Program Description

The joint doctoral program in Public History offered in cooperation with UC Santa Barbara provides training in public history, particularly in the following professional fields: history of public policy; cultural resource management; business and institutional history; and community and local history. Supporting courses are offered in oral history; archives and records administration; museum management; historic preservation; historical editing; and policy and litigation support.

Questions about the program should be directed to Sacramento State Professor Anne Lindsay (anne.lindsay@csus.edu) and UCSB Professor Randy Bergstrom (bergstro@history.ucsb.edu).

Admissions Requirements

Prospective applicants for the joint Ph.D. program should have completed a Master's degree in history, public history, or a related field (in unusual circumstances, highly qualified candidates can be admitted without the MA).

Applicants should provide the following information to the Graduate Program in Public History at UCSB: the appropriate application forms; transcripts of completed academic work; GRE scores; three letters of recommendation; and an essay explaining the applicant's reasons for seeking a Ph.D.

Admissions Procedures

The Joint Public History Committee will review applications for admission and select the individuals to be admitted to the joint doctoral program.

Program Requirements

Students admitted to the program must spend at least one academic year in residence on each of the two campuses.

In addition to the required research seminars and professional coursework, students will complete an internship assignment and report.

To complete the doctoral program, students must pass a combination of written and oral examinations in four fields. These fields are typically: a general field (usually U.S. History); a specialized field within the general field; a third field encompassing the dissertation topic; a cognate field outside the department (e.g., art history, anthropology, political science).

In addition, each student will: pass one foreign language examination; complete a dissertation; and serve as a research or teaching assistant.