Program Overview

Public History Track

The public history track at Washington State University is designed to introduce students to areas outside the academic setting where they can apply their training. This track prepares students to adapt and apply skills in history to private and public audiences on the local, state, and national levels.

Program Overview

The public history program at Washington State University was established in 1979 and offers both an M.A. and Ph.D. The program's mission is to train graduate students to work on historical projects with a broad range of audiences and institutions, as well as prepare them for positions in museums, archives, and historic preservation.

Program Details

• The public history track augments traditional graduate curricula by introducing students to areas outside the academic setting where they can apply their training.
• Three specific graduate courses offer introductory background and general training in public history.
• Internships, additional coursework (including workshops, seminars, short courses, and courses outside the department), and the thesis/dissertation offer further specialization.
• Specific areas of public history activity include:
  • Archives
  • Business and corporate history
  • Cultural resource management
  • Historic preservation
  • Litigation support
  • Museums
  • Public policy

Career Opportunities

Career opportunities for public historians include traditional academic positions, but more often employment can be found in:

• Local and state historical societies
• State historical agencies
• Public and private libraries and archives
• Numerous federal agencies such as:
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • Bureau of Reclamation
  • National Park Service
  • U.S. Forest Service
• Private research firms that undertake contracted research and historical report preparation
• Independent contracting for such work

Affiliations

• National Parks Conservation Association
• National Council on Public History
• State Historical Preservation Office (Arizona)

WICHE Program

The graduate program in history is a participant in the Western Regional Graduate Program of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). This makes high-quality graduate programs available to WICHE-state students at a reasonable cost. Through this program, residents of:

• Alaska
• Arizona
• Colorado
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• North Dakota
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Washington
• Wyoming are eligible to enroll at resident rates of tuition.