Central Connecticut State University* | National Council on Public History

MA in Public History

Last Updated: October 15, 2024

CCSU History Department
1516 Stanley Street

New Britain, CT 06051

[email protected]

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Director(s)

Leah Glaser
[email protected]
860-832-2825

Program Introduction

Established in 2002, the M.A. in Public History at Central Connecticut State University admits five to eight students each year. The program specializes in preparing students for work in history museums and historic preservation, but also includes opportunities for coursework in digital history. CCSU is centrally located in New Britain, and the M.A. Program in Public History uses all of Connecticut and southern New England as its field lab, drawing on the region’s wealth of museums, historical societies, archives, and historic sites.

Degrees Offered

M.A. in Public History
Public History Minor

Program Strengths

Digital Media
Historic Preservation
Historical Archaeology
Local/Community History
Material Culture
Museum Studies
Oral History

Credit Hour Requirements

How Many Students are Admitted Annually

MA5-8

Financial Aid Available

Graduate Assistantships
Scholarships
Loans
In-State Tuition

Deadline To Apply

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis

Internship Requirements

Students choose their internships with input and assistance from faculty advisor. Internships can be paid and unpaid. Students receive 3 credit hours for their internships, which are part of the regular course requirements.

Places Where Students Have Interned During the Past 3 Years

Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
Preservation Connecticut
Connecticut State Archives
Weir Farm National Historic Site
Mystic Seaport Museum
Hartford Preservation Alliance
Manchester Historical Society
Wethersfield Historical Society
CCSU Veterans’ History Project
Wadsworth Atheneum
Harriet Beecher Stowe Center
Connecticut Old State House
Mark Twain House

Job Placement Assistance

In conjunction with Career Services, the Public History Coordinator assists students with job searches, resume and cover letter writing, and interviewing. The coordinator also circulates job postings and alerts students to opportunities.

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

National Park Service
Library of Congress
Old Sturbridge Village
Wells Fargo History Museum
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Connecticut Humanities
Mattatuck Museum
New London Landmarks
Stanley Whitman House
Mystic Seaport Museum
Connecticut Landmarks
Preservation Connecticut
Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
Mark Twain House
Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office

Certificate in Cultural Resource Management

Last Updated: October 15, 2024

[email protected]

Visit Website

Director(s)

Leah S. Glaser, [email protected], 860-832-2825

Elizabeth Clay, [email protected], (860) 832-2615

Program Introduction

Established in 2002, Central Connecticut State University' Public History program admits and average of five to ten students each year. About 3-6 students graduate each academic year. We have joined with our Department of Anthropology, Geography, and Tourism to offer certificates in Cultural Resource Management (CRM) at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Students can focus on archaeology, historic preservation, or planning. Faculty direct and support CCSU's Archaeology laboratory for African and African Diaspora Studies. The Center for Africana Studies is the first such center in the United States to be associated with an archaeological program and laboratory. The program offers an MA in Public History, with an option of a graduate-level certificate in CRM (12 credits). Those already possessing an MA in History, Public History, or Archaeology can also earn a certificate without pursuing a Public History MA. At the undergraduate level, we offer a Public History minor, with an option of pairing it with a CRM certificate (15 credits). Certificate credits can be stacked with both the MA and BA degree programs.

Degrees Offered

B.A. in History
M.A. in Public History
Public History Minor
Other

Program Strengths

Digital Media
Historic Preservation
Historical Archaeology
Local/Community History
Material Culture
Museum Studies
Oral History
Public Policy

Credit Hour Requirements

12 (Grad); 15 (UG)

How Many Students are Admitted Annually

BAN/A (brand new program)

MAN/A (brand new program)

Full-time Program Staff/Faculty

Two FT faculty co-coordinate the program from the History and Anthropology/Geography Departments. At least one additional FT Historian and an Archeologist will also be part of the program.

Financial Aid Available

If enrolled in the MA program in Public History, we offer assistantships through the university or through one of our community partners. We support students in finding relevant part-time work.

Internship Requirements

For the graduate and undergraduate certificate program, students have the option of either completing an internship with a local, state, or federal agency, a CRM consulting group, a preservation organization, or an archeological field school through CCSU or another approved entity.

Places Where Students Have Interned During the Past 3 Years

Students will have the opportunity to be part of a local field school/ archeological dig.

CCSU field schools have been based at the the African Burying Ground in New York City, the Lighthouse Community in Barkhamsted, Connecticut, and the Archer Memorial AME Zion Church in Windsor, Connecticut.

Internships may include places where students in the Public History program have worked in the past, including the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office, Preservation Connecticut, the Connecticut Department of Transportation, or Heritage Consultants, LLC.

Job Placement Percentage Within One Year

N/A

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

This is a brand new program, but we anticipate that Heritage Consultants will hire our students, and that state agencies will either hire FT, or as regular consultants.

Due to the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill, we anticipate a great demand for students who meet the federal standards.

Community & Institutional Connections

CCSU’s Archaeology laboratory for African and African Diaspora Studies
Connecticut State Historic Preservation office
Institute of American Indian Studies, Washington, CT
We are cultivating a relationship with Mohegan Tribal Historic Preservation Office