Student Resources
Internships
The Department urges that every major undertake at least one internship experience during her college career.
A well-chosen internship (worth 1-4 hours academic credit) can help a student gain experience that will help clarify her career choices, impart professional skills, and allow her to establish invaluable connections for later employment.
As her career ideas begin to clarify, each major should consult with her departmental advisor to make a good choice among the many possibilities available in the rich surroundings of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and the Research Triangle Park.
We have recently placed interns at the Museum of History, the Duke Homestead Historic Site, the State Capitol, Legislature, and Supreme Court, several bilingual nonprofit organizations and international businesses at RTP, many local law firms, and even on Blackbeard's sunken Queen Anne's Revenge. We can find a place for you!
Opportunities to Study Off Campus and Abroad
All majors will benefit from resources available off campus. One mile away at N.C.S.U. is a history department with over thirty faculty who offer specialized courses in every conceivable area of history. Cross-registration there is very simple through the Cooperating Raleigh Colleges system. Students interested in the contemporary world can also spend a semester at American University in Washington, D.C. studying international relations, or investigate the workings of the United Nations during a semester at Drew University in Madison, N. J.
Study abroad remains the most consistently enriching experience our students find. Some choose places where they can enhance their use of a foreign language, others choose places where they can count on English – all return much more aware of the world. Our excellent Office of Study Abroad has recently placed students in France, England, Ireland, Germany, India, China, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Australia, Italy, Lithuania, Spain, The Czech Republic, South Africa, New Zealand and a variety of other places. Plan to make study abroad part of your history major.
Honor Societies
Students who achieve an overall GPA of 3.0 and a 3.5 GPA in at least twelve hours of history courses beyond Western Civilization will be invited to join Phi Alpha Theta, the national honor society for college-level students of history. This membership will entitle them to attend conferences and present papers to faculty and students at other colleges and universities. They will also be able to hold office, plan, and/or participate in local activities chosen by the society. Political Science majors are eligable for the Political Science national honor society, Pi Sigma Alpha.
History and Politics Club
All majors are welcome to join the History and Politics Club. The only true matriarchy on campus, it is run by a student board who determine its many activities for the year. These range from an annual trip to Washington, D.C. to forums on current topics such as terrorism, gun control and campaign finance, to alumnae network dinners, voter registration drives and election results parties. The Club has also begun to roast faculty at the end of year party. Whether this tradition will survive remains to be seen.
