Additional Information
Thomas Visser is a professor of historic preservation and co-chair of the
National Council for Preservation Education. He recommends that students interested
in becoming building heritage specialists take history, chemistry and English
in high school.
"Good undergraduate degrees are architectural history or history," he says,
"as well as architecture or engineering. A few colleges offer undergraduate
degrees in historic preservation. However, most students who wish to develop
their careers as professional preservationists or heritage specialists typically
go on to a master's degree."
Currently, 18 American institutions offer graduate programs in historic
preservation.
David Cuming is president of an association of heritage consultants. He
lists physics, chemistry, geology, geography, mathematics, social studies
and any courses dealing with materials or drafting as safe bets for students
who want to pursue historic preservation.
Outside of school, "there's always the local historical society to get
involved in," suggests heritage specialist Craig Sims. "Or local historic
sites, which often hire students in the summer for interpretative programs."
In terms of post-secondary education, "there are a lot of different avenues,
a lot of different ways to get here," says Sims. He notes that engineering,
architecture and history are three of them.
"What we have now that we didn't have when I was a student are programs
geared towards preservation work at the university level," he adds.