The Public Heritage & Community Engagement degree combines the fields of Public History, Critical Cultural Heritage Studies, and Museum Studies to investigate the development, contestations, and implications of shared interpretation, valuation, and appreciation of places, buildings, natural landscapes, traditions, and objects. Program emphasis is placed on the critical role of community partnerships in these endeavors, helping students build the skills and networks that they will need for employment in multiple sectors after graduation.
A student graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Heritage and Community Engagement is required to demonstrate proficiency (beginning, intermediate or advanced) in a foreign language. Proficiency can be demonstrated by:
Core Curriculum - 42 hours
The Core Curriculum serves as a broad foundation for the undergraduate degree. All candidates for a bachelor’s degree must achieve core student learning outcomes, including communication, critical thinking, empirical and quantitative skills, teamwork, personal responsibility and social responsibility, by completing courses within each category or component area of the Core Curriculum as outlined below.
The University has approved specific courses that satisfy Core Curriculum Requirements. Approved courses can be found on the Core Curriculum Page. Students seeking the most efficient way to complete the core curriculum and major or minor requirements are advised to take approved courses that can fulfill both requirements. Although core curriculum courses can also be used to fulfill major or minor requirements, earned credits hours are only applied once.
The courses listed below fulfill core curriculum and major requirements. Students who have completed a core curriculum category with courses other than those listed below will still be required to take the listed course(s) to meet major requirements.
090 - Integrative and Experiential Learning - 3 hours
Major Requirements - 48 hours
Required Courses - 21 hours
Complete all of the following:
| PHCE 1301 | Introduction to Public Heritage and Community Engagement | 3 |
| ENVR 2302 | Environment and Society | 3 |
| LDST 2335 | Leadership for Community Engagement | 3 |
| ARTS 3380 | Museums, Museology, and Museography | 3 |
| ANTH 4377 | Global Cultural Heritage Issues and Debates | 3 |
Internship
Choose one:
Capstone
Prescribed Electives - 15 hours
Choose at least 15 credit hours from the list below. A minimum of 6 credits must be advanced. Students may also choose from Leadership Studies, Marketing, and Statistics courses.
Public Heritage Applications
Upper division ARTS courses have prerequisites, COMM 3307 has a prerequisite of COMM 3303, Upper division ENTR, HOST, MGMT and MARK courses typically require admission to VCoBE. Students will need to seek departmental approval to enroll.
Leadership Studies
Three credit hours from the list below can be applied towards the 15 credit hours of Public Heritage Applications prescribed electives.
| LDST 2334 | Personal and Organizational Leadership | 3 |
| LDST 3325 | Leadership, Diversity and Culture | 3 |
Marketing
Six credit hours from the list below can be applied towards the 15 credit hours of Public Heritage Applications prescribed electives.
Statistics
Three credit hours from the list below can be applied towards the 15 credit hours of Public Heritage Applications prescribed electives.
Bilingual Bicultural and Border Heritage Concentration - 12 hours
Complete 12 credit hours from the following courses of which 6 credits must be advanced.
SOCI 4323 requires six credit hours of SOCI prior to enrollment, SPAN 4311 requires prerequisites or departmental approval to enroll.
Mexican American History
Three credit hours from the list below may be applied to the concentration.
Free Electives - 30 hours
Free elective credit hours at the advanced level may be needed to achieve the institutional minimum of 42 advanced hours.
Total Credit Hours: 42