The Public History Program at the University of South Carolina is one of the oldest public history programs in the country and has an excellent record of placing its students in history-related fields. We offer students the opportunity to specialize in one of three fields: historic preservation, museums and material culture, and archives. The curriculum combines graduate study in history with training in the professional skills used by public historians. Students may study public history by earning a Master of Arts degree in Public History or by electing public history as one of their fields of study in the history Ph.D. program.

Curricular Opportunities. Public History students at the University of South Carolina are able to draw on the curricular breadth of a major research university. Within the Department of History are courses on the theory and practice of historic preservation, historic site interpretation, the history of housing, material culture, archival administration, book and paper conservation, and documentary editing, as well as seminars in American, African-American, and southern history. Outside the history department students may take courses in urban planning and preservation, architectural history, African-American folklife, historical archaeology, museum management and administration, and courses in the library school. Some students choose to complete the Certificate in Museum Management offered through the university's McKissick Museum. The core curriculum for the Certificate provides training in professional museum standards and practice, and periodic special offerings introduce students to topics such as museum education and exhibition development. We also offer a joint 60-hour M.A./M.L.I.S. program with the College of Library and Information Science. Many students also take advantage of our innovative summer courses. The Charleston Preservation Field School is an intensive course in historic preservation and museum studies that is based in city of Charleston. An international perspective on museums, archives, and heritage conservation is offered by our Comparative Public History course in England. Students may also participate in the annual Summer Institute of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts at Old Salem, Inc., Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This course offers students the opportunity to study the material life of the southeastern United States prior to 1820.

Course of Study for the Master of Arts Degree. Coursework for the M.A. degree requires that students complete a minimum of 36 credit hours, 21 in their major field (historic preservation, museums, or archives). The remaining 15 hours consist of courses in American history, including training in research and writing; these represent the student's minor field.  In addition you must successfully pass a reading and translation examination in a foreign language, although students may substitute completion of a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) or a web development course for the language requirement with the approval of your faculty advisor. Students also complete an internship and a thesis, both of which contribute to the portfolios you bring to the job market.

Course of Study for a Ph.D. Field in Public History. Doctoral candidates may elect public history as a general field or they may choose any one of our three areas of specialization, historic preservation, museums, or archives, as a field of study. A minimum of three courses selected in consultation with the student's advisor constitute a doctoral field. Whether they elect public history, historic preservation, museums, or archives as a Ph.D. field, students are encouraged to complete an appropriate internship as part of their coursework.

Placement. Our graduates compete successfully in the national job market for employment in preservation agencies, historic sites, museums, and libraries and archives centers. Our alumni are employed at such institutions as the National Park Service, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, state and municipal historic preservation offices, state parks departments, Monticello, the United States Holocaust Museum, Old Salem, Inc., the Atlanta History Center, the Virginia State Library, the archives of the United States Court of Appeals 6th Circuit, the Missouri State Archives, and local non-profit heritage organizations across the country.  For a list of alumni placements, click here.