Public History (Certificate)

Required Core (6 credit hours)
HST 502 Public History Methodology (3)
HST/WWS 585 Professional Experience (3)

Other Requirements (3 credit hours)
HST 580 Practicum (3) or
HST/WWS 585 Professional Experience (3) or
WWS 563 The Lived Experience of World War II (3)

Electives (6 credit hours)

Additional Curriculum Information
HST 585 Professional Experience is crosslisted with WWS 585 Professional Experience, and students can take either section to fulfill certificate requirements. For Other Requirements coursework, students complete either an additional 3 credit hours of HST/WWS 585, WWS 563 The Lived Experience in World War II or take an HST 580 course from an approved list. Students should see the unit for an approved list of other requirements and elective topics.

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in any field from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

Applicants are required to submit:

1. graduate admissions application and application fee
2. official transcripts
3. personal statement
4. professional resume
5. written statement
6. proof of English proficiency

Additional Admission Information
An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of current residency. The history program requires a TOEFL iBT® score of at least 90, taken in a testing center.

The personal statement, about 500 words in length, should be addressed to the history admission committee and should explain the applicant's scholarly background and training, career goals, and why the applicant wants to pursue graduate study at ASU in public history.

The written statement should respond to the following prompt: Public history is most simply defined as history put to work in the world. In a brief statement (about 500 words), tell us your experiences in, or thoughts about, how you have, or would like to, put history to work in the world and how ASU's public history program might help you accomplish your career and/or intellectual goals as a historian.

All applications are reviewed by multiple ASU faculty members and assessed holistically to determine if they demonstrate the capacity to succeed in a rigorous and writing-intensive graduate program. This decision is made on the basis of prior coursework (particularly in history and other social sciences), the quality of the written statement and the personal statement. Prior coursework in history is not a requirement, but in such cases, applicants will want to have a strong written statement.

Graduates possess the theoretical knowledge and practical, hands-on training experience needed for careers in research, teaching, government service, public history and a host of other positions in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

Graduates serve as first-rate historians, researchers and consultants, foreign service officers, management professionals, community organizers and public servants.

Other career examples include:

• archivist
• collections manager
• editor
• museum director
• national parks historian and park ranger
• nonprofit director