Location:

Brooklyn, United States

Program Type:

Full Degree

Degree Level:

Master

Specialty:

History

Program Overview

Program Description:

The M.S. degree in Historic Preservation at Pratt uniquely addresses both the physical aspects of preservation and the role our discipline plays within a larger context of design, community revitalization, redevelopment and adaptive reuse, and sustainability. The curriculum builds on the energy of New York City as an important epicenter of historic preservation in the United States, and is located Brooklyn—a longtime bastion of civic engagement and innovation around preservation issues.

The Historic Preservation program creates and sustains a learning community of students, faculty, and alumni that is characterized by studio-based learning and the wealth of internship opportunities that only New York City has to offer. Classes take place on Pratt’s historic Brooklyn campus and are concentrated on two days a week to make internships and employment easier. The coursework places equal emphasis on theory, knowledge, and best practices. The program attracts a who’s who of preservation and urbanism practitioners as faculty.

The program resides within the Programs for Sustainable Planning and Development in the School of Architecture. The PSPD is an alliance of programs including City and Regional Planning, Construction / Facilities Management (including real estate development), Sustainable Environmental Systems, and Urban Placemaking and Management (including aspects of urban design); with further relationships with Pratt’s Interior Design program, Pratt’s new geographic information systems lab (SAVI), and Brooklyn Law School—allowing students ready access to a wealth of urbanism-related elective courses.

Historic Preservation students spend their first year in intensive coursework focused on the core elements of preservation practice, and their second year specializing in a particular aspect of urban preservation and built environment management. For some students this might mean focusing on preservation-related Design, Conservation and Technology, or Historic Resource Management, while others might decide to explore the other PSPD programs through a preservation-related focus in community planning, Main Street revitalization, adaptive reuse and preservation development, or the nexus of preservation and sustainability. A required internship or employment in the field of historic preservation rounds out the program and ensures that students leave Pratt with relevant real world experience as well as a network of professionals in preservation.

Upon successful completion of the two-year program, students graduate as fully qualified preservation practitioners with a focus that at once deepens their expertise and broadens their knowledge base—thus enhancing their skills and the range of work that they are equipped to handle as they enter this trans-disciplinary field.

Additional Program Information

Accreditation:

Pratt is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

Financial Aid:

No