EMU's Historic Preservation Program is among the largest graduate programs in Historic Preservation in the United States. Certified by the National Council for Preservation Education, the Master of Science in historic preservation (36 hours) offers concentrations in preservation planning and administration; heritage interpretation and museum practice; and recording, documentation and digital cultural heritage. The program also offers a 12-hour graduate certificate in historic preservation and an undergraduate minor in historic preservation.
The Historic Preservation Program was founded in 1979 in the Department of Geography and Geology as an outgrowth of cultural geography and its concern for common landscapes, vernacular architecture and practical application. As cohorts of the only historic preservation program embedded in geography, students learn to document, preserve and interpret historic structures, objects and places within the context of their cultural landscape setting.
The curriculum reflects the evolving nature of historic preservation theory and practice in the United States and abroad, and an applied approach has remained paramount. Students gain a range of practical experiences, including most forms of preservation documentation, while addressing the real needs of local communities. In this way, the program prepares students for professional service in the fields of preservation planning, historical administration, heritage interpretation and cultural resource management. Utilizing fellowships, internships and partnerships with numerous educational, and local, regional and national agencies and organizations, the program produces professionals who become leaders in the field and who improve the awareness and effectiveness of historic preservation worldwide.
News and Accolades
2025–26 Graduate Assistantships will be decided by April 14, 2025.
Four EMU Preservation Studies Students each win $20k Collins Scholarships for 2024–25
The Preservation Studies Program is pleased to announce that four of its graduate (M.S.) students have received $20,000 Collins Scholarships for this academic year, awarded to exceptional students enrolled in a full-time Historic Preservation graduate program. This is the second year the Collins Scholarship was bestowed; two of our students received scholarships last year. This year, the Collins Scholarship, administered by the Marshall (Mich.) Foundation, was open to all preservation students in the U.S. and EMU students received four of five scholarships bestowed nationally. The competition required applicants to submit a cover letter, an resume, a portfolio of work in preservation, references, and an essay. EMU Preservation Studies Collins scholars for 2024-2025 include: Joshua Burns, Melanie Purkis, Ian Tomashik, and Carrie Miller Malas.
Dr. Dan Bonenberger receives $75,000 for survey of civil rights sites in Detroit from National Park Service
The Black Civil Rights survey of Detroit's Eastside identifies and designates significant places related to African American civil rights and the struggle for equality. It builds upon the NPS-funded Detroit's African American Civil Rights History 1900-1970 Survey and Multiple Resource Nomination (Mills, Little, and Arnold 2022), expanding our geodatabase of Black heritage sites in Detroit and producing approximately fifty Michigan State Historic Preservation Office inventory forms, National Register of Historic Places nominations for two of the most significant sites, an online driving tour, and a final report with maps and illustrations of that evaluates the places identified and situates them in light of local and national contexts and central themes.
Our Mission Statement
Through rigorous coursework and partnerships with educational, local and regional groups, EMU's graduate program in historic preservation trains professionals who utilize best practices to ethically steward, preserve and interpret our diverse cultural heritage.
Program Objectives
To provide program students from diverse undergraduate backgrounds with a fundamental knowledge in the field of historic preservation sufficient to prepare them for entry-level professional careers in historic preservation.
To provide program students with best practices in planning, technical, cultural resource management, and interpretive and administrative skills useful to careers in historic preservation and museum practice.
To provide program students with a sound foundation in American architectural history as well as the ability to implement and carry out cultural resource surveys.
To provide program students with knowledge of geographic concepts, perspectives and methodologies associated with cultural landscape interpretation and regional analysis. High style and vernacular architecture and landscapes, both urban and rural, as well as settlement patterns, are studied as visual manifestations of American cultural history via cultural resource management strategies.
To combine classroom theoretical development with practical community and/or agency field experience through broad-based community engagement collaborations.
To foster productive relationships among historic preservation, cultural tourism and sustainability.
To improve the effectiveness of historic preservation activities in Michigan, the Midwest and the United States by preparing qualified professionals for entry into career positions in historic preservation.
To foster the effectiveness of historic preservation, by increasing community awareness of its broad aims and diverse techniques.
