Historic Preservation Program Curriculum
Love history and want to know what to do with it? Historic preservation is “hands-on” history!
Preservationists study and seek to save artifacts, buildings, sites, cultural essences, and landscapes of historical significance that reflect and shape our knowledge of our diverse cultural heritage. We identify, document, preserve, and share the places that make places/communities special.
For more than 30 years, Bucks has offered an affordable, broad-based preservation education. Historic Preservation courses are open to students of all backgrounds and levels of experience. Classes are taken for college credit: advance your efforts toward a degree, fulfill your needs for continued learning in your profession, or fuel your desire to make a difference in your community.
Customize a schedule that fits your needs by taking classes online, on campus, or both! Course offerings vary by semester and year.
For master course outlines, link here: Historic Preservation courses.
Certificate in Historic Preservation
For 30 years, the Certificate in Historic Preservation has been the hallmark of the Historic Preservation program.
Our for-credit courses offer students from a variety of backgrounds the opportunity to learn historic preservation from the ground-up, building on what they may already know, and blending hands-on learning with context that helps them make informed decisions in their care of our historic heritage.
The Certificate is ideal for working professionals looking to "level up" at work with new skills and knowledge or to strike out on their own as entrepreneurs. Many Certificate students already have Bachelor's or Master's degrees.
Graduates of our program leave with the ability to communicate the cultural and economic value preservation offers to their communities, conduct in-depth historical property research, apply conservation standards to specific sites, interpret American regional and national architectural history, and develop solutions to challenges facing 21st century cultural heritage stewardship. Through education and advocacy, students embrace preservation challenges at the local, regional, and national levels.
They find work as:
• historic property/district research consultants
• archeology museum and archival collections assistants
• historic restoration business owners
• historic landscape technicians
• trades apprentices
• house museum docents
• cultural heritage tour guides
• conservation technicians
• advisors to developers, contractors, realtors
Associate of Arts Degree in General Studies, Historic Preservation Emphasis
The Associate of Arts in General Studies with Historic Preservation emphasis is geared toward students who will eventually seek a Bachelor's degree and who have already completed several semesters of college coursework successfully.
General Studies allows you to meld your General Education courses (such as COMP110: College Composition or MATH115: Elementary Statistics) with Historic Preservation coursework to create a custom major.
Associate of Arts Degree in Guided Studies, Historic Preservation Emphasis
The Associate of Arts in Guided Studies with Historic Preservation emphasis is geared toward students who have taken little to no college coursework but who intend to eventually seek a Bachelor's degree.
Students follow a more "guided" path that blends General Education requirements, Historic Preservation coursework, and career exploration opportunities to discover their path to transfer to a four-year school.