THE PUBLIC HISTORY PROGRAM

The graduate program in public history at the University at Albany, State University of New York, is designed to train professional historians for work outside the conventional settings. Its graduates receive a Master of Arts in Public History and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Public History. depending on their concentration, students will be prepared for employment with historical societies, museums, archives, and similar agencies, or with agencies involved in public policy planning.

The University at Albany

The University is the senior campus of the State University of New York and is one of four university centers in the 64 member SUNY system. Founded in 1844 as the State's first school for the training of teachers, Albany today is a modern university with 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in eight degree granting schools and colleges offering more than 100 academic programs from the bachelors degree through the doctorate.

A major source for research are the University libraries, which contain more than one million volumes and extensive periodical holdings. The University's location in the State capital affords ready access to the New York State Library, containing over three million items, and to the New York State Archives, containing more than twenty-five thousand cubic feet of records.

The Capital Region

Located in the nation's largest governmental center outside of Washington, D.C., the University at Albany is in an excellent position to offer a program in public history.

The Albany area is the home of major state agencies such as the State Archives, State Museum and Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The Capital Region also contains many public and private museums, historical societies and archives, as well as fifteen other colleges and universities. The richness and diversity permits a wide choice of internship possibilities, as well as providing a pool of specialized experts to supplement the regular staff of the Department of History.

THE PROGRAM

Master of Arts in Public History

This is a 36-credit program, divided as follows:
  • 21 credits
    History academic courses, including His 603: Readings in U.S. and Comparative Public History, His 621 (Readings in Local and Regional History), His 630 (Readings in Public Policy), or a reading course from any of the other History M.A. concentrations as advised and a research seminar.
  • 9 credits
    His 501 (Introduction to Public History) and two other professional courses.
  • 6 credits -
    His 798A (Public History Internship)
  • Satisfactory completion of a major field examination in Local or Regional History or one of the other History M.A. fields as advised.

Public History Master of Arts Degree with Certificate in Advanced Study in Public History

Students enrolled in this program will be required to make their M.A. concentration public history and to take courses and an internship appropriate to one of the three areas of emphasis: Historical Agency Studies, Historical Records Administration, History and Public Policy.
  1. History content, reading, and seminar courses (25 credits): History courses, ad advised, including HIS 621 or HIS 630 or a reading course from any of the other M.A. concentrations as advised, and a research seminar or a thesis (HIS 699).
  2. Professional courses (15 credits): His 501 and 12 credits chosen from among the following: His 503 (required of students emphasizing Historical Agency Studies), 504, 505, 506, 507 (required of students emphasizing History and Public Policy), 508, ISP 501, 611, 646, 650,655, 656 (with consent of director of the program), Pad 500.
  3. Satisfactory completion of a major field examination in Local and Regional History or one of the other M.A. fields as advised. A Master's thesis may be substituted for the field examination with approval of the student's advisor.
  4. His 798A, B Internship in Public History (12 credits).
  5. His 797 Directed Reading in Public History (2 credits).
Gainful Employment Program Disclosure
  • Program Name: Certificate in Advanced Study in Public History
  • CIP Code: 54.1010
  • Occupations: Curator, Historic Site Director, Archivist
  • Program costs for NY State residents:
  • This is a 54 credit program (4 semesters at 12 credits each and 1 summer semester). The Certificate for Advanced Study portion of this program consists of 18 credits beyond the 36-credit MA in Public History. For full-time students those 18 credits may be completed in two semesters. Costs below are based on two semesters of 9 credits each at the in-state rate.
  • Tuition and fees $7,563.86*
  • Books and Supplies $900*
  • *Please note that costs are based on the 2011-2012 academic year and subject to change. Visit Student Accounts for more information: http://www.albany.edu/studentaccounts/costs_grad.php.
  • Graduation Rates: As a number of students who completed the program during the most recent award year was less than 10, for privacy reasons, this information is not disclosed to the public.
  • Job placement rate of graduates: Reported if aligned with the requirements of the accreditor or State. Median loan debt of graduates: As the number who completed the program during the most recent award year was less than 10, for privacy reasons, this information is not disclosed to the public.

    • Certificate of Advanced Study in Public History

    18 additional credits, divided as follows:
    • 6 credits -
      Professional courses.
    • 4 credits -
      History academic course.
    • 6 credits -
      His 798B (Public History Internship).
    • 2 credits -
      His 797 (Directed Readings in Public History).
    Gainful Employment Program Disclosure
  • Program Name: Certificate in Advanced Study in Public History
  • CIP Code: 54.1010
  • Occupations: Curator, Historic Site Director, Archivist
  • Program costs for NY State residents:
  • This is a 54 credit program (4 semesters at 12 credits each and 1 summer semester). The Certificate for Advanced Study portion of this program consists of 18 credits beyond the 36-credit MA in Public History. For full-time students those 18 credits may be completed in two semesters. Costs below are based on two semesters of 9 credits each at the in-state rate.
  • Tuition and fees $7,563.86*
  • Books and Supplies $900*
  • *Please note that costs are based on the 2011-2012 academic year and subject to change. Visit Student Accounts for more information: http://www.albany.edu/studentaccounts/costs_grad.php.
  • Graduation Rates: As a number of students who completed the program during the most recent award year was less than 10, for privacy reasons, this information is not disclosed to the public.
  • Job placement rate of graduates: Reported if aligned with the requirements of the accreditor or State. Median loan debt of graduates: As the number who completed the program during the most recent award year was less than 10, for privacy reasons, this information is not disclosed to the public.

