History Department

Overview

SUNY Cortland’s History Department offers two majors, a minor and two graduate programs. We have a world-class faculty offering classes on topics such as Medieval Europe, South Asia, the Holocaust, French empire, African-American culture, Caribbean revolutions, African development politics, and environmental history. In our history courses, students don't just study the past — they become historians.

Many of our students major in the History - Social Studies Adolescent Education dual major (SST-HIS). Our majors can gain field experience and student teach in central New York, Long Island and New York City. Please contact the SST Coordinator, Dr. Tyson Luneau, for more information on the undergraduate dual major or on the Masters in Teaching in Social Studies program.

Our department also offers unique opportunities to learn and practice Public History, including hands-on experiential learning through internships at historical sites, museums, and libraries throughout New York, including but not limited to: 

Cortland’s Memorial Library, Camp Huntington National Historic Landmark on Raquette Lake in the Adirondacks, the Rozanne Brooks Museum, The 1890 House, the Cortland County Historical Society, Cortland Curiosities, The Central New York Living History Museum in Homer, the William Seward House in Auburn, and The Museum of American Airpower in East Farmingdale on Long Island. 

For more information on internships, please contact Dr. Alena Pirok. 

Finally, for more information on our M.A. in History program, please contact our Graduate Coordinator, Dr. Anisha Saxena.

Check out these additional resources on why majoring in history brings a lifetime of opportunity, career choice, and excitement:

• Why Study History? This guide will give you the answer, plus list skills you will hone and additional resources about careers/future options. 
• Loren Collins, Entering the Job Market with a BA in History
• The American Historical Association's Guide to Careers for History Majors