Archives and Public History

Last Updated: February 4, 2021

53 Washington Square South
Room 704

New York, NY 10012

Visit Website

Director(s)

Ellen Noonan
[email protected]

212-998-8601

Program Introduction

New York University has long-established programs in archival management (1977) and public history (1981). We combined and reconfigured these programs into a new M.A. in Archives and Public History in 2007, with concentrations in either archives or public history. In addition to the M.A., we offer Advanced Certificates in archives and public history, as well as a dual degree MA/MLIS Program in conjunction with the Palmer School of Library and Information Science. The program admits 12-15 students per year. Several hundred students have graduated from the program since the 1970s.

Degrees Offered

  • M.A. in Public History

Program Strengths

  • Archival Practices
  • Digital Media
  • Library Science Program
  • Local/Community History
  • Publishing

Credit Hour Requirements

32 for MA; 20 for Advanced Certificate

How Many Students are Admitted Annually

MA12-15

MAs produced last year

4

Financial Aid Available

A limited number of tuition support awards are available each year as are opportunities to apply for library assistantships; all program applicants are automatically considered for these awards and assistantships. NYU also offers loan programs to graduate students.

Deadline To Apply

March 2

Internship Requirements

The four credit Internship Seminar course is required of all students; in addition to weekly meetings (which cover various aspects of the professional practice of public history and archives, including presentations by professionals in the field), students complete 120 hours of supervised project work at a site arranged by the program director.

Places Where Students Have Interned During the Past 3 Years

  • American Field Services Intercultural Programs
  • American Social History Project
  • Ark Media
  • Brooklyn Historical Society
  • Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration
  • International Coalition of Sites of Conscience
  • Lower East Side Tenement Museum
  • Museum of the City of New York
  • National Archives and Records Administration
  • New-York Historical Society
  • New York City Municipal Archives

Job Placement Assistance

In addition to help from the program director and alumni networking, the program maintains an active listserv that circulates job listings in archives and public history to all current students and alumni; also New York University's Wasserman Center for Career Development.

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

  • American Express
  • Archdiocese of New York
  • Center for Jewish History
  • Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
  • Institute of Museum and Library Services
  • The Hermitage Museum
  • National September 11 Memorial Museum
  • New York City Municipal Archives
  • New-York Historical Society
  • New York State Archives
  • Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University
  • Wells Fargo