What is Public History?
Our Public History Certificate prepares undergraduate students, especially those interested in non-teaching history careers, to think like public historians and to put history “to work” in the world. Students develop analytical, interpretive, and practical skills by engaging with the theories and methodologies appropriate to applied historical practice. The certificate program offers coursework designed to meet the needs of future public history practitioners in public and private sector employment such as museum coordination, exhibition planning, archival management, historic site assessment, historic preservation, and cultural resource management. Emphasis is placed on historical research methods, collaboration with diverse stakeholders, digital tools, and other evolving practical skills necessary to effectively engage in public history positions and projects.
The leading professional association in the field, the National Council for Public History, defines public history as “the many and diverse ways in which history is put to work in the world. In this sense, it is history that is applied to real-world issues.” Most simply, we can understand public history as the work of history outside the classroom.
Stanislaus State offers many courses to help prepare undergraduate and graduate students, especially those interested in non-teaching history careers, to think like public historians and to put history “to work” in the world. Students develop analytical, interpretive, and practical skills by engaging with the theories and methodologies appropriate to applied historical practice. The history department offers public history coursework designed to meet the needs of future public history practitioners in public and private sector employment, such as museum coordination, exhibition planning, archival management, historic site assessment, historic preservation, and cultural resource management. Emphasis is placed on historical research methods, collaboration with diverse stakeholders, digital tools, and other evolving practical skills necessary to effectively engage in public history positions and projects.
Access the Public History Certificate Catalog
All Stan State students can explore public history courses. Public history courses are offered every fall and spring. Though there is an application process for the capstone history internship experience, all public history courses in the history department are otherwise open to students of all majors.
Beginning Fall 2024, for students wishing to add a public history program to their BA or BS degree, the history department is offering a public history certificate.
Program Admission
Interested Stan State undergraduate* students declared in any major can apply to be part of the certificate program through the link below. To qualify, students must:
- Already be enrolled at the University as an undergraduate student
- The certificate program is not open to postbaccalaureate students or students not otherwise enrolled in undergraduate degree-seeking programs.
- The certificate program is not currently open to Stan State graduate students. However, upon consultation with their graduate program advisor, interested history graduate students may take public history courses and develop their own informal emphasis in their studies that is inspired by the certificate program.
- Complete a minimum of 60 transferable semester or 90 quarter units. These units must include the following four courses (Golden Four) with a C- or better
- (A1) Oral Communication/Speech
- (A2) Written English Composition
- (A3) Critical Thinking / Logic
- (B4) Quantitative Reasoning
- Have a minimum GPA of 2.0
Applications (see below) are welcome at any time; however, students who submit the application by May 1 or November 1 each year will be afforded the best chance of potential enrollment preferences for the following semester.
Admitted certificate students may be given enrollment preference for certificate courses in history, anthropology, English, geography and journalism.
If you have any questions about the public history certificate or related courses or careers, contact Dr. Jennifer Cullison at jcullison@csustan.edu.
- Program Requirements
- Admission Application Form (rolling deadline; preferred by May 1 or Nov 1 each year)
- Public History Advising Sheet.docx
- Certificate Completion Form.pdf (fill out in penultimate or last semester, at the same time you file for graduation; $15 fee)
Updated: September 03, 2025