UCLA has a fine history department!

I'm specifically interested in Western European history in antiquity and the Middle Ages (which I know is a very broad period of time).

Latin. If you want to study western Europe, take as much Latin as you can. If you are interested in working cross-culturally (generally Jewish history, Christian/Jewish interactions in Ashekenaz, Christian-Jewish-Muslim in Iberia or Christian-Muslim in the Crusader states), poke into Arabic as well and maybe Hebrew.

If you want to do classics, Latin and Greek.

The modern languages you need for research, you can pick up later. Medieval vernaculars (Middle German, Old French), you can grok through comfort with modern. But the core classical languages--get as much training as you can.

Talk to your program advisor and write a senior thesis.

Know why you want to go to grad school, and "to become a tenured professor in history" is not the right answer. Not right now. If you want to be a museum curator, start doing museum internships now and be sure to find some sort of museum-focused grad program. Investigate other careers (besides teaching and museums) that people with history PhD find their ways to and think about whether you'd be happy there and whether the 5-10 years of your life in career stalling and poverty wages is the best way to get there.

I'm finishing my dissertation right now (nb: right now I am on AskHistorians procrastinating) in medieval history and for me those 5-10 years were/are worth every poverty burrito. But don't kid yourself. It's not romantic. And my friends who are going on the (academic) job market are watching the positions that they took the time and money to submit applications to, be revoked by the school because the funding for the tenure line evaporated.

Get a PhD in history because you love what you do and because you love your Plan A, B, C, D, and Omega.

Hi there,

A few things here, so I'll respond to each point.

As of right now, my plan is to get into a PhD program after I finish undergrad and attempt to find a job in academia.

Build relationships and publish if you can. Graduate school is (nearly) all about research in the end, so being able to demonstrate a research record can be a huge leg up in your graduate school applications and your career in general. Academia in general is very very competitive and you will live and die by your publication record. That doesn't mean you need to publish ground breaking research as an undergraduate, but to give yourself the best chance publish early and publish often.

Likewise, your relationships with faculty will be an incredibly valuable resource. These people will write your recommendation letters at the VERY least and they will much more likely be actively contacting faculty they known at graduate programs that you are applying to. They will also probably advise you about appropriate graduate programs, when you get to that point. This isn't a cynical thing, legitimately build relationships with the faculty who you want to work with and whose research and classes you like. Tell them your plans, listen to their advice. Your relationships matter.

Another important point: Good grades aren't enough. Don't just assume that because you do well in your history classes that you will be appealing to graduate programs. Graduate programs are looking for students who they think will succeed, that means research, that means publishing, that means hearing from people that they trust that this person is a legitimate scholar in the making.

If that doesn't work out (which I know is likely, given the current economic climate), I was thinking I could get into museum work or find a job at a high school.

This is a bit tough and I have to admit I'm not sure how California's school system works, but a PhD might not be a useful degree for these kinds of jobs. Museum work is possible, but there are specific degrees (often at the Masters level), which train you more specifically for museum or library work and you might not be appealing to such institutions just because you have a PhD. You might be, depending on what they are looking for, but if think is a career path you want to consider, I think you need to consider it seriously and think about what steps you can take to make yourself marketable for such jobs - such as getting internships, work, maybe a graduate assistantship/fellowship at a museum down the line, etc.

Same with high school teaching. In New York (where I live) a PhD doesn't qualify you to teach high school, there is a whole separate expected career and therefore degree path for teaching at that level. You'll have to think about where you will be living and what the state regulations are there for teaching at that level.

In other words, in both cases you can not rely on these as a "fall back" that you'll be able to just make happen because you've earned a PhD.

I'm specifically interested in Western European history in antiquity and the Middle Ages (which I know is a very broad period of time).

Eventually you will have to specialize more than this, but don't worry about that too much at the beginning. My recommendation would be to take a relatively wide variety of classes as an undergraduate, because you are very likely to find things interesting that you didn't realize you would. The UCLA history program (based on my brief perusal of the major requirements) seems to require you to take a few classes in different areas to give you a base, but don't be afraid to branch out in electives either. It looks like the history program has an Honors Option that culminates in a research project - investigate this with your undergraduate advisor during your first year.

Also, think about the kinds of things that interest you that are not just limited to geography and time period. Historians also think methodologically and theoretically. Don't worry if that doesn't make sense yet, but think about some of the following questions: Am I interested in labor? gender? religion? What kinds of primary sources are interesting to me? Government archives? Church documents? Individual Journals? Artwork? (others?). Ultimately, the things you choose to study will have to be grounded in more than just time period and geography, so begin thinking outside of those limitations as soon as possible and be open to these kind of orientations to thinking about history as well.

I'll answer follow up questions if you have them.

Take as many different history courses as you can to figure out your true passion in terms of field. You will also be exposed to different methodologies and theories.

Learn to write well! I cannot stress this enough. Writing clearly, concisely, eloquently is so so important not only for historians but many other professions should you decide to do something else.

Start now on language training of some sort. If you really want to hitch your wagon on early Medieval Europe, start brushing up on Latin and another language. Language skills are key for graduate school admission.

Cultivate close relationships with at least three professors (not TAs or lecturers, professors). They will provide more training and guidance in your classes, research, and later graduate admissions. You also need recommendation letters from them.

Note that teaching is part of graduate school too and certainly when you get a faculty job.

UCLA is a great place to study history. It has been going through turmoil with budget cuts and attrition. Remember though you apply to work with an advisor not a school. So who at UCLA would you work with? Have you read his or her books and articles? What do you think of them? Instead of asking, how's "the history department" at X-university, ask "who are the leading figures in early medieval Europe?" Then you look at where they teach, the prestige and resources the university and department had, other faculty who could complement your research, etc.

Treat school as your job. Library or class 8 am to 7 pm M-F. A routine, not a final exam-paper due addrenaline exercise. Do all your reading and more before every class. Every paper done at least a few days before due so you can revise and correct at leisure. Get to know all the professors. Straight As.

In any particular subdiscipline, there aren't ten graduate programs where over 50% of people get TT jobs. In some, there aren't five. Be relentless about being the best, and give up and move on if it isn't going to happen for you. A non-top program is a stupidly expensive lottery ticket. No prizes for tilting at windmills.

If you are a straight white male, think twice. Women and POC have a quota of 50%-90% of junior TT humanities posts (either by recruiting mandate or by a focus on subaltern research areas that you won't be able to pursue credibly.)