BA in History, Public History Option

Last Updated: October 15, 2024

1000 Rim Drive

Durango, CO 81301

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Director(s)

Dr. Andrew Gulliford

Professor of History & Environmental Studies

[email protected]

970-247-7011

Program Introduction

Fort Lewis College, which has free tuition for Native Americans and Alaska Natives, graduates more indigenous students than any college in the nation. We also have one of the few public history programs at the undergraduate level as well as a free-standing Heritage Preservation Certificate. Students go on to work in tribal museums, in tribal historic preservation programs, and a variety of other vocations as well as graduate school. We have a unique three-two program at the University of Colorado Denver where students attend Fort Lewis for three years and can then earn their M.A. in History at CU Denver in two years. We also have a free-standing Museum Studies Certificate.

Degrees Offered

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

Program Strengths

  • Archival Practices
  • Historic Preservation
  • Local/Community History
  • Museum Studies
  • Oral History
  • Other

Credit Hour Requirements

Depends on the program

How Many Students are Admitted Annually

BA20

Full-time Program Staff/Faculty

Six full-time in History and at the cooperative Center of Southwest Studies five fulltime. We are unique in that as an undergraduate institution we have our own campus archive, museum, exhibit area, and collections management.

Financial Aid Available

Teaching assistantships, tuition waivers, scholarships, and work study funding.

Deadline To Apply

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis

Internship Requirements

Internships are arranged with a History professor and are a minimum of 160 contact hours. Some are paid and some are not. Some occur in Alaskan villages or at tribal museums or tribal historic preservation offices. The student writes a contract explaining what he or she will do and then the contract is signed by the mentor, the student, and the History professor.

Places Where Students Have Interned During the Past 3 Years

  • Center of Southwest Studies, Fort Lewis College
  • a law firm in Durango
  • Durango Herald newspaper
  • Colorado Historical Society
  • Mesa Verde National Park
  • Animas Museum, Durango

Job Placement Assistance

We help with letters of reference and we help students either attend graduate school or to find the public history job of their choice.

Job Placement Percentage Within One Year

90%. Our latest graduates are working with the National Park Service.

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

  • History Colorado
  • National Park Service at Yosemite
  • NAGPRA Coordinator for the Hopi Tribe

and other locations. Sometimes our graduates email us about their positions sometimes they do not.

Community & Institutional Connections

Our most important collaboration is with the campus Center of Southwest Studies. Check them out on their website at FLC.