Master of Historic Preservation (MHP)

2 Years On Campus Masters Program

University of Georgia

Program Overview

The Master of Historic Preservation (MHP) at the University of Georgia prepares students to manage, interpret, protect, and revitalize historic resources across both built and natural environments, combining academic study with hands-on, community-focused professional training. It suits students from diverse backgrounds—including history, anthropology, landscape architecture, interior design, art history, and classics—who want to develop expertise in cultural resource management, preservation planning, and preservation advocacy.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1: Students establish a strong professional foundation through HIPR 6030: Principles and Practice of Preservation, HIPR 6060: Basic Preservation Graphics, and HIPR 6200: Preservation Law, developing knowledge of preservation principles, visual documentation, and the legal framework surrounding historic resources. In the spring, HIPR 6100: Cultural Resource Assessment and HIPR 6660: Historic Preservation Design Studio develop practical assessment and design skills, complemented by the HIPR 6025: Preservation Perspectives Field Study.

Year 2: Students advance into professional preservation planning and conservation through HIPR 6950: Historic Preservation Planning and HIPR 6350: Building Materials Conservation, while completing their HIPR 7300: MHP Thesis research and writing. The curriculum also includes another HIPR 6025: Preservation Perspectives Field Study, with electives allowing students to specialize in areas such as international heritage conservation, historic site interpretation, public history and technology, cultural landscape conservation, preservation economics, GIS, and museum studies.

Focus Areas:

Cultural resource management, preservation planning, preservation advocacy, historic architecture, building conservation, cultural landscapes, historic site interpretation, public history, heritage conservation, preservation law, preservation economics, GIS, and museum studies.

Learning Outcomes:

Historic-resource assessment, preservation planning, preservation graphics, building-material conservation, preservation law, historic preservation design, research and thesis development, cultural heritage management, and practical strategies for protecting and revitalizing historic resources in urban and rural settings.

Professional Alignment (Accreditation):

NCPE-aligned: UGA states that no formal specialized accreditation currently exists for historic preservation programs, but its MHP follows the curricular guidance of the National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE) and meets its standards; UGA is also an NCPE member.

Reputation (Employability Rankings):

Established preservation program: UGA has offered the MHP since 1982, and the university describes it as one of the largest historic preservation programs in the United States and the oldest in the South. The program prepares graduates for roles across federal, state and local government, nonprofit preservation organizations, preservation consulting, museums, construction, rehabilitation, restoration, cultural heritage tourism, and preservation education.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

The Master of Historic Preservation (MHP) at the University of Georgia emphasizes hands-on, community-focused learning alongside professional preservation training. Students work with real historic resources and community issues in Athens and beyond, while UGA’s College of Environment and Design provides dedicated studios, computer facilities, research resources, exhibition spaces, and historic sites that function as learning environments.

Practical learning opportunities include:

Community-based projects: Students gain practical experience through hands-on, community-focused experiences, with the campus and surrounding community used as a laboratory for applying preservation theory and techniques to real situations.
Preservation field trips: The program conducts an annual Preservation Perspectives field trip; in 2026, MHP students spent three days in Charleston, South Carolina, studying historic preservation and connecting with local professionals.
Maymester experiences: UGA's MHP curriculum includes intensive two-week Maymester programs, giving students opportunities to explore preservation topics through concentrated study beyond the regular semester.
Interdisciplinary community work: MHP students collaborate with students from other CED programs on real community challenges. In 2026, MHP and MLA students worked together with the City of Thomaston on redevelopment, revitalization, and reinvestment in a historically underserved area.
Historic sites as learning laboratories: The Founders Memorial Garden and House functions as a learning laboratory and teaching resource for CED students, while the historic property itself is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Dedicated MHP workspace: Caldwell Hall provides MHP students with dedicated workstations, shared meeting facilities, and open-use computer stations.
Studios and lab spaces: Denmark Hall houses graduate students in historic preservation and landscape architecture and provides studios, lecture classrooms, and shared lab spaces.
Research and library resources: The Owens Resource Center contains more than 7,000 books, journals, theses, and senior projects, with collections covering historic preservation, landscape architecture, and environmental planning and design.
Exhibitions and visual learning: The Circle Gallery presents exhibitions involving historic preservation, environmental design, cultural and historical subjects, photography, sculpture, drawings, and other forms of visual work, providing an additional setting for interdisciplinary learning and discussion.
Professional preservation practice: The program specifically develops practical capabilities for cultural resource management, preservation planning, and preservation advocacy, preparing students to manage and interpret historic resources in changing built and natural environments.

Progression & Future Opportunities

The Master of Historic Preservation (MHP) at the University of Georgia prepares graduates for broad-based careers in conserving and managing historic resources in the built and natural environments. Graduates are particularly prepared for roles in architectural history, cultural resource management, preservation planning and preservation advocacy across government, nonprofit, cultural heritage, construction, tourism and design sectors.

Typical career roles: Architectural Historian, Cultural Resource Management Professional, Preservation Planner, Preservation Advocate.

Career progression and opportunities include:

Professional preparation: The MHP's 57-credit curriculum is designed to develop versatile professionals who can identify preservation opportunities and develop strategies for protecting and appropriately using cultural resources.
Employment sectors: Graduates can pursue positions at local, state and federal government agencies, nonprofit cultural heritage organizations, museums, construction organizations, cultural heritage tourism organizations and design firms.
Professional network: UGA's College of Environment and Design (CED) provides a professional environment bringing historic preservation students together with students and faculty in landscape architecture and related design fields; Denmark Hall includes studios, lecture classrooms and shared laboratory spaces.
Professional recognition: The MHP has been offered since 1982, is one of the largest historic preservation programs in the United States and is described by UGA as the oldest in the South. The program is also a member of the National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE) and meets its curriculum standards.
Accreditation: UGA states that there is currently no formal specialized accreditation process for historic preservation programs at the graduate or undergraduate level. The MHP instead follows NCPE curriculum guidance and meets NCPE standards.
Employment statistics and salary: Not stated by UGA in the official MHP materials reviewed; therefore, a program-specific employment rate or salary figure should not be inferred.
University–industry/community connections: Students can engage with preservation-related work across government and nonprofit cultural heritage organizations, while UGA's CED also offers opportunities such as the Croatia study-abroad program in Archaeology, Art, and Heritage Conservation.
Graduation outcomes: UGA identifies the MHP as a terminal professional degree in historic preservation, with graduates entering preservation, public history, cultural resource management, construction, cultural heritage tourism and design careers.

Further Academic Progression: The MHP can also serve as a foundation for Ph.D. study in humanities and social science fields. UGA specifically identifies Ph.D. pathways in connection with its MHP Double Dawg programs, including humanities and social-science doctoral study, while the MHP itself is regarded as the terminal professional degree in historic preservation.