As society becomes more aware of the value of preserving its documentary heritage, the need for more and better trained archivists has expanded. The Archives Management Concentration is designed to prepare students for archival positions. Students fulfilling the concentration requirements are trained to work with archival and manuscript materials in a variety of settings including those at public archives, colleges and universities, corporations, historical societies, photograph collections, research and public libraries, film libraries and archives, museums, churches, and private foundations. Archives LIS 440 - Administration of Archives and Manuscript Collections.
Internships are a required component of some of the core courses.
Current standards for archival certification require knowledge of the practices and theories taught in the core curriculum. Of the additional 12 semester hours required to complete the degree, Archives Management concentrators work with an adviser to design a program to meet individual backgrounds and goals. Increasingly, archival employers have recognized that archivists use skills that require both technical training and historical knowledge, and seek applicants with master's degrees in both library and information science and history. While most students concentrate in American history, other specializations are possible. History students must submit a statement of purpose and, with the History Department adviser, design a course of study to achieve chronological coverage and exposure to research techniques.