Weitzman School of Design, Department of Historic Preservation

Last Updated: December 12, 2025

210 South 34th St
Meyerson Hall 115

Philadelphia, PA 19104

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Director(s)

Randall Mason, [email protected]

215-898-3169

Program Introduction

Established in 1981, the Historic Preservation department, which offers a two-year Master of Science in Historic Preservation (MSHP) and a one-year Master of Science in Design with a concentration in Historic Preservation (MSD-HP). A Certificate in Historic Preservation is also available to students enrolled in other graduate degree programs in the Weitzman School (including Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and City Planning). The program has about 800 graduates and around 25 students are admitted annually.

Degrees Offered

  • Public History Minor
  • Other

Program Strengths

  • Archival Practices
  • Digital Media
  • Historic Preservation
  • Historical Administration
  • Local/Community History
  • Material Culture
  • Museum Studies
  • Oral History
  • Public Policy

Credit Hour Requirements

19

How Many Students are Admitted Annually

MA25

Full-time Program Staff/Faculty

12

Financial Aid Available

Scholarships (merit based) and assistantships (research and administrative)

Deadline To Apply

Early January

Internship Requirements

A summer internship is required for two year MSHP students between their first and second years. The internships are arranged by the students with support from the program. The internship is not for course credit and can be paid or unpaid.

Places Where Students Have Interned During the Past 3 Years

  • UPenn Architectural Conservation Laboratory
  • The Lower Merion Conservancy
  • Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners
  • Bero-Howk Historic Preservation Internship
  • Center for Architectural Conservation
  • ICCROM
  • Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center
  • Eastern State Penitentiary & International Masonry Institute
  • Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia
  • World Monuments Fund
  • Cliveden of the National Trust
  • Center for Architectural Conservation
  • Dell Upton
  • Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens
  • Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation
  • Peking University Planning and Design Institute
  • The Palace Museum, Beijing
  • The Second Surveying and Mapping Institute
  • Walter B. Melvin Architects
  • Center for Architectural Conservation, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, and Think City
  • Center for Architectural Conservation
  • Center for the Preservation of Civil Rights Sites
  • Hennebery Eddy Architects
  • Shanxi Ancient Architecture Conservation Institute
  • The Tileworks of Bucks County
  • Richard Grubb & Associates, Inc.
  • Parks Canada
  • Unknown Studio Landscape Architecture & Urban Design
  • EHT Traceries
  • Architectural Resources Group
  • Southeast University
  • Urban Heritage Project, PennPraxis
  • Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust
  • ICOMOS China
  • NBBJ Architects
  • AECOM
  • CIRCA Old Houses / Heritage Consulting Inc.
  • Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)
  • CVM Entineers
  • Heritage Consulting Inc.

Job Placement Assistance

Job placement assistance is offered through the school wide career development office with additional department support.

Job Placement Percentage Within One Year

100% (with 50% reporting)

Employers Who Have Hired Graduates from this Program within the Past Five Years

  • Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners LLP
  • Center for Architectural Conservation
  • NJ Department of Environmental Protection
  • Quinn Evans
  • RWDI
  • Klein and Hoffman, Inc.
  • National Park Service
  • Page & Turnbull
  • Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation
  • Preservation Design Partnership
  • RLA Conservation of Art & Architecture
  • Shanghai Jiao Tong University
  • Stokes Architecture
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Walter Sedovic Architect
  • WRT
  • City of Philadelphia
  • Lake Worth Beach
  • Materials Conservation
  • MTFA Architecture
  • Architectural Resources Group
  • Atkinson-Noland & Associates
  • Ayser Saint Gross
  • City of Hammond
  • Escuela Taller de Conservacion y Restauracion del Patrimonio Historico de Puerto Rico
  • ICF
  • Integrated Conservation (ICR-ICC)
  • Local Initiatives Support Corporation
  • National Trust for Historic Preservation
  • National University of Science and Technology
  • Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
  • Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc.
  • CVM Professional
  • Econsult Solutions
  • NYC Department of Parks & Recreations
  • Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia
  • Walter Sedovic Architects