ACAP 03/28/2019 Agenda Item 3j PROGRAM MODIFICATION PROPOSAL FORM Name of Institution: College of Charleston and the Citadel Briefly state the nature of the proposed modification (e.g., adding a new concentration, extending the program to a new site, curriculum change, etc.): The College of Charleston and the Citadel are seeking to add an optional Concentration in Public History to the Joint College of Charleston/Citadel Master of Arts in History. Current Name of Program (include degree designation and all concentrations, options, and tracks): Joint Master of Arts in History (with existing optional concentrations in U.S., European, Global, and African American History) Proposed Name of Program (include degree designation and all concentrations, options, and tracks): Joint Master of Arts in History with a Concentration in Public History Program Designation: Associate’s Degree X Master’s Degree Bachelor’s Degree: 4 Year Specialist Bachelor’s Degree: 5 Year Doctoral Degree: Research/Scholarship (e.g., Ph.D. and DMA) Doctoral Degree: Professional Practice (e.g., Ed.D., D.N.P., J.D., Pharm.D., and M.D.) Does the program currently qualify for supplemental Palmetto Fellows and LIFE Scholarship awards? Yes X No If No, should the program be considered for supplemental Palmetto Fellows and LIFE Scholarship awards? Yes X No Proposed Date of Implementation: Fall, 2019 CIP Code: 540101 Current delivery site(s) and modes: 50201 College of Charleston, Main Campus; 50701 The Citadel, Main Campus Proposed delivery site(s) and modes: Same College of Charleston & The Citadel, MA, History, Program Modification, ACAP, 03/28/2019 – Page 1 ACAP 03/28/2019 Agenda Item 3j Program Contact Information (name, title, telephone number, and email address): Dr. Jason Coy, Director of Graduate Studies Department of History College of Charleston 66 George Street Charleston, SC 29424 Email: [email protected] Dr. Keith Knapp, Director of Graduate Studies The Citadel Department of History 430 Capers Hall 171 Moultrie Street Charleston, SC 29409 Email: [email protected] Institutional Approvals and Dates of Approval: The Joint Master of Arts in History Committee worked closely in guiding the Public History Concentration proposal successfully through the parallel institutional approval processes at the College of Charleston and the Citadel. College of Charleston Citadel Department of History: February 22, 2018 Department of History: September 21, 2017 Committee on Graduate Education: April 2, N/A 2018 Graduate Council: April 20, 2018 Graduate College Committee: February 27, 2018 Faculty Senate: September 5, 2018 Faculty Senate: April 17, 2018 College of Charleston & The Citadel, MA, History, Program Modification, ACAP, 03/28/2019 – Page 2 ACAP 03/28/2019 Agenda Item 3j Background Information Provide a detailed description of the proposed modification, including target audience, centrality to institutional mission, and relation to strategic plan. The proposed Concentration in Public History will serve the needs of the Charleston region’s burgeoning historical tourism market and is aligned with the institutional missions and strategic plans of the College of Charleston and the Citadel. Public history, particularly in the form of historical and heritage tourism, is a driving feature of the Charleston economy. Currently, public historians in Charleston and the surrounding area are reevaluating the historical interpretations provided at public sites in addition to developing new sites that supply a more inclusive narrative of the city’s past and present; and former graduate and undergraduate students at the College of Charleston and the Citadel are helping to lead the way. With this effort already underway, the time is right for a concentration within our existing joint graduate program that provides graduate students with a strong foundation of historical knowledge, educates them about the theories and methodologies that undergird public history, and provides skills-based training that will prepare them to become public historians at local, regional, and national institutions. Charleston is a city rich in public history, and many prospective graduate students have stated in their applications an interest in pursuing public history while pursuing their MA in history. In fact, 7 of the 21 applicants for the current recruiting cycle (Fall 2019) have specifically mentioned an interest in public history. This demand is not new, and a number of students who graduated in the spring of 2017 also wrote testimonials expressing support for developing a program in public history (please see supplemental materials). Furthermore, the 2012-13 outside reviewers for the history graduate program stipulated that developing a track in public history would significantly benefit the program as a whole. In the series of suggestions that the reviewers made to improve the program, they wrote: Given the strong historic resources in the Charleston and Low Country regions, and the strong support expressed in the CoC Strategic Plan for developing or enhancing ‘nationally recognized...graduate and professional programs in areas that take advantage of our history, culture, and location in Charleston’ (p. 11), the reviewers were rather amazed that the CoC does not offer a graduate concentration in Public History. The reviewers’ ultimate recommendation was for the history department to create a “Public History graduate track in which students would receive an M.A. in History with a concentration (or certificate) in Public History,” which is exactly what this proposed concentration aims to do. Doing so, the reviewers note, would elevate the profile of the history graduate program, connect the history departments to other programs and schools within the College of Charleston and the Citadel, and foster stronger connections between the colleges and the wider community of Charleston. We have already begun to build these connections through special topics courses offered in conjunction with community partners such as the Preservation Society of Charleston and the McLeod Plantation Historic Site, as well as securing internships for graduate students at an array of public history institutions throughout the area. We have therefore established a strong foundation upon which to build this concentration. College of Charleston & The Citadel, MA, History, Program Modification, ACAP, 03/28/2019 – Page 3 ACAP 03/28/2019 Agenda Item 3j Establishing a Concentration in Public History would only require adding two additional courses (an Introduction to Public History and an Internship Experience course), while existing courses could be adapted to include a public history component. Already, faculty members have been offering public history-oriented classes on both the Citadel and College of Charleston campuses. We also have ample resources in both schools, including the Lowcountry Digital History Initiative (College of Charleston), the Citadel Oral History Program, and the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture (College of Charleston), which provide opportunities for Graduate Assistant positions in public history, which would augment the opportunities that we are developing for internships with community organizations. The proposed Concentration in Public History is the result of careful planning and study of best practices in the field. In the spring of 2016, Joint MA program faculty consulted extensively with program directors in comparable institutions in the region with successful concentrations in public history. Additionally, Daniel Vivian, Chair of Historic Preservation at the University of Kentucky, visited Charleston during the fall of 2017 to assess the viability of establishing such a program. The positive feedback we received from these sources led the faculty in the Departments of History at the College of Charleston and the Citadel to unanimously agree to move forward with the proposed concentration. The proposed Concentration in Public History is central to the institutional missions and strategic plans of the College of Charleston and the Citadel. The program is designed to enhance graduate education by working with local institutions of public history through courses and internships. In this way, we will be rooting the graduate program more fully in the College of Charleston’s mission of striving “to meet the growing educational demands primarily of the Lowcountry and the state.” Out target audience are students who are interested in learning the skills, methods, and theories of public history through engagement with local communities in and around Charleston. As such, the proposed Concentration in Public History also is designed with the core values of the College of Charleston’s Strategic Plan in mind, namely the “history, traditions, culture and environment of Charleston and the Lowcountry that foster distinctive opportunities for innovative academic programs and relationships that advance our public mission in the city of Charleston, the state of South Carolina and the world.” Additionally, such a concentration is aligned with the Strategic Plan’s emphasis on developing a “vibrant graduate school” that is predicated on “a number of new programs, selected to highlight the strength and desirability of specific disciplines or interdisciplinary areas.” Likewise, the proposed Concentration in Public History will help further the Citadel Graduate College’s mission to “provide innovative and quality higher educational opportunities” for its students. As a program that will