When new Public History students join us in the fall, almost all have financial aid in the form of graduate assistantships. An assistantship pays a small salary, and it also offers a substantial reduction in the tuition for both in-state and out-of-state students. As important as these direct financial benefits, graduate assistantships offer on-the-job experience that supplements the internship and regular coursework. In general, assistantships require 15-20 hours of work per week, and supervisors will accommodate students' class schedules.

There are a few teaching assistantships offered to incoming Public History students by the Department of History, but most Public History graduate students are supported by professional assistantships in a public history agency. The Public History faculty regularly negotiate contracts with cultural agencies outside the department for placement of graduate students in work that is related to the professional fields they are preparing to enter. We have had recent contracts with:

Historic Columbia Foundation

South Carolina State Museum

South Carolina Department of Archives and History

State Historic Preservation Office

City of Columbia Historic Preservation Office

South Carolina Downtown Development Association

South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology

South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism

In addition there are a number of units on the University of South Carolina campus that contact us requesting names of graduate students who might want to have a graduate assistantship. These include, among others:

            McKissick Museum
            South Caroliniana Library
            Thomas Cooper Library

This means that incoming students looking for an assistantship need to stay in contact with their faculty advisor. Inform us that you want an assistantship and keep us current on your e-mail address and telephone number in the summer as you prepare to move to Columbia.