    • Course Offerings and Internships

    History Courses of Special Interest
  • His 519 - History of American Architecture
  • His 520 - Technology in the Industrial World
  • His 535 - Topics in Local and Regional History
  • His 590 - Quantitative Methods in History
  • His 594 - Readings and Practicum in Oral and Videohistory
  • His 602 - Readings in Visual Media and Culture
  • His 603 - Readings in U.S. and Comparative Public History
  • His 604 - Readings and Practicum in Aural History and Historical Documentary Production
  • His 606 - Readings and Practicum in Digital History and Hypermedia
  • His 621 - Readings in Local and Regional History
  • His 622 - Seminar in Local and Regional History
  • His 630 - Readings in Public Policy
  • His 631 - Seminar in Public Policy

    • These courses may be augmented with studies in American Intellectual History, History of Women in Modern Society, Readings in Colonial and Revolutionary History, and Readings in 19th and 20th century U.S. History. Please see Graduate Bulletin for further listings.

    Professional Courses

  • His 501 - Introduction to Public History
  • His 503 - Introduction to Historical Agency Management and Practice
  • His 504 - Curatorial Practices for Historical Agencies
  • His 505 - Interpretation of Historic Sites & Artifacts
  • His 507 - History and Public Policy
  • Isp 501 - History of Books and Printing
  • Isp 611 - Information Systems and Technology

    Applications

  • Isp 646 - Records Management
  • Isp 650 - U.S. Government Information Sources
  • Isp 655 - Rare Books
  • Isp 656 - Archives and Manuscripts
  • Pad 500 - Introduction to Public Administration

    The Internship

    The internship experience is a central part of the Public History Program. Public History interns have worked at the following sites:
  • Albany County Hall of Records
  • Albany Institute of History and Art
  • Canterbury Shaker Village
  • Crailo State Historic Site
  • Edison National Historic Site
  • Farmers' Museum, New York State
  • Historical Association Federation of Historical Services
  • Historic Hudson Valley
  • The Irish American Heritage Museum
  • Martin Van Buren National Historic Site
  • Mount Lebanon Shaker Village
  • New York Parks and Conservation Association
  • New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
  • New York State Division of the Budget
  • New York State Museum
  • New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation
  • New York State Temporary Commission on the Restoration of the Capitol
  • New York State United Teachers
  • Pickering Beach Museum
  • Rockefeller Archive Center
  • Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site
  • Sagamore, Historic Adirondack Great Camp
  • Saratoga National Historical Park
  • Schenectady City School District: Arts in Education Office
  • Schenectady Urban Cultural Park
  • Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site
  • Senate House State Historic Site
  • Shaker Heritage Society
  • Southwestern Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation Commission
  • State University of New York Central Administration
  • The Trustees of Reservations (Massachusetts)
  • United Technologies Corporation
  • United University Professions
  • University at Albany Oral History Program
  • Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site
  • Watervliet Arsenal Museum

    History Department Faculty: Public History

    For the most part, the program's professional courses are taught by working professionals, while the history content courses are taught by an outstanding academic faculty.

    ALLEN BALLARD. Ph.D, Harvard University. African-American history, local and regional history.

    GRAHAM BARKER-BENFIELD. Ph.D., University of California at Los Angeles. U.S. social history, history and psychology, history and medicine, American literature.

    RICHARD F. HAMM. Ph.D., University of Virginia. American legal history, especially in the nineteenth and twentieth-centuries; public policy; history and media.

    SUNG BOK KIM. Ph.D., Michigan State University. American history to 1800 (especially social), New York, modern revolutions.

    GRETCHEN SORIN. Ph.D., University at Albany, SUNY. Cooperstown Graduate Program, State University of N.Y. College at Oneonta. Adjunct Professor. Historical agency studies.

    IVAN D. STEEN. Ph.D., New York University. American urban history, local and regional history, oral history.

    AMY MURRELL TAYLOR. Ph.D., University of Virginia. Nineteenth-century U.S. history; Civil War and southern history; local and regional history, digital history.

    GERALD ZAHAVI. Ph.D., Syracuse University. Modern U.S. Labor, Business, and Social History; U.S. Local and Regional History; New York State History; Digital History; Computing and Quantitative/Statistical Methods in History; Oral and Videohistory; Media and History; Documentary Studies (film, radio, photography, hypermedia, text/narrative).

    Part-Time Faculty

    JOHN BONAFIDE. M.A., University at Albany. Historic Preservation Program Analyst, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

    RONALD BURCH. M.A., Cooperstown Graduate Program, SUNY College at Oneonta. Curator, Art and Architecture, New York State Museum.

    TAMMIS GROFT. M.A., Cooperstown Graduate Program, SUNY College at Oneonta. Chief Curator, Albany Institute of History and Art.

    DAVID W. PALMQUIST. M.A., University of Connecticut, Storrs. Head, Chartering Program, New York State Museum.

    JOHN SCHERER. M.A., Cooperstown Graduate Program, SUNY College at Oneonta. Associate Curator, New York State Museum.

    PATRICIA WEST. Ph.D., Binghamton University, SUNY. Curator, Martin Van Buren National Historic Site.

    Affiliated Faculty

    PHILIP B. EPPARD. Ph.D., Brown University. Professor, School of Information Science and Policy, University at Albany, Editor of the American Archivist, archives and manuscripts.


    For more information, contact:
    Ivan D. Steen, Director
    Public History Program
    Department of History
    University at Albany, SUNY
    Albany, NY 12222
    (518) 442-5372

    or

    Prof. David Hochfelder
    Dept. of History
    SS 119C
    University at Albany, SUNY
    Albany, NY 12222
    dhochfelder@albany.edu


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