Public History Program

Last Updated: October 3, 2024

1032 W. Loyola Ave.
History Department

Chicago, IL 60660

Visit Website

Director(s)

Patricia Mooney-Melvin

[email protected]

773-508- 2228

Program Introduction

Public History at Loyola University Chicago began in 1980 as one of the first programs in the Midwest to launch such a curriculum at the Master's level. At this time, public history was a very new field in the history discipline, and Loyola's inauguration of its MA program coincided with the founding of the National Council on Public History (NCPH) in 1980. Our own Professors Ted Karamanski and Patricia Mooney-Melvin were active leaders in the formation of NCPH, and both would later serve terms as NCPH Presidents. Dr. Karamanski spearheaded the first NCPH code of ethics.

The Masters in Public History is the core of the Loyola program. It is a 31 semester credit hours program. There is also a Joint Public History MA/MLIS Program we partner with Dominican University. Our doctoral program continues to be the only one of its kind in the Midwest (and only Jesuit institution in the country) that allows graduates to pursue public history work at the doctoral level, and the addition of this degree program indicated the growing need and influence of public history professionals working in the academy and in administrative roles in the public and private sectors.

The 2020-2021 academic year marked the 40th anniversary of Loyola University's Public History program.
187 Public History MAs
20 Public History MA/Master's in Library and Information Systems Dual Degrees
26 Joint Public History/American History PhDs

Degrees Offered

  • M.A. in Public History
  • Ph.D. in History
  • Other

Program Strengths

  • Archival Practices
  • Digital Media
  • Historic Preservation
  • Library Science Program
  • Museum Studies

Credit Hour Requirements

MA in Public History 31 hours; PhD 60 hours; Dual program with Dominican - 54 (24 at Loyola and 30 at Dominican)

How Many Students are Admitted Annually

MA12

PhD3

MAs produced last year

10

Full-time Program Staff/Faculty

Patricia Mooney-Melvin

Elizabeth Fraterrigo

Christopher Cantwell

D. Bradford Hunt

Financial Aid Available

Assistantships
Partial Tuition Waiver

Deadline To Apply

May 1

Places Where Students Have Interned During the Past 3 Years

  • Illinois Holocaust Museum
  • National Park Service, Washington, DC Office
  • Pullman National Monument
  • National Museum of the American Indian
  • Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
  • National Railroad Museum
  • Field Museum of Natural History
  • Winnetka Historical Society
  • Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership
  • Fredericksburg National Battlefield Park
  • Newberry Library
  • Journal of the Plague Year
  • Landmark Illinois
  • Pritzker Military Library and Museum
  • First Division Museum
  • Evanston History Center
  • Frances Willard House Museum and Archives

Job Placement Assistance

Regular posting of job opportunities, networking with area partner institutions, and large alumni network.

Job Placement Percentage Within One Year

80-90%

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

  • St. Louis University Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation Project
  • Midwest Collaborative for Library Sciences
  • Texas State University – San Marcos
  • Omnia History
  • Winnetka Historical Society
  • New Brunswick Theological Seminary
  • Kroll Associates, Inc.
  • National Parks Service
  • University of Wisconsin
  • Chicago Field Museum
  • Luci Creative
  • Newberry Library
  • EBI Consulting
  • Washington Trust for Historic Preservation
  • Missouri Historical Society
  • HNTP Corporation
  • University of Northern Colorado
  • Milwaukee Public Museum
  • University of Maine
  • South Dakota State Library
  • Chicago Film Archives
  • Lake County Forest Preserve District
  • First Division Museum

Community & Institutional Connections

Chicago Metropolitan area, regional, and national institutions.