Historic Preservation

Types of Degrees Historic Preservation Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many historic preservation graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	199
Graduate Certificate	64
Doctor’s Degree	3

What Historic Preservation Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to historic preservation were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Historic Preservation Majors

Historic Preservation majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• 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 Majors

A major in historic preservation prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• 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 Majors

A major in historic preservation will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• 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 Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with historic preservation:

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

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation?

This major is dominated by women with about 72% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	5
Black or African American	6
Hispanic or Latino	21
White	117
International Students	26
Other Races/Ethnicities	24

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Historic Preservation. About 13.1% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• India
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Saudi Arabia

How Much Do Historic Preservation Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

According to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education, students who graduated with a master’s degree in historic preservation have a median salary of $42,922 during the early years of their career. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $38,120 (25th percentile) and $47,324 (75th percentile).

It’s important to note that just because the people reporting these salaries have a degree in historic preservation, it does not mean that they are working in a job related to their degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $56,400 to $66,380 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to historic preservation. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Historic Preservation

Some careers associated with historic preservation 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.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to historic preservation have obtained the following education levels.

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 Programs

In 2020-2021, 77 schools offered a historic preservation program of some type. 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)	6	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	2	0
Associate’s Degree	6	0
Bachelor’s Degree	27	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	42	3
Post-Master’s	10	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Historic Preservation Worth It?

The median salary for a historic preservation grad is $56,400 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 41% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $330,000 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Historic Preservation

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

Major	Number of Grads
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	2,491
Sustainability Science	1,547
Nutrition Science	1,496
Behavioral Science	1,358
Computational Science	1,063
International Studies	918
Human Computer Interaction	822
Data Analytics	793
Museum Studies	696
Gerontology	655
Biological & Physical Science	639
Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution	522
Systems Theory	461
Dispute Resolution	416
Interdisciplinary Studies	402
Data Science	373
Mathematics & Computer Science	290
Science, Technology & Society	198
Multicultural & Diversity Studies	176
Cultural Studies & Analysis	161
Cognitive Science	123
Marine Science	104
Natural Sciences	76
Holocaust Studies	54
Medieval Studies	46
Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature	28
Human Biology	18
Classical & Ancient Studies	17
Earth Systems Science	13
Maritime Studies	9
Accounting & Computer Science	8
Environmental Geosciences	6
Linguistics and Computer Science	6
Linguistics and Anthropology	2
Biopsychology	0
Thanatology	0

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.