Public History Track

Last Updated: February 4, 2021

Department of History
PO Box 644030, Washington State University

Pullman, WA 99164-4030

Visit Website

Director(s)

Orlan Svingen
[email protected]
509-335-5205

https://history.wsu.edu/
https://history.wsu.edu/graduate-studies/public-history-field-school/
www.osvingen.com

Program Introduction

The public history program at Washington State University was established in 1979 and offers both M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. WSU’s public history mission is two-fold: 1) to train its graduate students in rigorous historical inquiry and debate that will advance their archival research and writing skills within both academic and public contexts; 2) to train its graduate students to work collaboratively on historical projects with a broad range of audiences and institutions, thereby preparing them for university and non-teaching positions in a wide field of public history subfields.

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
  • Material Culture
  • Oral History
  • Other
  • Public Policy

Credit Hour Requirements

The M.A. degree requires 30 semester hours beyond the B.A. degree. The Ph.D. degree requires 72 semester hours beyond the B.A. degree.

How Many Students are Admitted Annually

MA5

PhD5

Financial Aid Available

• Teaching assistantships
• WICHE in-state tuition status
• Extramural funding opportunities
• A number of M.A. And Ph.D. Scholarships are awarded competitively two times a year.

Deadline To Apply

M.A. and Ph.D. applicants must have their applications submitted by January 10th.

Internship Requirements

M.A. and Ph.D. students develop their internship plans in consultation with their public history mentor. A three semester credit hour internship is the minimum, comprising 120 hours, but internships may be up to ten semester hours, comprising 400 hours. The department strives to ensure that graduate students interns are compensated.

Places Where Students Have Interned During the Past 3 Years

  • Museum of the City of New York
  • Language Culture and Preservation Department, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes
  • Manuscripts, Archives, Special Collections, New Holland Library, WSU

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

  • University of North Alabama
  • Oklahoma State University
  • Lewis-Clark State College