New York University's Graduate School of Arts and Science has established a master's program in Archives and Public History. "The 21st century demands that these professionals and scholars have a broad education that will provide the necessary intellectual engagement, conceptual tools, and practical skills," said Peter J. Wosh, director of the program and a faculty member in NYU's Department of History. "This new program at NYU will provide graduates with the solid theoretical grounding, the exposure to contemporary trends, and the collaboration with broader communities necessary for future success." Wosh had been the director of archives at the American Bible Society and the university archivist at Seton Hall University prior to joining the history department in 1994. He currently serves as editor of print and electronic publications for the Society of American Archivists, where he is an elected fellow. Other faculty members in the program include full-time historians and archivists at NYU, as well as archival and public history professionals who currently work in the field.

The program's curriculum is designed to provide students with a theoretical grounding in such topics as memory, heritage, commemoration, historic preservation, and the role of the archive in humanities scholarship. Courses emphasize contemporary standards and engagement with new technologies, as public historians and archivists continually use new methods and techniques to engage non-traditional audiences. Students will work collaboratively with NYU's Division of Libraries in the areas of digital librarianship, preservation, and collection development. In addition, the program fosters close involvement with New York City's array of archival and public history institutions. The new program combines two previous certificate programs in archives and public history that have prepared students for successful careers as archivists, manuscript curators, documentary editors, oral historians, cultural resource managers, historical interpreters, and new media specialists for more than 25 years.

Details about the program are available at http://history.fas.nyu.edu/object/history.gradprog.archivespublichistory.

—DMD