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Career and Education Opportunities in Historic Preservation

What is Historic Preservation?

Historic preservation is often defined as the process of identifying, protecting, and enhancing buildings, places, and objects of historical and cultural significance.  This process embraces many phases including the survey and evaluation of historical, architectural, and cultural resources in an area; the development of planning and legal measures to protect these resources; the identification of public and private funding sources applicable to preservation projects; the design for the restoration, rehabilitation, and/or adaptive use of historic structures; and the ongoing maintenance of these resources.

How do I Find Colleges and Universities that Offer Degrees in Historic Preservation?

Since 1973, when Columbia University offered the nation's first degree program in historic preservation, at least 55 additional institutions have developed preservation programs.   This growth was one of the many factors that led to the formation of the National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE) which, in 1981, established curriculum and degree standards to ensure the quality of the program.  Please visit the NCPE website for a list of schools that offer preservation degree and certificate programs.

Because of historic preservation's interdisciplinary nature, the degree programs are varied in focus.  Preservation is frequently studied within related departments such as architecture, history, urban planning, environmental design, and geography.  Programs emphasize aspects as diverse as restoration design, administration, documentation techniques, and law.  Both graduate and undergraduate schools offer historic preservation degrees.  In addition to specific education and training, a basic understanding of business, economics, and governmental procedure is helpful, as is practical experience through internships and volunteer activities.

Jonathan Spodek, a professor in the Historic Preservation Program at Ball State University, suggests you keep the following questions in mind when deciding on a thesis topic for a graduate degree in historic preservation:

·  What issues in preservation do you hope to address through your research?

·  Are you just doing research that has been done before and applying it to another subject?  If so, what unique aspect of your research can you offer the preservation community?

·  What aspect of preservation do you want to pursue?  How does your thesis topic help you learn more about this field?

·  Can this project be completed in the time frame given to you?

Recently, many students have begun pursuing a joint degree in law and another preservation related field.  For more information, contact the National Trust's Legal Office at law@nthp.org. 

Please visit this page for a complete list of National Trust training opportunities, from lobbying to cultural heritage tourism.

Where Can I Find Volunteer and/or Internship Opportunities in Historic Preservation?

Volunteering with a state or local preservation organization or at a National Trust Historic Site is an excellent way to become more involved and aware of preservation issues and opportunities.  The National Trust's web site lists volunteer opportunities by state at this link.

You can also find local volunteer opportunities or internships by contacting your State and Local Preservation Office.  To find contact information for these organizations, click here.

Another way to volunteer in the preservation field is through the National Trust's Historic Sites.  Click here for more information on our Historic Sites.

What Kinds of Employment Opportunities Are Available in the Historic Preservation Field?

Positions exist at all levels of government, nonprofit organizations, and private firms whose main mission or service is historic preservation.

  • In the public sector, the National Park Service, state historic preservation offices, and local government preservation divisions are examples of agencies dedicated to the preservation of America's heritage.
  • Examples of nonprofit organizations include the National Trust for Historic Preservation, statewide preservation organizations, and hundreds of local preservation groups.
  • Private firms whose main service is providing preservation expertise include architects, planners, archaeologists, and historical research firms.

In addition to employers whose main mission is historic preservation, many others hire people with preservation skills.  For example, all federal government departments are required to have a preservation officer.  Therefore, opportunities exist within such diverse departments as the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services.

Many state agencies involved in housing, community development, transportation, and other services hire people with preservation backgrounds.  The same goes for thousands of private firms engaged in design, development, finance, and other aspects of creating and changing the physical environment. 

Ready to start looking? The National Trust for Historic Preservation manages the Preservation Career Center where individuals can search job openings, post applicable positions, and learn more about opportunities in the preservation field through profiles on specific positions and professions in preservation.

Do You Have Resources to Help Me Pursue a Career or Get More Training in Historic Preservation?

The National Trust offers a number of resources to people looking for education and career opportunities in the historic preservation field.   

