Nebraska·Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations·SOC 19-3093

Best Historian programs in Nebraska, 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and institutional records, newspapers and other periodicals, photographs, interviews, films, electronic media, and unpublished manuscripts, such.

14 schools in Nebraska run programs that feed this job, graduating 165 people a year. The job pays a median of $70,050 in Nebraska across about 30 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledHistorianResearcherCollections SpecialistHistorical InterpreterGenealogistArt HistorianFilm HistorianOral Historian
Graduates / yr
165
in Nebraska
Median pay · Nebraska
$70,050
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
30
people employed
Schools
14
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
54%
across those schools
Median net price
$23,162
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Nebraska that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

4 programs in Nebraska that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Nebraska (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 Nebraska page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
History, Generalmain feeder
CIP 54.0101In Nebraska
161
97.6%
14$31,217$24,000
2
CIP 30.2201In Nebraska
2
1.2%
1$32,054$24,000
3
CIP 30.4601In Nebraska
1
0.6%
1
4
CIP 51.3204In Nebraska
1
0.6%
1$99,851$21,475

Top 14 schools in Nebraska

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 14 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Nebraska at Kearney
Kearney, NE Public · 1 feeder programs
43History, General$39,34058%89%
2University of Nebraska at Omaha
Omaha, NE Public · 2 feeder programs
33History, General$36,40147%87%
3University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, NE Public · 2 feeder programs
33History, General$33,01367%87%
4Bellevue University
Bellevue, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
15History, General33%$29,230
5Creighton University
Omaha, NE Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
14History, General83%$27,35380%
6Nebraska Wesleyan University
Lincoln, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
7History, General66%$22,22580%
7Midland University
Fremont, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
5History, General42%$23,16266%
8Chadron State College
Chadron, NE Public · 1 feeder programs
3History, General50%
9Doane University
Crete, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3History, General57%$25,10398%
10Hastings College
Hastings, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3History, General49%$20,42472%
11Peru State College
Peru, NE Public · 1 feeder programs
3History, General38%
12Concordia University - Nebraska
Seward, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1History, General65%$22,39086%
13Union Adventist University
Lincoln, NE Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1History, General52%$20,543100%
14Wayne State College
Wayne, NE Public · 1 feeder programs
1History, General52%

All 14 schools in Nebraska

Every school in Nebraska 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.

All schools in Nebraska that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of Nebraska at KearneyKearneyPublic431
University of Nebraska at OmahaOmahaPublic332
University of Nebraska - LincolnLincolnPublic332
Bellevue UniversityBellevuePrivate not-for-profit151
Creighton UniversityOmahaPrivate not-for-profit142
Nebraska Wesleyan UniversityLincolnPrivate not-for-profit71
Midland UniversityFremontPrivate not-for-profit51
Chadron State CollegeChadronPublic31
Doane UniversityCretePrivate not-for-profit31
Hastings CollegeHastingsPrivate not-for-profit31
Peru State CollegePeruPublic31
Concordia University - NebraskaSewardPrivate not-for-profit11
Union Adventist UniversityLincolnPrivate not-for-profit11
Wayne State CollegeWaynePublic11

What historians earn in Nebraska

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Nebraska
$70,050
Mean annual
$83,380
Jobs in state
30
What the range looks like
10th pct$48,840Median$70,05090th pct$128,940
Versus the national median
-8.7%

U.S. median $76,750. Nebraska pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.53×

Concentrated here: Nebraska employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+2.2%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
300
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
100
3,400 → 3,500
Typical entry education
Master's degree

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

Reading ComprehensionWritingCritical ThinkingActive LearningActive ListeningSpeaking

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Nebraska

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 Nebraska.

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 161 degrees in Nebraska in 2024-25, 97.6% 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 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are History, Classical and Ancient Studies, History and Political Science, Health Professions Education. Together they graduate about 165 people a year in Nebraska.

How much do historians earn in Nebraska?+

The median is $70,050 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 8.7% 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 Nebraska?+

14 institutions in Nebraska reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected 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 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, 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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