Heritage Studies (Ph.D.) Course
Credit Hours: 99
Overview
This interdisciplinary Ph.D. program educates students for advanced careers in the heritage professions. Policies and requirements are shown below and in the section of this Bulletin entitled “Program of Study for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Heritage Studies” in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Applicants are advised that admission to the Graduate School does not imply admission to the Heritage Studies Ph.D. Program.
The mission of the program is to produce heritage professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to support the identification, assessment, preservation, interpretation, management, and promotion of historic and cultural resources for non-specialist or “public” audiences. The program is interdisciplinary, using multiple academic perspectives to explore and understand the interrelationships of history and culture in a distinctive region, the Mississippi River Delta. While universal in scope and method, the Heritage Studies doctoral program uses the distinctive heritage, attributes, resources, and cultures of the Mississippi River Delta as its laboratory of study. Our students study regional history, anthropology, archeology, ethnography, folklore, regional and ethnic literature, geography, sociology, and public administration.
They develop traditional doctoral-level research skills, but their educational experience is also applied and practical for the purpose of public dissemination of history and culture. Employment opportunities include senior executive staff positions in cultural and historical agencies, parks and cultural tourist sites, historical societies, museums, archives, federal, state, and local public and nonprofit agencies, and private consulting firms. This degree is not primarily designed for college and university teaching, although students may be qualified to do so.
Requirements
Curriculum:
Core Courses: (12 hrs from the following courses)
HS 7003, Introduction to Heritage Studies, Research, and Writing
HS 7103, Concepts of Culture
HS 7113, Regional Cultures: History of the Mississippi River Delta
HS 7123, Management Issues in the Heritage Professions
HS 7133, Cultural Resource Methods
Most students will take all fi ve core classes, one of which will be applied to the
Specialty Area or the Enrichment classes explained below. Some students may
have taken a class equivalent to one of the fi ve core courses and with the permission
of the student’s doctoral advisory committee will be permitted to take only four
core classes.
Specialty Area:
Four courses that demonstrate the doctoral student’s area of specialization within
Heritage Studies. Under the direction of the candidacy committee that is chaired by
the individual student’s graduate advisor, the four courses will establish an area of
expertise that combines interdisciplinary emphasis and multi-cultural content with
professional training (in archiving or museum work, for example). A maximum of
one internship for three hours credit may be applied to the Specialty Area.
Enrichment:
Four courses that demonstrate study and professional training beyond the
individual student’s Specialty Area. Under the direction of the candidacy committee
these four courses will address areas that will enrich the student’s research
and work in Heritage Studies with special attention to expanding interdisciplinary
skills and knowledge. A maximum of one internship for three hours credit may be
applied to Enrichment.
Practicum:
Students must complete 300 work hours as a quasi-professional in a culture,
heritage, or public history environment. After completion of this work experience,
students will provide a written assessment of the Practicum. At the discretion of
the candidacy committee, adjustments may be made for students with extensive
professional experience in public heritage programs.
Comprehensive Candidacy Exam:
After completion of the curriculum and the practicum, the candidacy committee
will schedule a comprehensive examination of the student’s work in the doctoral
program. The format of the exam for all students is established by the Heritage
Studies Program Committee.
Successful completion of this examination along with approval of a dissertation
proposal allows the student to be formally recognized as a candidate for the Doctor
of Philosophy in Heritage Studies.
Dissertation:
Each candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy in Heritage Studies must execute
an original and rigorous research project culminating in the completion, public presentation,
and defense of a dissertation.