Preservation Career Center
If you are looking for a job or exploring a career in preservation or its related fields, visit the Preservation Career Center first. In addition to job listings, the Career Center offers valuable career information including:

  • 10 Ways To … -- Short articles designed to help preservationists develop professionally, learn more about the field, and reflect on their own career.
  • Professions in Preservation -- Interviews focused on a specific occupation in preservation, featuring Q&A’s with several people who hold similar jobs. Their responses reveal nuances among these positions, offer insights into day-to-day work, and identify the qualifications and skills needed for the position.
  • Profiles in Preservation -- Conversations with one particular person about his or her career path in preservation.

The Preservation Career Center also shares other opportunities for professional development through the National Trust for Historic Preservation, as well as additional resources on common subjects in preservation.

In addition to visiting the Career Center on PreservationNation.org, updates are also available through our RSS feed and Twitter (@preservationjob). And if you come across helpful preservation career resources or are looking to fill a vacancy, use the hashtag #preservationjob to spread the word.

Human Resources

All job postings for the National Trust are available in the Preservation Career Center.  The National Trust offers a six-week summer internship program which includes weekly education sessions, as well as work on a specific preservation project. 

Through the Mildred Colodny Scholarship fund, the National Trust provides financial assistance and experiential learning opportunities to individuals preparing for careers in historic preservation. One objective of this scholarship is to increase diversity and multiculturalism in the field of preservation, especially by encouraging people from diverse racial, ethnic, cultural and economic backgrounds to pursue degrees and careers in preservation. 

National Trust Forum and Forum Online

National Trust Forum is the network of preservation leaders -- professionals, students, volunteers, activists, experts -- who share the latest ideas, information, and advice and have access to in-depth preservation resources and training.

One of the benefits of Forum is access to Forum Online, a password-protected section of the Trust web site which serves as a place for preservation professionals to discuss current trends in preservation.  Recent discussions have included topics on preservation education and job opportunities in a preservation field.

Forum Online also includes thousands of articles and case studies and an archive of articles from Forum Journal and Forum News. Find out more about Forum here.

National Main Street Center

The National Main Street Center's publication, Main Street News, is a monthly publication that contains information about job openings in Main Street communities.  Your National Main Street Center membership gives you access to the Main Street password-protected section of the Trust web site which also contains information about Main Street job openings.

Preservation Magazine

Preservation magazine has a classifieds section that lists career and education opportunities in preservation-related fields.  Preservation is the award-winning bi-monthly magazine received as a benefit of membership to the National Trust.  To join, click here.  You also receive Preservation magazine when you join the Trust at the Forum level. 

Preservation Leadership Training

Preservation Leadership Training (PLT) is an intensive one-week seminar tailored to respond to the needs of local preservation organizations.  An emphasis is placed on leadership and organizational development techniques.

National Preservation Conference

Plan to attend the annual National Preservation Conference held each fall.  The conference is an excellent way to meet professionals working in preservation fields as well as to learn about the current issues facing preservationists.

Diversity Scholarships

The Diversity Scholarship program provides financial assistance to individuals who might otherwise be unable to attend the Preservation Conference.  A primary objective of this scholarship is to enable a group of people reflective of the diverse nature of American society, from a variety of cultural and economic backgrounds, to attend the conference and to bring with them their various perspectives and experiences.  For more information, contact us at scholarships@nthp.org.

Publications

Preservation Books focus on every aspect of historic preservation, with new titles added frequently. Topics range from economic benefits to the care and cleaning of historic homes to fundraising tips. Visit PreservationBooks.org to order your copies.

What Other Organizations Have Information on this Topic?

Adventures in Preservation
www.adventuresinpreservation.org

Adventures in Preservation is a non-profit organization offering hands-on building conservation workshops and volunteer vacations at historic sites around the world.

American Academy in Rome
http://www.aarome.org/

The American Academy in Rome oversees centers for independent study and advanced research in arts and humanities.  The American Academy offers annual fellowships to study in Rome for the following subjects: architecture, historic preservation, conservation, design, urban planning, landscape architecture, archaeology, art, music, and classical history.

American Association of Museums
www.aam-us.org/

Publishes job openings in its monthly bulletin, AVISO, and offers scholarships to attend the AAM annual conference.  AAM's Museum Directory might also be consulted for organizations and agencies that hold or administer collections of interest to preservationists.

The American Association for State and Local History
www.aaslh.org/

The American Association for State and Local History offers career packets including information on student scholarships, grants, and career information as well as placement assistance to its members and lists job openings in the monthly newsletter Dispatch.  Organizations listed in the AASLH's Directory of Historical Societies and Agencies in the United States should also be contacted.

