MA in Preservation Studies Program By Boston University |Top Universities
Main Subject Area

Area StudiesMain Subject Area

Program overview

Main Subject

Area Studies

Degree

MA

Study Level

Masters

The Preservation Studies program trains students for productive careers working in historic preservation and the stewardship of cultural resources and heritage. Boston and New England have historically stood out as leaders of the national historic preservation movement. Drawing upon the traditions of its vibrant preservation locality, Boston University itself has a long history of inventively recycling historic buildings to house its students and faculty. The University was founded in 1869 in two adaptively reused Beacon Hill townhouses adjacent to the Boston Athenaeum and Charles Bulfinch’s Massachusetts State Capitol. In 1883 Boston University moved its College of Liberal Studies into an adaptively reused Baptist Church on Somerset Street. The University subsequently adapted for its own uses the Copley Square building of the Harvard Medical School, key commercial buildings along Commonwealth Avenue’s Automobile Row, the Boston Braves Baseball field, row houses and apartments along Bay State Road, and mansions in the Cottage Farm neighborhood; more recently, the University has undertaken a major renovation of the University Law Tower, a landmark of Boston modernism designed in 1962 by Spanish architect Jose Luis Sert. Successful, environmentally minded stewardship of historic buildings is part of the institutional DNA of Boston University; the Preservation Studies program draws inspiration and vitality from this rich context. Students in the program learn preservation in the classroom and through hands-on preservation planning, historical research, and exploration. They study the built environment and cultural landscape through courses taught by leading experts who teach in departments across the University and numerous professionals who do important work in the regional and national preservation field. Class projects take advantage of the tremendous scope of preservation activity in the region, from large-scale regional initiatives to grassroots neighborhood efforts in cities and towns. Applicants should have a BA and demonstrated interest in the fields that contribute to historic preservation.

Program overview

Main Subject

Area Studies

Degree

MA

Study Level

Masters

The Preservation Studies program trains students for productive careers working in historic preservation and the stewardship of cultural resources and heritage. Boston and New England have historically stood out as leaders of the national historic preservation movement. Drawing upon the traditions of its vibrant preservation locality, Boston University itself has a long history of inventively recycling historic buildings to house its students and faculty. The University was founded in 1869 in two adaptively reused Beacon Hill townhouses adjacent to the Boston Athenaeum and Charles Bulfinch’s Massachusetts State Capitol. In 1883 Boston University moved its College of Liberal Studies into an adaptively reused Baptist Church on Somerset Street. The University subsequently adapted for its own uses the Copley Square building of the Harvard Medical School, key commercial buildings along Commonwealth Avenue’s Automobile Row, the Boston Braves Baseball field, row houses and apartments along Bay State Road, and mansions in the Cottage Farm neighborhood; more recently, the University has undertaken a major renovation of the University Law Tower, a landmark of Boston modernism designed in 1962 by Spanish architect Jose Luis Sert. Successful, environmentally minded stewardship of historic buildings is part of the institutional DNA of Boston University; the Preservation Studies program draws inspiration and vitality from this rich context. Students in the program learn preservation in the classroom and through hands-on preservation planning, historical research, and exploration. They study the built environment and cultural landscape through courses taught by leading experts who teach in departments across the University and numerous professionals who do important work in the regional and national preservation field. Class projects take advantage of the tremendous scope of preservation activity in the region, from large-scale regional initiatives to grassroots neighborhood efforts in cities and towns. Applicants should have a BA and demonstrated interest in the fields that contribute to historic preservation.

Admission requirements

Undergraduate

7+

Tuition fee and scholarships

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More programs from the university

One of the largest private universities in the country, Boston University educates approximately 16,000 undergraduate students each year. Nearly 3,900 faculty members teach in 250 programs of study at 17 schools and colleges.

In 2018, U.S. News & World Report ranked BU 37th in the nation and 39th among global universities. The faculty features a Pulitzer Prize winner, a MacArthur fellow, a former US Poet Laureate, and dozens of Guggenheim fellows. The student-faculty ratio is 10:1 and the average class size is 27.
BU is a member of the Association of American Universities, an invitation-only group of North America’s most prestigious research universities. One of only four Boston-area members, BU boasts particular interdisciplinary breadth and depth of excellence in cloud computing and cyber security; engineering biology; infectious diseases; neuroscience; photonics; urban policy; education; and the humanities. It’s not unusual to find undergraduates in the cutting-edge labs and work spaces of prominent researchers tackling life-changing challenges.

Recognized around the world, the University fields applications for admission from students representing over 150 countries. By the same token, thousands of Terriers get their passports stamped every year for study, research, and internships on all seven continents. Once they graduate, BU students are among the most employable in the country and the world—5th and 6th, respectively, according to Times Higher Education.
BU is implementing a University-wide general education curriculum called the BU Hub, which ensures every graduate will possess the essential knowledge, skills, and habits of mind needed to think deeply, generate new ideas, and put them into action, particularly within the context of a hyper-fast, globally connected world.

On campus, daily life is a swirl of languages, faces, and religions, with 450+ student clubs, countless shows and lectures, a state-of-the-art fitness center, a slew of pubs and restaurants, and 22 varsity athletic teams, including the thrills and spills of Terrier hockey.

The University is nestled in the heart of Boston, a hotbed of high tech and biomedicine, and the birthplace of American history, serving as an extended classroom for students, offering study, internships, and professional opportunities with some of the world’s most influential leaders in fields from art to finance to biotech. It’s no wonder BU is called “Boston’s university.”

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BA in Psychology

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BS in Biology

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BA in English

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BA in Sociology

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BS in Economics

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The largest university in Boston and the fourth-largest private educational institution in the country, Boston University counts some 15,000 graduate students among its student body.

Nearly 3,900 faculty members teach at 17 schools and colleges and when not at the front of the classroom, they can be found at BU’s 125+ research centers and institutes and 2,326 laboratories spread across three city campuses. The faculty features a Pulitzer Prize winner, a MacArthur fellow, a former US Poet Laureate, and dozens of Guggenheim fellows.
BU is a major, global research institution and a member of the Association of American Universities, an invitation-only group of 62 of North America’s most prestigious research universities. One of only four Boston-area members, BU boasts particular interdisciplinary breadth and depth of excellence in cloud computing and cyber security; engineering biology; infectious diseases; neuroscience; photonics; urban policy; education; and the humanities. Home also to a medical school and teaching hospital, in FY2017 BU landed more than $400M in federal research dollars. In the commercial sector, some 200 companies are developing and selling products based on BU discoveries.

U.S. News & World Report for 2019 ranked numerous BU graduate programs among the country’s top 50: Sargent College’s occupational therapy program (#1), School of Public Health’s program (#10), Business (#42), Education (#34), Law (#22), Engineering (#34), Biomedical Engineering (#12), Medical Research (#29), Medical Primary Care (#26), Social Work (#10), as well as graduate programs in Computer Science, Math, Physics, Economics, Psychology, and Sociology.

The University is nestled in the heart of Boston, a hotbed of high tech and biomedicine, and the birthplace of American history, serving as an extended classroom for students, offering study, internships, and professional opportunities with some of the world’s most influential leaders in fields from art to finance to biotech. It’s no wonder BU is called “Boston’s university.”

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Postgrad programs