• The University hosts a collection of more than 10,000 slides of historical sites taken from throughout the world.
• Several history professors have won major teaching awards at WSU.
• Learn from history professors who enhance their professional development through extensive travel, research, and teaching abroad.
• Study and work with a diversity of young students that mirrors today’s classrooms.
• The U.S. Department of Education selected WSU for a grant of more than $11 million to create a model teacher preparation program centered on high-needs youths.
• WSU offers the state’s only teacher education program that provides practical classroom teaching opportunities in every region of Washington.
• Learn effective teaching at the state’s only undergraduate education degree program housed at a major research university.

To qualify to teach history in middle school and high school, you'll need a bachelor's degree in the subject and secondary education teacher certification.

The history program at WSU includes a teaching track that integrates the history major with certification course work.

The professional education course work begins with three prerequisite courses:

Writing and Research
Learning and Development
Initial Practicum Experience

After successfully completing the prerequisites, you can apply to the teacher education program in the College of Education.

Secondary education core requirements

The secondary education courses in the teacher education program prepare you to pass the content exam required for certification and run a classroom of your own.

Here's an overview of the courses you'll most likely take:

Curriculum, Instruction, and Content Literacy Methods
Teaching English Language Learners for Secondary Teachers
Secondary Methods of Educational Technology

Adolescence, Community, and School
Classroom Assessment for Secondary Students
Advanced Practicum
Special Education, Transition, and Classroom Management for Secondary Gen. Ed. Teachers
Student Teaching

For the full sequence of teacher certification courses, see the Teacher Education Program's web page.

Graduation requirements

See the WSU Catalog for degree requirements and talk with your academic advisor about planning and scheduling your courses. All students must meet requirements as outlined in the catalog in order to graduate.

The core courses in the history major's teaching track prepare you for the topics you're likely to be teaching in your own classroom.

Here's a sample of some of the history education courses you'll take.

Core courses for the history teaching endorsement

Classical and Christian Europe
Modern Europe
American History to 1877
American History Since 1877
American National Government
Fundamentals of Macroeconomics
European History Elective
Global Non-Western History Elective

Two from:

Latin America, The Colonial Period
Latin America, The National Period
India: History and Culture
Introduction to Middle Eastern History
Foundations of Islamic Civilization
Introduction to East Asian Culture
Writing About History
History of the Pacific Northwest
Seminar in History
Methods of Teaching Social Studies

One from:

American Diplomatic History: 1776-1914
Early American History to 1750
The Era of the American Revolution
Jeffersonian-Jacksonian America
Civil War and Reconstruction

One from:

American Diplomatic History in the 20th Century
United States, 1914-1945
United States, 1945-Present

For more about the history program, see the history major fact page or the history department website.

For the full sequence of teacher certification courses, see the Teacher Education Program's web page.

Graduation requirements

See the WSU Catalog for degree requirements and talk with your academic advisor about planning and scheduling your courses. All students must meet requirements as outlined in the catalog in order to graduate.

A variety of state, federal, and university-sponsored programs are available to help students with educational costs.

For all students at WSU

Washington State University awards millions of dollars in financial aid and scholarships to students every year based on financial need, academic merit, or a combination of the two.

To get all the financial help WSU can provide, start by doing these two things:

• Complete the University's general scholarship application so you can be eligible for scholarship consideration.
• Complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) so WSU can consider you for aid (scholarships, grants, loans, etc.) based on financial need.

Click here for more info about WSU scholarships and financial aid

For students in the history teaching program

The history department has a number of scholarships available to the program's students. History majors can also apply for more than $50,000 in scholarships awarded by the College of Arts and Sciences.

The College of Education distributes funds from 13 endowed scholarships to approximately 100 teacher preparation students every semester. Some of the scholarships with multiple recipients include the College of Education Alumni Association Scholarship, the Louise H. Meyer Scholarship, the Don and Julia Lee Scholarship, and the Claude Simpson and Peggy Simpson Yates Scholarship.

The Educators Club, Kappa Delta Pi, and the Alhadeff Future Teachers of Color are pre-professional organizations run by education students for education students. All future teachers are invited to join and participate.

More about education student organizations

Strengths and interests

History students should enjoy studying past societies and events, have good critical thinking skills, and be able to draw connections and recognize patterns.

Future teachers should care about children, enjoy working with people, and have the desire to make a real difference in the world.

Recommended preparation

A strong and broad high school background in humanities, social science, and languages is helpful preparation in the study of history.

Students should take two years of a foreign language in high school, which will also meet a WSU graduation requirement.

The history teaching program at WSU qualifies graduates to teach secondary school (grades 5 -12) in the state of Washington.

With appropriate regional certification, history teachers may teach in public or private schools worldwide. Further study opens up possibilities as a coach, counselor, principal, or other administrative positions in schools.

During the 2014–2015 school year, the standard starting annual salary for a nine-month school year was $34,048 for Washington state teachers, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Salaries can increase substantially with experience and additional education.