American College of the Building Arts
www.buildingartscollege.us

The college is modeled on a European guild system, and offers students intensive training in the lucrative fields of building arts. In addition to job skills, students will acquire a liberal arts background in 2- and 4-year degrees. Students also gain paid apprenticeships during the summer to help build skills and provide skilled - and highly needed - artisans to work nationwide with builders, architects and preservationists.

American Friends of the Attingham Summer School, Inc.
http://www.royal-oak.org/education/Attingham.htm 

The American Friends of the Attingham Summer School offers a three-week summer program in England.

The American Institute of Architects
www.aia.org 

The American Institute of Architects offers scholarships and grants; lists jobs of interest to preservationists through classified advertisements in design journals.

The American Planning Association
www.planning.org

The American Planning Association lists "Jobs in Planning" in its monthly magazine, Planning.  Some of the positions relate to environmental land use and preservation work.  The APA's Chicago office offers internship and volunteer opportunities and their Washington office awards fellowships and scholarships to graduate students of planning or closely related fields.

American Society of Landscape Architects
www.asla.org/

The American Society of Landscape Architects offers scholarships and grants.

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
Decorative Restoration Program
http://abtech.edu/ce/decorative.htm

The Decorative Techniques and Restoration program at this Asheville, NC school helps students to appreciate historic buildings and the tradition of their decoration and construction and teaches them the preservation trade skills needed to restore these buildings to their former glory.  Some of the crafts taught include how to refinish woodwork and furniture, repair a plaster molding, stencil a frieze, gild a coffered ceiling, marbleize a column, wood grain a door, make green paints, and glaze a wall.

Belmont Technical College
www.btc.edu/

Belmont Technical College in St. Clairsville, Ohio, provides hands-on training in a variety of traditional crafts.

Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies
www.campbellcenter.org

The Campbell Center for Historic Preservation in Mount Carroll, Illinois, offers courses in architectural preservation, collections care, and historic preservation.  Provides scholarships for courses and for an annual Midwestern Museum Conference.

Day Studio Workshop, Inc.
www.daystudio.com/

Day Studio Workshop in San Francisco, California, provides training in finishing and in the decorative arts.

Fox Maple School of Traditional Building
www.foxmaple.com/

Fox Maple School of Traditional Building in Maine offers timber frame workshops.

Historic Windsor, Inc.
http://www.preservationworks.org/

Historic Windsor, Inc. in Vermont offers workshops in preservation, certification in preservation skills and technology, and scholarships.

International Council on Monuments and Sites (U.S./ICOMOS)
www.icomos.org

The International Council on Monuments and Sites offers scholarships, international internships, and volunteer opportunities.

J. Paul Getty Museum
www.getty.edu

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California, offers museum internships in administration, collections, information planning, conservation, education, exhibition design, exhibitions, information systems, publications, registrar, and visitor services.

Jefferson's Poplar Forest Restoration Field School
www.poplarforest.org

The Poplar Forest Restoration Field School is an intensive two week education session that teaches students the techniques and theories of architectural restoration.  The Field School takes place in the beginning of June and the deadline for applications is the first week in May.

The Mechanics' Institute
www.mechanicsinstitute.org

The Mechanics' Institute offers a tuition-free, two-year program in historic preservation open to persons currently working in preservation or a related field.  Instruction focuses on architectural history, preservation history and policy, methods and techniques of  preservation and case studies of New York City buildings and landmarks.

National Council for Preservation Education
www.ncpe.us

The National Council for Preservation Education's website lists schools which offer degree programs in historic preservation and allied fields.  NCPE also helps place preservation students with internship opportunities.

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
http://www.nps.gov/history/

The U.S. Department of the Interior employs many preservationists through the National Park Service.  Contact the National Park Service for a list of federal representatives and agency liaisons.

The National Register is the nation's official list of historic sites. Executive Order 11593 directed federal agencies to establish   procedures to ensure the protection of historical resources on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.  Each agency has a designee, with a staff person responsible for the implementation of this executive order. 

HABS/HAER contains documentation on historic buildings and bridges throughout the United States.  Annual summer employment opportunities are available to help with on-site documentation, measured drawings, and historical reports.  Projects last 12 weeks beginning in May/June. 

