UNC Greensboro students now have the option of pursuing a bachelor’s degree in history with a concentration in public history. Public history is a growing field that prepares students for careers with historic sites, history museums, community organizations, nonprofit organizations, and more. The concentration also readies students for advanced graduate study in public history and museum studies.
“We are excited about this new concentration, as it provides a new way to look at the power and relevance of history, including its connections to civic engagement and social change,” said Dr. A. Asa Eger, director of undergraduate studies for UNCG’s Department of History. “Public history is a new way to see history as relevant.”
Through a sequence of courses, students pursuing the public history concentration will examine how popular conceptions of the past are formed, how public memory shapes individual and collective action, where history can be found in the contemporary landscape, how historic sites are preserved and documented, and how professional public historians work to interpret and share the past with audiences.
“Students will also learn the skills of public historians, such as oral history, exhibit design, and digital history methods,” said Eger.
The Department of History at UNCG has an established expertise in public history, with its award-winning master’s program with a concentration in museum studies as well as its public history minor at the Ph.D. level. This new concentration now enables undergraduate students to benefit from the department’s expertise in this arena as well.
UNCG’s History Department also recently announced the launch of its fully online bachelor’s degree in history. These new additions demonstrate the Department’s commitment to offering courses of study that are relevant and useful to a broader spectrum of students.
The requirements for completing a bachelor’s degree with a public history concentration are identical to the existing bachelor’s in history track, with the addition of at least three courses (nine credit hours) in public history courses.
The concentration officially launches in the Fall 2023 semester. Students can now enroll in any of the following Fall 2023 courses within this concentration:
Required History Elective: HIS 446: African American Material Culture
Electives (Choose One):
- HIS 347: History of NC
- HIS 380: Unearthing Islam’s Past
- IAR 443: Historic Preservation
- ADS 310: Portrayal of African Americans in Film
- ADS 330: Black Music as Cultural History
- AAD 321: Fundraising
For more information about this concentrations’ requirements, please visit the Department of History’s website here.
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BACHELOR’S IN HISTORY
Learn about the past to prepare for your future with a degree in history from UNC Greensboro.
