College of Arts and Sciences
Gladfelter Hall (025-24),
13th and Berks
Philadelphia, PA 19122
United States
Contact
Degrees/Certificates Offered
- M.A. in Public History
Programs Offered
Program Philosophy
Philadelphia is one of America's leading centers of culture, history, and scholarship. It is home to a wide variety of world-class historical and cultural institutions, including museums, archives, libraries, learned societies, and historical sites. Students interested in preserving the past or interpreting it to the general public will find just the training they are seeking at Temple in our Public History program. It combines a solid grounding in American social, cultural, and political history with practical training in oral history, material culture, and archival methods. Students may take internships in the shadow of Independence Hall, learn archival skills in one of more than 100 regional depositories, interpret American diversity at one of dozens of museums, or learn heritage management at some of the most historically significant sites in the United States. Philadelphia's rich historical legacy and the program's system of on-site internships and rigorous graduate study will prepare you for a career in Public History. The Department of History each year offers the Allen F. Davis Fellowship in Public History to a qualified applicant. Honoring one of the Department’s most distinguished emeritus faculty members, the fellowship supports a student whose interests encompass public history, a field in which Professor Davis has been an important pioneer. Graduate students awarded this competitive fellowship will spend their second year in residence in a supervised internship at a public history institution in the Philadelphia region. Davis Fellows will also carry responsibilities as teaching assistants in their first and third years.
Facilities
Temple's Paley Library is a major modern research facility with about two million volumes, including substantial holdings in history. It is equipped with state-of-the-art search capabilities, both for Paley's own holdings and for those of other libraries across the nation. In addition, Temple graduate students have ready access to the multi-million volume collections of the many private, public, and university libraries which make Philadelphia an exceptional center for historical studies. Libraries and collections in other cities along the northeast corridor are also convenient to Philadelphia. The rich intellectual climate of Philadelphia institutions such as the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the American Philosophical Society, the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, the Hagley Museum, and many other archives and museums of Greater Philadelphia contribute to make this city internationally recognized as one of the liveliest centers in which to study history today. Students can make use of: the ethnic newspaper holdings and immigration archives of the Balch, the unrivaled collections on early American science and culture at the Philosophical Society and the Library Company, the Hagley's resources for the study of business and technology, and the unequalled materials for biographical work at the Historical Society, which also holds the largest and most important manuscript collection for the study of the region.
Practicum/Internships/Assistantships Offered?
Many paid internships of 140 hours or more are available each year. Just a few of the participating institutions include: Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum, American College of Physicians, American Philosophical Society, Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, Center for the Study of the History of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Chester County Historical Society Library, City Archives of Philadelphia, College of Physicians of Philadelphia, David Library of the American Revolution, Delaware Bureau of Archives and Records Management, The Hagley Library, Historical Society of Delaware, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Merck Pharmaceuticals Archives, National Archives, Mid-Atlantic Region, Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center, Balch Institute, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Archives Presbyterian Church (USA), Department of History, Swarthmore College, Peace Collection, Temple University, Urban Archives, Thomas Jefferson University Archives, University of Pennsylvania, University Archives and Records Center University of Pennsylvania, University Museum Archives, Wagner Free Institute of Science.
Research
Graduate financial aid is awarded in late March for the semester beginning in September. The deadline for submission of the completed application for financial aid is March 1. Students admitted to the doctoral program, if they apply for aid, will be considered for teaching assistantships or readerships, each of which carries a stipend, plus waiver of tuition and most fees. Either partial or full tuition scholarships are also awarded. On a university-wide competitive basis, there are also available University Fellowships ($11,400 per year), Conwell Fellowships ($12,400), and Presidential Fellowships ($15,000); each of these fellowships is for two years and carries full waiver of tuition. Stipend amounts are subject to change. The Department of History each year offers the Allen F. Davis Fellowship in Public History to a qualified applicant. Honoring one of the Department’s most distinguished emeritus faculty members, the fellowship supports a student whose interests encompass public history, a field in which Professor Davis has been an important pioneer. Graduate students awarded this competitive fellowship will spend their second year in residence in a supervised internship at a public history institution in the Philadelphia region. Davis Fellows will also carry responsibilities as teaching assistants in their first and third years.