Each year the Department of History appoints a group of junior history majors to serve on a departmental Junior Advisory Group (JAG). Most of these juniors then stay on to become members of the Senior Advisory Group (SAG) the following year. Students on JAG and SAG are asked to serve in this capacity by the chair, either in response to self-nominations or based on the recommendations of his or her departmental colleagues.

Members of JAG and SAG are called upon to work with the s Curriculum Committee when discussions of curricular reform are held, offering input from a student perspective. They also play a role in advising new majors and welcoming them to the Department. Most important is the role they play in the hiring process, taking job candidates to dinner and listening to their formal job talks, sharing their thoughts with the Department chair and members of the search committee. In short, JAG and SAG consists of students who represent the student voice in Department affairs.