Embedded Certificate in Public History

This Certificate introduces West Georgia students to the interdisciplinary field of public history and provides students with specific training to be successful in the field. The completion of this Certificate program gives students an edge in today’s highly competitive job market. The training for the Certificate encourages students to engage in interdisciplinary research and community outreach activities.

Public historians are historians who “do history outside of the academy,” whether in a museum, historical society, archives, historic preservation office, or other type of local or regional history association or organization. This Certificate introduces students to these careers and begins building skillsets in addition to those gained as part of the student’s major. Students who engage in public history training build intercultural awareness and aptitude as community bridge-builders; these are less tangible traits but ones that are crucial to students’ future civic life.

The Certificate program is open to all UWG undergraduate students interested in career opportunities in this field. Because public history is interdisciplinary, students from a variety of fields may see the opportunity for potential careers in this field, including not only history but art history, studio art, anthropology, business, marketing, English, and other humanities fields. Regardless of your major, this Certificate will provide training for participants in areas such as career preparation, professionalism, and work experience.

History majors can count the Public History Certificate as a minor field, if desired.

Students must formally apply with the Undergraduate Public History Advisor, Ms. Keri

Adams, in the History Program. Please contact her at madams@westga.edu or

By phone at 678-839-5275.

Requirements

Three required courses (7 hours)

HIST 4400 - Introduction to Public History 3 Credit Hours
HIST 4101 - Professionalism in Public Prac 1 Credit Hours
HIST 4486 - Public History Internship 3.0 - 6.0 Credit Hours

One Upper-Level History Course, 3000 or 4000 level (3 hours)

History majors may count a course in their major field towards this requirement.

One Seminar in Public History Practices and Theory from Appendix A (3 hours)

Two Public History Electives, chosen from Appendix B (6-7 hours)

At least one of these courses must be outside of the History field. Please note that additional courses may be acceptable for this field with the program advisor’s approval.

Appendix A

HIST 4401 - Theory and Practice of Oral History 3 Credit Hours
HIST 4402 - Introduction to Archival Theory and Practice 3 Credit Hours
HIST 4403 - Introduction to Museum Studies 3 Credit Hours
HIST 4404 - History of American Architecture 3 Credit Hours

Appendix B

HIST 4401 - Theory and Practice of Oral History 3 Credit Hours
HIST 4402 - Introduction to Archival Theory and Practice 3 Credit Hours
HIST 4403 - Introduction to Museum Studies 3 Credit Hours
HIST 4404 - History of American Architecture 3 Credit Hours
ABED 3100 - Business Communication 3 Credit Hours
ACCT 2101 - Principles of Accounting I 3 Credit Hours
ANTH 3103 - Archaeological Laboratory Methods 3 Credit Hours
ANTH 3170 - Religion in America: The Shakers and Other Utopian Societies 3 Credit Hours
ANTH 3180 - Environment and Health: Anthropological Perspectives 3 Credit Hours
ANTH 3188 - Ethnographic Field Methods 4 Credit Hours
ANTH 4102 - Archaeological Field Research 4 Credit Hours
ANTH 4105 - Environmental Archaeology 3 Credit Hours
ANTH 4115 - North American Archaeology 3 Credit Hours
ANTH 4181 - Cultural Resources Management 3 Credit Hours
ANTH 4201 - Artifact Analysis 3 Credit Hours
ART 3701 - Intro to Photography 3 Credit Hours
ART 3210 - Non-Western Art 3 Credit Hours
ART 3220 - Art of the Ancient World 3 Credit Hours
ART 3240 - Italian Renaissance or Baroque Art 3 Credit Hours
ART 3250 - 18th or 19th Century Art 3 Credit Hours
ART 3260 - American Art 3 Credit Hours
ART 3270 - Pre-World War II Modernism 3 Credit Hours
ART 3275 - Art Since 1945 3 Credit Hours
ART 3280 - Museum Seminar 3.0 - 4.0 Credit Hours
ART 3401 - Graphic Design I 3 Credit Hours
ART 3403 - History of Graphic Design 3 Credit Hours
ENGL 3405 - Professional and Technical Writing 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 2553 - Introduction to GIS and Mapping Sciences 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 3085 - Selected Topics in Regional Geography 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 3643 - Urban Geography 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 3644 - Atlanta’s Geographies 3 Credit Hours
GEOG 4553 - Geographic Information System 4 Credit Hours
MGNT 3600 - Management 3 Credit Hours
MKTG 3803 - Principles of Marketing 3 Credit Hours
MKTG 4808 - Marketing Information Systems and Research 3 Credit Hours
MKTG 3810 - Social Media and Online Marketing 3 Credit Hours
MUSC 3702 - Western Music After 1825 and World Music 3 Credit Hours
THEA 3290 - Costume Design 3 Credit Hours
THEA 3415 - Playwriting I: Devised Theatre 3 Credit Hours
THEA 4415 - Playwriting II 3 Credit Hours