In the history program of study, an emphasis is placed first and foremost on working with texts in the form of primary sources and academic literature. Therefore, your passions should extend beyond history to include an interest in working with language and texts. You should be able to read and analyze complex texts carefully and enjoy formulating your own precisely worded texts. Thinking and arguing critically should also be among your strengths.

To work with academic texts and primary source materials, you will need appropriate language skills (English, Latin) over the course of your studies. Proof of having passed a qualifying examination in Latin (Latinum) can be documented by your university entrance qualification or the state supplementary Latin exam. As an alternative to Latin, you can provide evidence of proficiency in another modern language (either a Romance, Slavic, Baltic, Finno-Ugric or Arabic language). However, you must demonstrate knowledge of Latin at the level of the state supplementary Latin exam if you decide to subsequently enroll for the Master of Education in History.

This program is studied as a part of the Bachelor of Education degree program (teacher education for Gymnasium). The degree program always includes two teaching subjects as well as the subject of Education Studies.

Program structure

The history degree program comprises three thematic blocks:

• Introductory module
  Basic concepts, theories and methods of historical studies
• Epoch module
  Antiquity, the medieval period, and modern history
• Subject didactics
  Requirements for learning history in schools

From the very start of the epoch module, you can select courses on various topics and aspects, such as:

• Charlemagne
• The Revolutions of 1848
• The labor movement in Imperial Germany
• Resistance to National Socialism
• The founding of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Urban coexistence in the late medieval period
• Prevention and coping with catastrophes in the early modern period
• World War I as the “great seminal catastrophe” of the 20th century
• The concept of “Volksgemeinschaft” in Nazi ideology

By choosing your subjects, you have the option of orienting your studies toward your own primary interests and specializing in your favorite fields (in addition to those required by the standardized school curricula).

Stays abroad

Would you like to live abroad for a semester or a year? Do you want to learn another language and get to know a new culture? Or gain a different perspective on your particular subject? A stay abroad provides you with the perfect opportunity to achieve this and is possible with every degree program – either self-organized or by taking advantage of one of the popular exchange programs. This is made possible by various cooperation agreements and partnerships with foreign universities.

For more information on this topic, please visit our websites on studying abroad. Visit our student exchange platform for an overview of cooperating universities in your field.

This program of study does not require you to spend time abroad, but you nevertheless have the opportunity to do so.

Internships

In the Bachelor of Education, you will complete three 3-week internships and experience different types of schools firsthand. This practical experience will complement your theoretical training, help you practice your pedagogical skills in the classroom, and give you direction for your future career.

For more information, please visit the website for school internships provided by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Students interested in completing additional voluntary internships – including those in other professional fields – can find more information on the Career Service website.

A broad range of professional fields in addition to schools welcome historians, and not just the standard fields such as archives, museums and academia. As a historian, you will perpetually associate reading texts with a critical and contextual analysis. Therefore, your studies in History offer the ideal preparation for working in the future-oriented professional areas that have evolved as part of our information society that require those skills learned through a study of the humanities and social sciences. These can include:

• Research and academia (e.g., at universities and research institutions or in research projects)
• Education and culture (in association with museums, the theater, adult education, libraries, archives, and foundations of various types)
• International organizations, NGOs, economic organizations
• Information and communications management
• Media and journalism, editorial work, publishing, copy editing, marketing
• Politics, administration, business (marketing, press and PR work)

Not sure what to do after graduation? Don’t worry!

A university degree generally does not prepare you for a single profession but qualifies you for a wide range of career paths – for example, in research, in a typical profession related to your field of study, or in one of many other academic fields.

This is why career orientation is also part of your studies. Gaining practical experience is key, and you can do so through internships, working student positions, part-time jobs or voluntary work, for example.

JGU’s Career Service will support you throughout the entire process with information, advice, workshops and numerous events – from career orientation and working on your profile and skills to finding your dream job and successfully applying for it.