Advanced Certificate in Public History

Last Updated: June 12, 2025

2800 Victory Blvd
2N-215

Staten Island, NY 10314

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Director(s)

Prof. Natalie Kimball (they/them)

[email protected]

Program Introduction

Launched in 2017/18, the Advanced Certificate in Public History Program at the College of Staten Island/CUNY is a graduate program that includes an extended internship at a museum, archive, or other history institution in New York City. It can be completed as a stand-alone 20-credit post-baccalaureate qualification or alongside the College’s History MA Program. The College admits up to fifteen students in total per year into its Advanced Certificate in Public History and History MA programs. Approximately 120 students have graduated from the History MA Program since its founding in 2002.

Degrees Offered

  • B.A. in History
  • M.A. in History
  • M.A. in History with a Certificate or Concentration in Public History
  • Museum Studies Degree, Certificate, or Minor

Program Strengths

  • Archival Practices
  • Historical Archaeology
  • Local/Community History
  • Museum Studies
  • Oral History

Credit Hour Requirements

20

How Many Students are Admitted Annually

BA40

MA5

MAs produced last year

8

Full-time Program Staff/Faculty

  • Prof. Susan Smith-Peter, public history, archival studies, history of COVID-19 on Staten Island project
  • Prof. Natalie Kimball, oral history
  • Prof. Eric Ivison, museum studies and archaeology
  • Prof. John Dixon, history of New York City and public history

Financial Aid Available

Scholarships, teaching and research assistantships, in-state tuition status, some paid internships through CUNY Cultural Corps

Deadline To Apply

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis

Internship Requirements

Students must complete a directed field assignment as part of a required 4-credit course (HST 719: Public History Practicum/Internship). These internships are unpaid and form part of the regular coursework. Students gain practical experience engaging in hands-on work (representing 8 hours per week) at a museum, archive, or other public history site in the New York City region. In addition, they produce substantial and practical research reports--such as finding aids, interpretive materials, or grant proposals--based on their field placements.

Places Where Students Have Interned During the Past 3 Years

New York Road Runners

Museum of the City of New York

National Park Service

Historic Richmond Town

Staten Island Museum

Shevchenko Scientific Society

Job Placement Assistance

Internships often lead to jobs. The program regularly sends out jobs listings and connects students with job websites, newsletters and more. The program has created ties with local cultural institutions that include joint events that assist with networking. Career-infused degree maps.

Job Placement Percentage Within One Year

70%

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

National Park Service

Department of Education

New York Community Trust

NYC Department of Parks and Recreation

Historic Richmond Town

Community & Institutional Connections

We have extensive connections to the local community.  We have extensive connections with museums, historical societies, and parks throughout New York City.  Our alumni are found in many relevant institutions and have helped to mentor new graduates.  We worked with the Museum of the City of New York to represent Staten Island in an exhibit about the city during COVID.  We worked together with local institutions to help tell the history of COVID on Staten Island through the Lockdown Staten Island project, which is the only project to do so on the Journal of the Plague Year, the nationwide repository for such projects.