PUBLIC HISTORY FELLOWSHIPS
Background
In fall 2024, the Architectural History Department at the UVA School of Architecture established a new Public History Fellowship program. The program seeks to bring new energy and dynamism to the public experience of historic sites — from house museums and main streets, to courthouse squares and former plantation landscapes — by equipping a new generation of graduate students with the experience, knowledge, and creativity to bring often overlooked histories and multiple perspectives to life at sites across Virginia.
The Public History Fellowship program is open to applicants who are entering the Master of Architectural History (MArH) program at UVA. Details on how to apply are provided below.
Public History Fellowship Details
- Summer Internship: Public History Fellows will complete a paid summer internship at a historic site and develop new place-based public programming for that partner site. The internship will culminate in a public program that the Fellow will deliver at the end of the summer, but that can also become an ongoing part of the site’s regular programming.
- Partner Site: Fellows will work with the Program Director (Professor Louis Nelson) to identify an appropriate partner site. Once the site is selected and agreed upon by the Program Director and the site’s Executive Director, the Public History Fellow will spend time during their first year in the MArH program building trust with the site staff and learning more about its potentials, opportunities, and needs.
- Ongoing Engagement: Fellows will return to the site at least twice through the course of their second year, offering the program for local community organizations and working with a videographer to complete a short documentary on their experience.
- Stipend Support: Fellows will received additional funding during their Master of Architectural History program at UVA, which includes a $10,000 stipend for each of their two years of graduate training (in addition to any regularly awarded merit aid) as well as $6000 to support their summer internship.
- Public History Course: Fellows will take a course introducing them to public history and the public humanities.
As part of the application process for the Master of Architectural History program, we invite applicants to express their interest in joining the Public History Fellows cohort. You will have the option to indicate and discuss (in your statement of interest that is part of the application requirements) your qualifications and aspirations for participating in the Public History Fellows Program.
Public History Fellowships will be awarded on the basis of demonstrated academic excellence; experience and/or commitment to developing skills of research, place-based interpretation, and public engagement; willingness to pursue an internship and in-depth work with a historic site during the summer between their first and second year in the MArH program; and a background in or developing interest in the history of American landscapes and places.
Successful applicants for the Public History Fellowships will be notified of acceptance into the fellowship cohort upon admission into the program.
The Public History Fellows program seeks to bring new energy and dynamism to the public experience of historic sites — from house museums and main streets, to courthouse squares and former plantation landscapes — by equipping a new generation of graduate students in architectural history with the experience, knowledge, and creativity to bring often overlooked histories and multiple perspectives to life at sites across Virginia.
PUBLIC HISTORY FELLOWS —
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| Michael Bledsoe (24-25) | Michael Phillips (24-25) | Sara Wilson (24-25) |
The Public History Fellows program seeks to bring new energy and dynamism to the public experience of historic sites — from house museums and main streets, to courthouse squares and former plantation landscapes — by equipping a new generation of graduate students in architectural history with the experience, knowledge, and creativity to bring often overlooked histories and multiple perspectives to life at sites across Virginia.