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| University of Pennsylvania Graduate Program in Historic Preservation | |
|---|---|
| Name | University of Pennsylvania Graduate Program in Historic Preservation |
| Established | 1964 |
| Type | Graduate professional program |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Parent | University of Pennsylvania |
University of Pennsylvania Graduate Program in Historic Preservation is a graduate program located in Philadelphia offering professional education in conservation, documentation, and policy for built heritage. The program integrates architectural conservation, cultural landscapes, and urban history through technical training, fieldwork, and policy engagement with museums, archives, and preservation agencies. It engages students with national and international practice via partnerships with institutions, nonprofit organizations, and governmental bodies.
Founded during the postwar expansion of preservation practice, the program traces intellectual roots to the National Historic Preservation Act, the Historic American Buildings Survey, and the emergence of professional conservation in the 20th century. Early curricular models were influenced by practitioners associated with the American Institute of Architects, the Society of Architectural Historians, and the Getty Conservation Institute, linking traditions from the Beaux-Arts movement, the Colonial Revival, and preservation campaigns at Independence Hall. Over decades the program intersected with scholarship on the preservation of landscapes exemplified by projects at Mount Vernon, Colonial Williamsburg, and Olmsted sites, and engaged debates arising from UNESCO World Heritage nominations, the Venice Charter, and the Athens Charter for the Restoration of Historic Monuments. Faculty and alumni have contributed to landmark efforts at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, and municipal preservation commissions in Philadelphia, Boston, and New York City.
The program offers a Master of Science in Historic Preservation with concentrations in architectural conservation, cultural landscape preservation, and historic preservation planning, alongside dual degrees and certificate options with programs at the School of Design, the Wharton School, and the Law School. Joint pathways include collaborations with the Penn Institute for Urban Research, the Graduate School of Design at Harvard, the Courtauld Institute, and research exchanges tied to the Getty Foundation and the Mellon Foundation. Students undertake internships with organizations such as the National Park Service, the World Monuments Fund, the Getty Conservation Institute, the American Alliance of Museums, and municipal agencies including the Philadelphia Historical Commission and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Core coursework emphasizes technical documentation, material conservation, architectural history, and regulatory frameworks through case studies like colonial restoration campaigns, industrial heritage rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse projects for sites such as the Erie Canal, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the High Line. Methodologies draw on building archaeology developed from studies of medieval cathedrals, structural analysis used in earthquake retrofitting research from the San Francisco Bay Area, and conservation science applied at the Smithsonian’s conservation laboratories and the Courtauld Institute’s conservation department. Students learn documentation standards aligned with the Historic American Buildings Survey and international guidelines from UNESCO and ICOMOS, and apply project-based methods in fieldwork at plantation sites, textile mills, railroad infrastructure, and civic monuments.
Faculty researchers combine backgrounds from architectural history, materials science, landscape architecture, and law, publishing with presses and journals associated with Columbia University, Yale University, Oxford University, and the University of California system. Research projects have addressed preservation policy responses following Hurricane Katrina, seismic vulnerability mitigation in Los Angeles, heritage tourism at Gettysburg, industrial archaeology along the Erie Railroad, and community-based preservation in Harlem, South Boston, and New Orleans. Grants and partnerships have been awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for work on conservation treatments, digital documentation with laser scanning used in projects at Chartres Cathedral, and archival curation involving the Library of Congress and the British Library.
Facilities include conservation laboratories equipped for stone, mortar, wood, and metal treatments, digital imaging suites with 3D laser scanners and photogrammetry platforms used in projects at the Acropolis, the Alhambra, and the Palace of Versailles, and archival collections housed in partnership with the Penn Libraries and the Athenaeum of Philadelphia. Students access field-school opportunities at properties managed by the National Park Service, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic New England, and municipal preservation offices, and may work in collaboration with museums such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art on conservation internships.
Admissions evaluate portfolios, statements, and professional experience with consideration of undergraduate work from institutions like Princeton University, Harvard College, Columbia College, the University of Chicago, and MIT, and international universities including the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, the École des Beaux-Arts, and the Technical University of Munich. Financial aid and fellowships are offered through university scholarships, fellowships funded by the Getty Foundation and the Mellon Foundation, research assistantships tied to grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and external awards from the American Institute for Conservation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Alumni pursue careers in preservation practice, public policy, museum conservation, and academia, holding positions at the National Park Service, the World Monuments Fund, the Getty Conservation Institute, the Smithsonian Institution, and city preservation offices in Philadelphia, Boston, and San Francisco. Graduates have contributed to projects at Independence National Historical Park, Ellis Island, Mount Vernon, Colonial Williamsburg, the High Line, and the preservation of industrial sites like Lowell National Historical Park, and serve as leaders in professional organizations including the American Institute of Architects, the Society of Architectural Historians, the Royal Institute of British Architects, and the International Council on Monuments and Sites.
Category:Historic preservation education Category:University of Pennsylvania