Online Master’s in Public History – Historic Preservation Explore How to Keep Historic Landmarks and Items for Future Generations
36
Credit Hours
100% online, 8-week courses
Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total
Dedicate Your Career to the Preservation of Historical Sites and Artifacts with Liberty’s Online Master’s in Public History – Historic Preservation
Are you driven to preserve history for generations to come? Discover preservation techniques, cultural heritage, and public engagement methods so you can safeguard history for future generations. From historic landmarks in the U.S. to ancient sites in Europe, China, and Australia, history has left its mark on buildings, landscapes, and cities worldwide. With Liberty University’s online Master of Arts (MA) in Public History – Historic Preservation, you can study how to protect and preserve these important sites.
This program is designed to help equip you with the skills needed to conserve historical spaces and engage the public in preserving cultural heritage. Through Liberty’s online public history and historic preservation program, you can prepare to pursue careers in historic site preservation, museums, heritage management, national parks, and other fields dedicated to safeguarding history. Join us and explore how to preserve the past within the field of historic preservation.
Why Choose Liberty’s Online Public History Master’s in Historic Preservation Degree?
As a leader in distance education since 1985, we know what it takes to create an online degree program that’s both rigorous and flexible. Our MA in Public History – Historic Preservation is offered 100% online with no set login times or required intensives, allowing you to balance your studies with your personal and professional commitments. If you would like to gain hands-on, in-person experience, you can choose to complete an archaeological field studies course.
Pursuing our MA in Public History could help prepare you for your personal or professional goals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a master’s degree is typically required to enter the public history field.* Our program can not only help you explore the past and share it with others but also help prepare you to pursue a career you’re passionate about.
Liberty University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), ensuring that our programs meet rigorous academic standards. Earning your public history degree with Liberty is more than a short-term investment — it’s a decision that can help equip you for the future.
*Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, at Historians (viewed online Sep. 16, 2024). Cited projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions and do not guarantee actual job growth.
What Will You Study in Our Public History – Historic Preservation Graduate Program?
Our master’s degree in public history and historic preservation is structured into 3 key components: core courses, historic preservation courses, and elective courses.
In the core courses, you will dive into public history methods and public history theory. You’ll also explore topics such as conservation, local historical research, and digital history. Your digital history course will culminate in a professional digital project. Additional coursework will cover America’s Christian heritage and how it has influenced various aspects of the American character.
As part of your historic preservation specialization, you will study advanced courses such as Remote Sensing, Historic Conservation and Preservation, and Building and Landscape Conservation. You’ll also be able to choose 1 of 2 available archaeology courses. These courses can help equip you with specialized skills for conserving and managing historic buildings, landscapes, and cultural artifacts.
As part of your archaeological studies, you’ll have the option to focus on historical archaeology or participate in an archaeological fieldwork intensive, providing hands-on experience in the field. This component can allow you to deepen your understanding of how archaeological practices contribute to preserving historical sites.
Additionally, this degree allows you to choose 3 elective courses that can further focus or expand your degree. You can study any combination of history-related courses, or you can choose a thesis option and take courses focused on research and thesis defense. One available elective course is an optional internship, which will also give you the opportunity to gain real-world experience.
Potential Career Opportunities
- Archaeological assistant
- Architectural conservator
- Architectural historian
- Curator
- Historian
- Historic preservation planner
- Landscape architect
- Museum educator
- Restoration specialist
Featured Courses
- GEOG 640 – Remote Sensing
- HIST 611 – Historic Conservation and Preservation
- HIST 612 – Building and Landscape Conservation*
- HIST 620 – Historical Archaeology
*Course guide coming soon
Degree Information
- This program falls under the College of Arts and Sciences.
- View the Graduate Arts and Sciences Course Guides (login required).
Degree Completion Plan (PDF)
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Tuition & Aid
Your success is our success, which is why we are committed to providing quality academics at an affordable tuition rate. While other colleges are increasing their tuition, we have frozen tuition rates for the majority of our undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs for the past 9 years – and counting.
Graduate Full Time | $565/Credit |
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Graduate Part Time | $615/Credit |
Military Graduate | $275/Credit |
Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Admission Information for Our Online Master’s in Public History – Historic Preservation
Admission Requirements
- Apply online or over the phone with an admissions counselor by calling (800) 424-9596.
