Historic Preservation and Conservation

Types of Degrees Historic Preservation and Conservation Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many historic preservation & conservation graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	155
Bachelor’s Degree	96
Graduate Certificate	35
Basic Certificate	34
Associate Degree	10
Undergraduate Certificate	5

What Historic Preservation and Conservation Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to historic preservation and conservation and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Historic Preservation and Conservation Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in historic preservation and conservation should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Historic Preservation and Conservation Majors

When studying historic preservation and conservation, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Historic Preservation and Conservation Majors

Historic Preservation and Conservation majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Historic Preservation and Conservation Major?

People with a historic preservation and conservation degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Archivists	14.7%	$52,240
Historians	6.1%	$61,140

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Historic Preservation and Conservation?

The major attracts more women than men. About 70% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of historic preservation and conservation majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	1
Hispanic or Latino	4
White	83
International Students	4
Other Races/Ethnicities	4

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Historic Preservation and Conservation, too. About 4.2% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Historic Preservation and Conservation

Some careers associated with historic preservation and conservation require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for historic preservation and conservation careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	3.2%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	3.3%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	5.4%
Some College Courses	6.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	15.6%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	2.1%
Master’s Degree	60.5%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	3.4%

Online Historic Preservation and Conservation Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	2	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	2	0
Bachelor’s Degree	20	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	28	2
Post-Master’s	7	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Historic Preservation and Conservation

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to historic preservation and conservation.

Major	Number of Grads
Cultural Resource Management & Policy Analysis	67
Other Historic Preservation & Conservation	21

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.