Public History

The certificate in public history combines history, creative arts and business to prepare students for careers in public and applied history.

Open to students of all majors
Students can gain experience in diverse fields such as film, theatre, photography, and web design, as well as accounting, organizational communication and marketing.
Prepares students to start careers as museum professionals, historical interpreters, historic preservationists, corporate historians, and others.
Combines theory with hands-on experience, culminating in an intensive capstone internship that asks students to combine theory with practice under the guidance of a public history professional.
Advising is key to success in this program, as students exploring careers in archaeology, historic preservation, documentary filmmaking, or conservation may require more specialized coursework.

Digitize documents and objects held by the descendants of Franco-American immigrants
Digitize 18th and 19th century letters associated with the Battle of Saratoga
Work with a local house museum where hundreds of runaway slaves were sheltered
Experiment with 3D printing to recreate artifacts to using in elementary classrooms
Create and execute museum exhibits
Work as interns in archives, museums, and living history sites
Enter graduate programs in public history, including the M.A. in Public History at the University at Albany and the prestigious Cooperstown Graduate Program.
Find work in the field, including SEARCH, a leading nationwide and global provider of cultural resources services, and Colonial Williamsburg