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Historic Preservation Major

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Historic Preservation

199 Master's Degrees Annually
3 Doctor's Degrees Annually
#209 in Popularity (Master's)
$56,400 Median Salary

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

In an O*NET survey, historic preservation majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Historic Preservation Majors

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

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  • 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:

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  • 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

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

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  • 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?

People with a historic preservation 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 Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation?

199 Master's Degrees Annually
72% Percent Women
19% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
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:

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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
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Korea
  • Taiwan

How Much Do Historic Preservation Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that historic preservation students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree made a median starting salary of $42,922 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $38,120 (25th percentile) and $47,324 (75th percentile).

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We don’t know for sure if all of these people took jobs related to historic preservation so take that into consideration.

Salaries According to BLS

Historic Preservation majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $56,400 to $66,380 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

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.

Median Salary for a Historic Preservation Major  ( 56400 to 66380 )
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250K
Median Salary for a High School Graduate  ( 30000 to 57900 )
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250K
Median Salary for a Bachelor's Degree Holder  ( 45600 to 99000 )
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250K
Median Salary for an Advanced Degree Holder  ( 55600 to 125400 )
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250K

Some careers associated with historic preservation require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

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.

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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 the 2020-2021 academic year, 77 schools offered some type of historic preservation program. 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!

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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
Linguistics and Computer Science 6
Environmental Geosciences 6
Linguistics and Anthropology 2
Thanatology 0
Biopsychology 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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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