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Curriculum & Course Offerings

NIAHD's Visiting Students take classes with William & Mary students and earn transferable credit for their work. As full-time W&M students, Visiting Students register for a minimum of 12 credits (4 classes) during a semester. Students can choose from the full list of NIAHD-sponsored courses which focus on aspects of American History, Architectural History, Historical Archaeology, Historic Preservation, Material Culture, and Public History. In addition, Visiting Students can enroll in other William & Mary courses if they need to fulfill specific requirements at their home college or university.

NIAHD's core curriculum includes

  • Public History (HIST 409), the core course in public history
  • Field Schools: Architectural History Field School (HIST 406), Material Culture Field School (HIST 407), and Archaeological Field Methods (ANTH 225)
  • NIAHD Internship in Public History (HIST 408), a course that includes class discussions and a hands-on internship experience  

Visiting Students may also choose to do an independent study involving research in primary documents as well as deep reading in secondary literature. Students who opt for this course will work closely with an instructor to define a topic, conduct research, and write a 20 page paper by the end of the semester.

Public History students learn what different architectural materials and techniques can tell us about a structure's former occupants.