Making History Work is the pilot program for the AHA–Mellon Career Diversity for Historians initiative at the University of Chicago. The initiative provides skill-building and professional development opportunities for doctoral students to better prepare them for a wide range of careers.

Every History PhD student, regardless of whether they plan to pursue an academic or nonacademic career, can benefit from discussing careers and learning skills not traditionally emphasized in graduate programs. Making History Work develops new workshops and events that allow graduate students to acquire a diverse set of skills and more effectively communicate the value of their training and research to a wider audience. The initiative also works to place students in internships and helps them identify new areas where they can apply their expertise and historical training. In this way, Making History Work encourages University of Chicago graduate students to become versatile, articulate historians engaged in the world around them and prepared to navigate the challenges and opportunities facing the discipline today.

Events include workshops on career preparation, digital literacies, online presence, and writing for different audiences in different media. Other events bring together faculty and students to discuss the future of the discipline and the value of historical training in the twenty-first century. Forging stronger bonds between current students and alumni is as a major focus of the initiative.

Making History Work is led by faculty directors Kenneth Pomeranz and Emily Lynn Osborn.

More about Making History Work