Museums, Archives, & Public History
Bachelor of Arts
To preserve the past is to save the future.
One of the few undergraduate majors in public history in the country, Nazareth’s program is distinct for combining rich historical study with experiential learning obtained through the required 12 credit hours of internship. Your classes and internships prepare you to pursue advanced degrees or careers in archives, digital humanities, documentation projects, film studies, government service, heritage tourism, historical house management, library science, museums, national park service, and preservation. Pairs well with a dual major in American studies, communications & media, history, marketing, music, public health, social science, and theatre arts.
Highlights
Internships can be local, across the nation, or abroad; a popular semester program is in Washington, D.C.
Benefit from rich historical study with experts from various eras of history
Courses in museums & archives are taught by professionals in these fields
Experiential learning also includes project-based classroom activities, expert speakers, and trips to historical sites
Career Paths
- Archivist
- Historian in local, state, or federal government
- Museum curator
- Oral historian
- Special collections manager
- Travel guide
Internships
- 1816 Farmington Quaker Meeting House
- Genesee Country Museum
- George Eastman Museum
- Historic Pittsford
- Landmark Society
- Memorial Art Gallery
- National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
- Rochester City Historian
- Rochester Genealogical Society
- Rochester Museum and Science Center
- Smithsonian Institution
- The Strong National Museum of Play
Graduate schools
- American University, Washington, D.C.
- Cooperstown Museum Studies, Cooperstown, N.Y.
- George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
- School of Library and Information Science Simmons College, Boston, Mass.
- University at Albany, Albany, N.Y.
99%
of new Nazareth grads are employed or in grad school within six months of graduation
1,631
high-impact experiential learning experiences completed by the undergraduate class of 2024
$4,000
Our SPARK Grant provides up to $4,000 for you to pursue internships, research, and study abroad. SPARK details »
Center for Public History
The Center for Public History at Nazareth University connects Nazareth students with the larger community through projects that make the past useful to the public. These projects promote community dialogue, recall lost memories, and instill knowledge.
Program Director
Alumni Spotlight
“Naz gave me access to great internships and detailed classes in the field I love, with supportive teachers and a welcoming community. The experience not only prepared me for my current job but also boosted my confidence tremendously.
"I interned at Nazareth’s Center for Public History, at Rochester Museum & Science Center, and at The Rochester Regional Health Archives. I also did the museum study abroad trip to the UK one summer with Dr. Kneeland, which was so fun and I learned a lot about how a museum can be an interactive experience — which has been useful for making interactive exhibits at the Bicycle Museum of America.”
— Juliana Milewski ’25, museum supervisor at The Bicycle Museum of America in Ohio