed schedule, summers off, defined progression on a salary schedule) appeals to you. The major also fits well if you're targeting a specific state's teacher-prep pipeline — Utah, Georgia, North Carolina, and Arizona all show up in the top-completing programs and feed regional districts.

Think twice if your interest is in the academic study of history rather than teaching it; that path runs through a History, General major (CIP 54.0101) and a graduate program in the discipline rather than a teacher-prep track. Reconsider also if you can't see yourself doing classroom management with thirty teenagers at 7:45 AM — student teaching makes that reality concrete fast, and history isn't an inherently 'easier' subject to manage despite the cinematic stereotype. The -1.6% projected growth in secondary teaching combined with the smaller per-school footprint of history positions — most schools need only one or two history teachers — means you should plan to add a social studies endorsement, target rural and high-needs districts, or accept that religious-affiliated private schools and the dual-enrollment/community-college pipeline (often via an MA in history) may be your realistic landing spots. If a state with a master's-within-five-years rule (New York, Massachusetts) is part of your plan, factor that into your post-bachelor's roadmap from day one.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for History Teacher Education

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA 0 40 40
Appalachian State University Boone, NC 0 35 35
Utah Valley University Orem, UT 0 32 32
Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ 0 26 26
Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA 0 25 25
Brigham Young University Provo, UT 0 23 23
Brigham Young University-Idaho Rexburg, ID 0 22 22
University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL 0 20 20
Weber State University Ogden, UT 0 15 15
University of Central Oklahoma Edmond, OK 0 13 13
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

History, General

22,597 completions/yr

Physical Education Teaching and Coaching

4,787 completions/yr

Secondary Education and Teaching

4,057 completions/yr

Teacher Education, Multiple Levels

3,430 completions/yr

Music Teacher Education

3,229 completions/yr

Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education and Teaching

2,213 completions/yr

English/Language Arts Teacher Education

1,846 completions/yr

Social Studies Teacher Education

1,336 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do History Teacher Education majors actually study day-to-day?
Coursework splits between history content and pedagogy. You take U.S. history, world/global history, historiography, and a couple of geography or political science electives to build deep subject knowledge, then layer in adolescent development, classroom management, curriculum design, literacy across the content areas, and methods courses specific to teaching history at the secondary level. Most programs require a sequence of pre-student-teaching field placements, capped by one or two full semesters of supervised student teaching in a real middle or high school classroom under a mentor teacher. Unlike Social Studies Teacher Education (CIP 13.1318), which spreads coursework across history, civics, economics, and geography, History Teacher Education concentrates on a single subject with a deeper history requirement.
How does state teaching licensure actually work for a history teacher?
To teach in a U.S. public school you need a state-issued license, and history is treated as a single-subject endorsement at the secondary level. The standard package is a bachelor's from a state-approved education program, passing scores on the Praxis II content-area test (5081 Social Studies: Content Knowledge or 5941 Social Studies: Content and Interpretation, depending on state), the edTPA pedagogy assessment in many states, a background check, and any state-specific civics or constitutional knowledge exams. Programs designed for licensure are built around these requirements, so graduating from one means you walk out license-eligible in that state. Moving to another state usually means a reciprocity application — most states accept NASDTEC-compact transfers, but a few will require additional content tests or a master's within a window.
How is the job market for history teachers specifically?
Softer than for STEM or special education — noticeably so. The BLS projects -1.6% growth for secondary teachers and -2% for middle school teachers, and within those roles, history is one of the most crowded subject areas: most middle and high schools need only one or two history teachers, compared with several math, English, or science slots. Loan-forgiveness incentives like TEACH grants and federal teacher loan forgiveness skew toward STEM and special education for the same reason. To compete, many graduates pursue a dual endorsement in social studies or English, work in rural or high-needs districts where openings turn over faster, or look at private and religious-affiliated schools that hire outside the state-cert pipeline.
Should I add a social studies endorsement to be more hireable?
For most graduates, yes. A single history endorsement limits you to schools that have an unfilled history slot, which in many districts means waiting for a retirement. Adding a broader social studies endorsement (CIP 13.1318 territory — history, civics, economics, geography) lets you teach world cultures, government, economics, and U.S. history interchangeably, and most middle schools combine those subjects under one teacher anyway. The practical move at most programs is to take the dual-endorsement track from the start: a few extra political science, economics, and geography courses, plus a second Praxis II content test if your state requires one. That dual credential is what makes history teacher candidates competitive in suburban and small-district markets.
How much do history teachers actually earn, and where does the gap show up?
BLS lists $64,580 median for secondary teachers and $62,970 for middle school teachers, but those medians mix all experience levels and regions. Starting pay in most districts runs $42,000–50,000, with rural districts toward the low end and urban or wealthy suburban districts (Long Island, North Jersey, suburban DC, suburban Boston) crossing $60,000 in year one. Bachelor's-completer median earnings five years out for this CIP run about $51,376 — close to the BLS midpoint, which fits a steady-step salary schedule. The realistic ceiling is set by your district's salary schedule and whether you complete a master's: many union schedules add 15–25% over a career as you cross 'Master's plus 30,' 'Master's plus 60,' or doctorate columns.
Do I need a master's degree to teach history, or is a bachelor's enough?
A bachelor's is enough to start — BLS lists it as the typical entry credential for both secondary and middle school teachers. But several states require teachers to earn a master's within a defined window after initial licensure, including New York (within five years), New Jersey (per district contract in many cases), Massachusetts (within five years for the Professional license), and parts of Illinois and Connecticut. Many districts also pay on union salary schedules that bump you up a step once you complete a master's, so even where it isn't required, teachers often pursue one part-time after a few years on the job. A master's in history (rather than education) opens secondary, IB, AP-leadership, and dual-enrollment teaching, plus optional moves into community college teaching or department chair tracks down the line.
What can I do with this degree besides public school teaching?
The training opens several adjacent paths even if classroom teaching doesn't stick. Religious-affiliated private schools (Catholic dioceses, Christian schools, Jewish day schools) hire outside the state-cert pipeline and accept a content bachelor's plus pedagogy coursework. Museum education, historical site interpretation, civics nonprofits, instructional design, AP/IB curriculum work, edtech content roles, and test-prep companies all hire former teachers and education majors. Graduate work in history is a common pivot: a strong cohort of History Teacher Ed graduates ride the major into an MA in history, then community college teaching, private school history department roles, archives work, or secondary department-chair tracks. The related History, General major (CIP 54.0101, 22,597 completions) is the broader academic version.
Where are the strongest History Teacher Education programs?
The list skews toward state regional universities with established teacher-prep pipelines. Kennesaw State University (Georgia) graduates the largest cohort at 40 per year, followed by Appalachian State (35), Utah Valley University (32), Northern Arizona University (26), and Central Washington University (25). Brigham Young University (Provo) and BYU-Idaho appear in the top ten and feed Utah and LDS-network private schools. University of Illinois Chicago (20) is the only major urban research university in the top group. Geography matters less than for some majors because licensure is state-specific — you're generally best off in a program approved in the state where you plan to teach, and ideally one where graduates have a track record placing into the local district network.