Skip to Main Content

Capital Campus Public History Program Department of History, College of Arts & Letters

About Public History

Studying Public History at Sacramento State

The Capital Campus Public History Program works with partners throughout the region to train the next generation of public historians. Our students at the BA, MA, and PhD level learn from practitioners in the field, engage in public projects, work as interns in history institutions, and build competitive resumes to prepare them for careers in history institutions, government agencies, and non-profits.

Our location in Sacramento provides an ideal learning laboratory for students in public history. The high concentration of history institutions in the capital and California's strong cultural legislation means high demand for public historians throughout the region and the state.

For more information on the public history program, contact publichistory@csus.edu.

View our course offerings and program requirements

What is Public History?

Public history is the study and practice of history with the public in mind. We use historical skills to tell local and national stories in public forums and in partnership with the public. Public historians are community engaged scholars and practitioners who are putting history to work in the world. If you have ever been to a museum, watched a documentary, used an archive, experienced a historic district, or visited a historic site, you have seen public history in action. Public historians are historians first, using specialized interdisciplinary skills to create history experiences that speak to many audiences.

Learn more about the History Department

Spotlight

Student Resources

Find Us

Department of History
Tahoe Hall, Room 3080
Mon - Fri, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Contact Us

Phone: (916) 278-6206
publichistory@csus.edu

Meet Us