- A non-refundable, non-transferable $50 application fee will be posted on the current application upon enrollment (waived for qualifying service members, veterans, and military spouses – documentation verifying military status is required).
- Send official college transcripts (mailed as sealed, unopened copies or sent via a direct electronic transcript system). A regionally or nationally accredited bachelor’s degree with at least a 3.0 GPA is required for admission in good standing. Applicants who have earned a master’s degree or at least 12 graduate credits from an accredited institution will be assessed on the basis of the master’s-level degree work.
- Unofficial transcripts can be used for acceptance purposes with the submission of a Transcript Request Form.
- Applicants whose native language is other than English must submit official scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an approved alternative assessment. For information on alternative assessments or TOEFL waivers, please call Admissions or view the official International Admissions policy.
Preliminary Acceptance
If you are sending in a preliminary transcript for acceptance, you must:
- Be in your final term and planning to start your master’s degree after the last day of class for your bachelor’s degree.
- Complete a Bachelor’s Self-Certification Form confirming your completion date. You may download the form from the Forms and Downloads page or contact an admissions counselor to submit the form on your behalf.
- Submit an official/unofficial transcript to confirm that you are in your final term. The preliminary transcript must show a minimum of 105 completed credit hours.
- If you are a current Liberty University student completing your undergraduate degree, you will need to submit a Degree/Certificate Completion Application.
- Send in an additional, final official transcript with a conferral date on it by the end of your first semester of enrollment in the new master’s degree.
Dual Enrollment
Please see the Online Dual Enrollment page for information about starting graduate courses while finishing your bachelor’s degree.
Transcript Policies
Unofficial College Transcript Policy
Unofficial transcripts combined with a Transcript Request Form can be used for admission. Official transcripts are required within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first, and will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.
Before sending unofficial college transcripts, please make sure they include the following:
- Your previous school’s name or logo printed on the document
- Cumulative GPA
- A list of completed courses and earned credit broken down by semester
- Degree and date conferred (if applicable)
Official College Transcript Policy
An acceptable official college transcript is one that has been issued directly from the institution and is in a sealed envelope. If you have one in your possession, it must meet the same requirements. If your previous institution offers electronic official transcript processing, they can send the document directly to luoverify@liberty.edu.
If the student uses unofficial transcripts with a Transcript Request Form to gain acceptance, all official transcripts must be received within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first. Failure to send all official transcripts within the 60-day period will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.
Admissions Office Contact Information
Liberty University Online Admissions Verification
1971 University Blvd.
Lynchburg, VA 24515
Ready to Apply?
Submit your application online or over the phone.
Military
Liberty University is dedicated to providing world-class educational experiences to military students across the globe.
Who May Qualify?
- Active Duty
- Reserve/National Guard
- Veterans/Retirees
- Spouses of Service Members and Veterans/Retirees
- Current Department of Defense Employees
Available Benefits:
- Tuition discounts – $275 per credit hour for graduate courses
- Additional discount for veterans who service in a civilian capacity as a First Responder (less than $625 per course)*
- 8-week courses, 8 different start dates each year, and no set login times (may exclude certain courses such as practicums, internships, or field experiences)
*Not applicable to certificates.
Tuition rates may change annually. For the most current information, please visit our LU Tuition Cost page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is public history?
Public history refers to the practice of presenting and interpreting history outside of traditional academic settings, with the goal of engaging a broader audience. It involves bringing historical knowledge to the public in accessible, interactive ways, often through museums, archives, historic sites, national parks, media, and community projects.
Public historians work to preserve cultural heritage, interpret historical events, and make history relevant to contemporary society. They may also be involved in historic preservation, oral history projects, documentary filmmaking, and heritage tourism, all with the focus of making history engaging and accessible for everyone.
What is historic preservation?
Historic preservation is the practice of identifying, protecting, and maintaining buildings, landscapes, artifacts, and other objects of historical significance. The goal of historic preservation is to safeguard cultural heritage and ensure that important aspects of the past are preserved for future generations.
This field often involves restoring historic sites to their original condition, conserving architectural elements, and using research and archival methods to document and interpret historical places.
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