by our College Data Analytics Team
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Most Well Attended History Major” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
History is the 23rd most popular major in the country with 32,731 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, history graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $30,467 and had an average of $23,587 in loans still to pay off.
This year’s “Most Well Attended History Major” ranking analyzed 1,481 colleges that offered a degree in history. This ranking identifies schools that graduate the most students in history.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Most Well Attended History Major” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended History Major”.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern New Hampshire University. The school came in at #1 for the Most Well Attended History Major. Southern New Hampshire University is a large school located in Manchester, New Hampshire that handed out 493 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on History at Southern New Hampshire University
Out of the 1,481 schools in the Most Well Attended History Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Liberty University landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Lynchburg, Virginia, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 364 diplomas to qualified ’s history students in 2020-2021.
Out of the 1,481 schools in the Most Well Attended History Major that were part of this year’s ranking, American Public University System landed the #3 spot on the list. Charles Town, West Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out ’s history degrees to 398 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Out of the 1,481 schools in the Most Well Attended History Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #4 spot on the list. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 344 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Arizona State University - Skysong. The school came in at #5 for the Most Well Attended History Major. Scottsdale, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s history degrees to 287 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Columbia University in the City of New York came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended History Major ranking. Columbia University in the City of New York is a large private not-for-profit school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 218 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
University of North Texas ranked #7 on this year’s Most Well Attended History Major list. University of North Texas is a large public school situated in Denton, Texas. It awarded 191 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Harvard University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major ranking, coming in at #8. Harvard University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school has a large population, and it awarded 178 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Yale University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Well Attended History Major list. Yale is located in New Haven, Connecticut and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 165 ’s history degrees to qualified students.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
California State University - Long Beach ranked #10 on this year’s Most Well Attended History Major list. Long Beach, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s history degrees to 164 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
University of Washington - Seattle Campus did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major ranking, coming in at #11. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a large school located in Seattle, Washington that handed out 163 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major ranking, coming in at #12. University of California - Santa Barbara is a large school located in Santa Barbara, California that handed out 161 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major ranking. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a large public school situated in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It awarded 160 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major ranking. UNC Chapel Hill is a large school located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina that handed out 159 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about History at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major ranking. Charlottesville, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s history degrees to 159 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about History at University of Virginia - Main Campus
With a ranking of #16, Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major list. Ohio State University - Main Campus is a public institution located in Columbus, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 155 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
With a ranking of #17, University of Central Florida did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major list. University of Central Florida is a large public school situated in Orlando, Florida. It awarded 151 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of California - Berkeley came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended History Major ranking. University of California - Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 149 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
With a ranking of #19, Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major list. Texas A&M University - College Station is a large school located in College Station, Texas that handed out 147 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on History at Texas A&M University - College Station
California State University - Sacramento ranked #20 on this year’s Most Well Attended History Major list. This large school is located in Sacramento, California, and it awarded 145 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full California State University - Sacramento History Report
California State University - Fullerton did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major ranking, coming in at #20. This large school is located in Fullerton, California, and it awarded 145 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
The University of Texas at Austin landed the #22 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major ranking. The University of Texas at Austin is a public institution located in Austin, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 146 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on History at The University of Texas at Austin
Sam Houston State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major ranking, coming in at #23. SHSU is a large school located in Huntsville, Texas that handed out 147 ’s history degrees in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #24, University of North Carolina at Charlotte did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major list. University of North Carolina at Charlotte is a public institution located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The school has a large population, and it awarded 142 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read full report on History at University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended History Major ranking, coming in at #25. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, this large public school awarded 154 diplomas to qualified ’s history students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about History at University of Wisconsin - Madison
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
While not in the ‘top 50’, these schools make the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Brigham Young University - Provo | Provo, UT |
| 52 | Texas Tech University | Lubbock, TX |
| 53 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus | Pittsburgh, PA |
| 54 | North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC |
| 54 | University of Georgia | Athens, GA |
| 56 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | San Antonio, TX |
| 56 | University of California - Irvine | Irvine, CA |
| 56 | San Francisco State University | San Francisco, CA |
| 59 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | Baton Rouge, LA |
| 59 | University of Massachusetts Amherst | Amherst, MA |
| 59 | University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder, CO |
| 62 | California State University - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA |
| 62 | Brown University | Providence, RI |
| 62 | Boston College | Chestnut Hill, MA |
| 62 | Stony Brook University | Stony Brook, NY |
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 216 | University of Nevada - Las Vegas | Las Vegas, NV |
| 216 | Mississippi State University | Mississippi State, MS |
| 216 | Salem State University | Salem, MA |
| 216 | Santa Monica College | Santa Monica, CA |
| 220 | College of Staten Island CUNY | Staten Island, NY |
| 220 | Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis | Indianapolis, IN |
| 220 | Jacksonville State University | Jacksonville, AL |
| 220 | Boise State University | Boise, ID |
| 220 | Citrus College | Glendora, CA |
| 220 | Salisbury University | Salisbury, MD |
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
