Public History Program
Last Updated: October 17, 2024
16 Seminary Place, Van Dyck Hall, History Department
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Director(s)
Program Introduction
The Public History Program within the Rutgers University New Brunswick History Department offers opportunities to participate in public historical engagement through coursework, experiential learning, events, and collaborative projects. Students have the opportunity to engage with current debates around contested histories, work alongside community partners to share historical information with diverse audiences, and to learn more about the myriad methods and fields in which historians work. The program offers an undergraduate Certificate in Public History with exciting course offerings, and an experiential learning Public History Internship program, which connects students with opportunities to work and learn hands-on in the field.
Degrees Offered
- B.A. in History
- B.A. in History with a Certificate or Concentration in Public History
- M.A. in History
- M.A. in History with a Certificate or Concentration in Public History
- Ph.D. in History
- Ph.D. in History with a Certificate or Concentration in Public History
Program Strengths
- Archival Practices
- Historic Preservation
- Local/Community History
- Oral History
Credit Hour Requirements
15
Financial Aid Available
Students pursuing the Certificate in Public History are eligible for the same financial aid as all students in the Department of History.
Deadline To Apply
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis
Internship Requirements
Internships are available in Spring, Fall, and Summer semesters. Internships allow you to put your history skills to work, giving you the opportunity to try out a career and learn about the variety of ways you can use your degree, by gaining real-world experience working in museums, archives, libraries, historic sites, and other public and non-profit agencies. Students can pursue the internship to fulfill their requirements for the Certificate in Public History, to complete the capstone requirement for the History major, or simply out of interest and a desire to gain experience. Each semester, the internship cohort meets as a class (506:451) throughout the semester to discuss their experiences, learn more about public history, and hear from a variety of guest speakers who work in the field. Interested students should contact the program coordinator directly to get involved.
Places Where Students Have Interned During the Past 3 Years
- Ellis Island National Historical Park
- Puerto Rican Community Archives at the Newark Public Library
- Alice Paul House (Paulsdale
- East Jersey Old Town Village
- Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives
- Rutgers Oral History Archives
- Rutgers Geology Museum
- Morven Museum
- coLAB Arts
- NJ State Park Service
- Humanities Action Lab
- NJ Hispanic Research Information Center
- National Park Service
- and more
Job Placement Assistance
The program provides academic and career advising from faculty, program directors, and networking with practitioners.
Community & Institutional Connections
Rutgers public history students build impressive resumes of empowering research, interpretation, presentation, and outreach engagement. In recent years, these students have participated in the curation of exhibits at Rutgers Special Collections & University Archives and the New Brunswick Free Public Library, collaborated with the Humanities Action Lab, consulted on the construction of mobile apps featuring historical data, created and offered historical walking tours of the Rutgers campus as part of the Scarlet and Black Project. As part of their coursework, students in the Public History Program have processed and digitized archival collections at the New Jersey Hispanic Research Information Center and Puerto Rican Community Archives, planned community history events like Power and Protest: 50 Years After Rebellion in Camden: Recovering Histories, Exploring Memory, conducted fieldwork at museums, archives, and historic sites like Eastern State Penitentiary, the Brooklyn Historical Society, and the Cornelius Low House Museum, conducted oral history interviews with coLAB Arts, the Rutgers Oral History Archives, created podcasts, and much more.
Since 2016, the program has been directed by a public historian and scholar of early American history who has worked in the field as an archivist, curator, research analyst, and consultant, Dr. Kristin O’Brassill-Kulfan.