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Study Abroad and Careers

Study history, thrive in future

Whether you choose to study abroad or get a head start on your career, you will find that everyone in the History department will help you get there.

Study Abroad

There is something about being in the place where history once happened that can help us understand the lives and experiences of the people of the past. This is just one reason why the History faculty at Simpson are committed to taking students abroad for international learning experiences.

There is nothing like standing in a British trench, a stone’s throw from the German lines, to begin to imagine what it might have been like for a soldier on the front during the First World War.

Picture yourself standing inside a Gothic cathedral with its vaulted ceilings where thousands of people have stood wondering about the greatness of God and the meaning of their lives.

Seeing Renaissance art close up where you can see the brush strokes or the chisel marks, the labors of love and passion of past artists.

Physically being in the space allows you to take your learning to a higher level of understanding and have a greater appreciation for history.

Recent International May Term courses offered by the department have:

  • Explored the impact of World War I in London, Paris and the battlefields of the Western Front;
  • Visited museums in London, Normandy, Paris and Munich to see how nations remember and tell their story of World War II
  • Discovered the wonders and the beauty of Renaissance art, culture and politics in Florence and Rome

 

Careers

As we mentioned, the history major is very versatile. This can be seen in the variety of careers being pursued by recent graduates.

Business

  • Director of Employee Benefits for Hy-Vee
  • Underwriter for Nationwide Insurance
  • Corporate Trainer for Nationwide Insurance
  • Counsellor and Quality Assurance Officer at Iowa Student Loan
  • Analysts at Wells Fargo

Education-Related

  • Archivist at small liberal arts college
  • Curator and Historian at Salisbury House
  • Middle and high school educators

Law

  • Attorney-at-law for major international corporation
  • Deputy County Attorney
  • Employment and civil rights lawyer
  • Trust and estate planner

Government and Public Service

  • Staffer for local, state and federal politicians
  • Military service
  • AmeriCorps Vista
  • PeaceCorps
  • Iowa Department of the Blind

Journalism

  • Host of Market to Market on Iowa Public Television
  • Reporter for The Wall Street Journal