Loyola University Chicago has been a pioneer and innovator in public history education, establishing one of the nation’s first graduate-level public history programs in 1980. Loyola’s Public History Program was a founding institutional member of the National Council on Public History and one of the first universities to offer a PhD in public history.

For more than four decades, Loyola’s Public History Program has trained a significant number of students pursuing careers in museums, historical societies, government agencies, historic preservation, private consulting firms, and archives and records management. Students are broadly trained for employment in multiple areas of public history practice. Loyola’s public history curriculum is innovative for balancing theory and practice, teaching the best professional standards, and training students to apply historical skills through project-based learning. Public history is also a popular minor field among traditional MA and PhD candidates at Loyola. The Program promotes an inclusive environment for the multiple audiences and venues of historical training.

Loyola’s Public History Program is deeply involved in the rich urban cultural community of Chicago. Students and faculty are engaged in numerous national and local organizations. Loyola graduates have gone on to careers in national institutions such as the National Archives and the National Park Service, state agencies such as State Offices of Historic Preservation and state Humanities Councils, and private organizations from history consulting companies to major corporations such as Motorola and Kraft Foods.

The variety of careers pursued by Loyola public historians is illustrated by select alumni:

	Patrick J. Cunningham, M.A.  Associate Director, IT Policy Governance and Compliance, AbbVie, North Chicago, IL
	Katie Dishman, M.A./M.L.I.S.  Corporate Archivist, Mariott International, Bethesda, MD
	Keith Gill, M.A. Project Manager, Bluewater Studio, Grand Rapids, MI
	Elizabeth Loch, M.A./M.L.I.S. Archival Specialist, Vivian G. Harsh Afro-American History and Literature Collection, Chicago Public Library, Chicago, IL
	Nona Martin Storr, Ph.D. Senior Affiliated Scholar, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Arlington, VA
	Catherine Maybrey, Ph.D. Career Coach and Owner, Catherine Maybrey Coaching Services, Hamilton, Ontario
	Laura McDowell Hopper, M.A. Social Media Manager and Staff Writer, Craft Industry Alliance, Wellesley, MA
	Laura Milsk Fowler, Ph.D. Associate Professor of History, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL
	Devin Hunter, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of History, University of Illinois Springfield, Springfield, IL
	Meagan McChesney, Ph.D. Curator, Winnetka Historical Society, Winnetka, IL; Contract Researcher at U.S. Life-Saving Service Heritage Association
	Hope Shannon Marketing and Engagement Manager, American Historical Association
	Kelley Szany, M.A. Vice President of Education and Exhibitions, Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, Skokie, IL

View more Public History Outcomes here