Best Historian programs in Kentucky, ranked by enrollment
Research, analyze, record, and interpret the past as recorded in sources, such as government and institutional records, newspapers and other periodicals, photographs, interviews, films, electronic media, and unpublished manuscripts, such.
22 schools in Kentucky run programs that feed this job, graduating 313 people a year. The job pays a median of $63,530 in Kentucky across about 50 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Kentucky that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in Kentucky that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Kentucky (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Kentucky page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | History, Generalmain feeder CIP 54.0101In Kentucky → | 264 | 84.3% | 22 | $31,217 | $24,000 |
| 2 | CIP 30.1201In Kentucky → | 32 | 10.2% | 1 | $35,326 | $22,812 |
| 3 | Public/Applied Historymain feeder CIP 54.0105In Kentucky → | 14 | 4.5% | 2 | $31,217 | $24,000 |
| 4 | CIP 51.3204In Kentucky → | 2 | 0.6% | 2 | $99,851 | $21,475 |
| 5 | Medieval and Renaissance Studiesmain feeder CIP 30.1301In Kentucky → | 1 | 0.3% | 1 | — | — |
Top 22 schools in Kentucky
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 22 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Kentucky Lexington, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 82 | History, General | $28,432 | 71% | — | 93% |
| 2 | Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 43 | History, General | $29,619 | 52% | — | 68% |
| 3 | University of Louisville Louisville, KY Public · 3 feeder programs | 39 | History, General | $22,047 | 61% | — | 79% |
| 4 | Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 29 | History, General | $27,177 | 56% | — | 94% |
| 5 | Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | History, General | $29,346 | 50% | — | 78% |
| 6 | Murray State University Murray, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 16 | History, General | $27,831 | 61% | — | 86% |
| 7 | Morehead State University Morehead, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | History, General | — | 52% | — | 77% |
| 8 | Berea College Berea, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | History, General | — | 58% | $5,274 | 19% |
| 9 | University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | History, General | — | 50% | $11,672 | 99% |
| 10 | Bellarmine University Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 7 | History, General | — | 64% | $22,542 | 86% |
| 11 | Centre College Danville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | History, General | — | 81% | $18,407 | 54% |
| 12 | Georgetown College Georgetown, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | History, General | — | 49% | $12,666 | 91% |
| 13 | Lindsey Wilson University Columbia, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | History, General | — | 44% | $14,471 | — |
| 14 | Transylvania University Lexington, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | History, General | — | 71% | $21,881 | 87% |
| 15 | Union Commonwealth University Barbourville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | History, General | — | 32% | $28,386 | 63% |
| 16 | University of Pikeville Pikeville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | History, General | — | 42% | $13,886 | — |
| 17 | Asbury University Wilmore, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | History, General | — | 65% | $19,816 | 63% |
| 18 | Kentucky Wesleyan College Owensboro, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | History, General | — | 47% | $36,525 | 72% |
| 19 | Alice Lloyd College Pippa Passes, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | History, General | — | 39% | $18,384 | 75% |
| 20 | Campbellsville University Campbellsville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | History, General | — | 42% | $18,824 | 80% |
| 21 | Kentucky Christian University Grayson, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | History, General | — | 37% | $21,713 | 61% |
| 22 | Thomas More University Crestview Hills, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | History, General | — | 40% | $18,902 | 90% |
All 22 schools in Kentucky
Every school in Kentucky with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Kentucky | Lexington | Public | 82 | 2 |
| Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights | Public | 43 | 2 |
| University of Louisville | Louisville | Public | 39 | 3 |
| Western Kentucky University | Bowling Green | Public | 29 | 1 |
| Eastern Kentucky University | Richmond | Public | 18 | 1 |
| Murray State University | Murray | Public | 16 | 2 |
| Morehead State University | Morehead | Public | 12 | 1 |
| Berea College | Berea | Private not-for-profit | 9 | 1 |
| University of the Cumberlands | Williamsburg | Private not-for-profit | 8 | 1 |
| Bellarmine University | Louisville | Private not-for-profit | 7 | 2 |
| Centre College | Danville | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Georgetown College | Georgetown | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Lindsey Wilson University | Columbia | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Transylvania University | Lexington | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 1 |
| Union Commonwealth University | Barbourville | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 1 |
What historians earn in Kentucky
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $76,750. Kentucky pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Historians page.
How to become a Historian
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Master's degree
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Kentucky
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 24 majors mapped to Historians20 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 04.0801Architectural History and Criticism, General
- 04.0802Architectural Conservation
- 30.1201Historic Preservation and Conservation, General
- 30.1202Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis
- 30.1299Historic Preservation and Conservation, Other
- 30.1301Medieval and Renaissance Studies
- 30.2101Holocaust and Related Studies
- 30.2201Ancient Studies/Civilization
- 30.2202Classical, Ancient Mediterranean, and Near Eastern Studies and Archaeology
- 30.2299Classical and Ancient Studies, Other
- 30.2901Maritime Studies
- 30.4501History and Language/Literature(no graduates reported)
- 30.4601History and Political Science
- 51.3204Medical/Health Humanities
- 51.3205History of Medicine(no graduates reported)
- 54.0101History, General
- 54.0102American History (United States)
- 54.0103European History
- 54.0104History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
- 54.0105Public/Applied History
- 54.0106Asian History(no graduates reported)
- 54.0107Canadian History(no graduates reported)
- 54.0108Military History
- 54.0199History, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing historians programs in Kentucky.
What degree do you need to become a Historian?+
Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is History, General, which awarded 264 degrees in Kentucky in 2024-25, 84.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Historian?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are History, Historic Preservation and Conservation, Health Professions Education, Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Together they graduate about 313 people a year in Kentucky.
How much do historians earn in Kentucky?+
The median is $63,530 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 17.2% below the U.S. median of $76,750. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for historians growing?+
BLS projects a +2.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Kentucky?+
22 institutions in Kentucky reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do historians work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Historian, Researcher, Collections Specialist, Historical Interpreter among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-3093.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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