The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training in Natchitoches, LA, works with organizations and institutions to advance preservation technology and conservation.  NCPTT provides research, training, and education for preservation professionals.

National Preservation Institute
www.npi.org

The National Preservation Institute is a nonprofit organization providing training in essential job performance skills for professionals in historic preservation and cultural resource management.  It offers seminars for cultural resource managers.  Classes include Cultural Resources and NEPA, 20th-Century Architectural Styles, and Affordable Housing and Historic Preservation.

The North Bennet Street School
www.nbss.org

The North Bennet Street School in Boston, Massachusetts, has a two-year Preservation Carpentry program. 

Penland School of Crafts
www.penland.org

Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina is a national center for craft education offereing classes in books and paper, clay, drawing and painting, glass, iron, metals, photography, printmaking, textiles, and wood. 

Preservation Action
www.preservationaction.org

Preservation Action offers internship programs throughout the year.

Preservation Institute: Nantucket
http://www.dcp.ufl.edu/hp/PINantucket/

The Preservation Institute: Nantucket is a cooperative effort between the University of Florida School of Architecture and the community of Nantucket, MA, to provide students with an opportunity to receive a unique educational experience in a broad range of historic preservation issues.  The Preservation Institute offers classes, workshops, seminars, public programs, and an eight week summer education program.

Preservation Trades Network
www.PTN.org and www.IPTW.org 

The Preservation Trades Network holds an annual International Preservation Trades Workshop for professionals working in the preservation fields.  The focus of these workshops is on the technical, hands-on aspects of preservation.

PreserveNet at Cornell University
http://www.preservenet.cornell.edu/index.html

PreserveNet is an information website for preservation students and professionals.  The website is maintained by Cornell University and has information on preservation conferences, special events, internships, job vacancies, education programs, organizations, scholarships, preservation products and services, and links to other related websites. 

The Questers
http://www.questers1944.org

The Questers is an international, non-profit membership organization for persons interested in history, antiques, and collectibles.  The Questers support preservation and restoration projects in the United States and Canada.  They also award two annual scholarships to graduate students in Historic Preservation and an annual graduate fellowship in Art Conservation. 

Traditional Building Exhibition and Conference
http://www.traditionalbuildingshow.com/index.shtml

The Traditional Building Exhibition and Conference includes information on preservation technology, landscape architecture, and careers in the preservation field.  The magazine Traditional Building, a preservation directory, is published in conjunction with the conference.

Society of Architectural Historians
www.sah.org 

The Society of Architectural Historians offers fellowships, scholarships, and grants to graduate students of architectural history, maritime history, and historic preservation.  It also offers scholarships for graduate students to attend the Society's Annual Meeting and its Study Tours.

Winterthur Museum
www.winterthur.org

Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library focuses on the study of American artistic, cultural, social, and intellectual history.  Residential research fellowships are open to professors, museum and public history professionals, doctoral students, and independent scholars; awards are offered in the areas of American art, material culture and design, and American history.

Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW)
http://www.workplacesolutions.org/

Wider Opportunities for Women is a non-profit group that works to help place women in non-traditional jobs, (jobs in which women represent 25% or less of the workforce).  WOW offers training for employees and employers, maintains online resources for women working in non-traditional jobs, and keeps a database of qualified women workers for employers who are looking to fill construction positions.  The senior instructor in WOW's Constructing Avenues Program specializes in historic restoration.

Local Preservation Contacts

Historic District and Landmarks Commissions, Planning, Housing, Community Development, and Economic Development Agencies encompass regional, state, or local jurisdictions.  Local parks and recreation departments may also administer historic properties and engage in preservation-related education efforts.  Local preservation organizations, Main Street projects, state historic preservation offices, and college-level preservation programs can provide invaluable advice about historic preservation careers. 

Private Sector, Real Estate Companies, Architectural and Planning Firms

Private firms, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies, whose primary mission is not preservation, often hire people with preservation skills.  For example, an architectural firm may have a position for someone who understands the National Register. Nonprofit housing organizations also may hire preservationists.  Additional job announcements can be found in publications such as Center City Report or Economic Developments published by International Economic Development Council; and Job Mart published by the American Planning Association.