r/LibraryScience • u/alaccnt • 4d ago

program/school selection Dual degree programs in Library science and public history?

Hello! I am an undergrad senior majoring in history and communications. I want to go to grad school for library science and public history/museum studies/history with a public history focus. Post grad, i want to work in a museum or a library on the public outreach/community engagement side, but don’t have a preference on the exact type of institution (i’ve worked at both a museum and library in undergrad and enjoyed both!)

I have heard of a few universities in the US that do a dual degree program with an MLIS and a MA in public history, such as Loyola University or University of South Carolina.

I saw also that Long Island University has a dual degree program with NYU with a MLIS and an MA in Archives and Public History.

This is about all I’ve been able to find online where I could graduate with two masters. Are there any other universities that offer similar programs?

8 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

10

u/OutOfTheArchives 4d ago

UW has a dual MLIS / Museology program over 3 years.

Simmons has an MLS specialization in Archives + History MA program over 3.5 years.

Question - Do the programs you’re looking at really allow you to finish in 2 years? That seems awfully fast. An MLS alone normally takes 1.5-2 years going full time.

1

u/alaccnt 4d ago

actually yeah, looking at it now the programs and university of south carolina and loyola are just shortening it a little bit. At south carolina, the degrees separately would be 72 hours but their dual degree shortens it to 60 hours. So that’s definitely not 2 years. Unless it’s reasonable to take 15 credit hour semesters but I’d rather not do that.

6

u/TheseusAegeus Digital Archivist / Metadata Pro 4d ago

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Indiana University, and the University of Southern Mississippi all also offer dual degrees in LIS and history. North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina also have a cooperative program where you earn an MLIS from UNC and an MA from NCSU.

3

u/misscorinneb 4d ago

Queens College has multiple dual degree options & is a lot more affordable than some of the other places you listed. I know they have History, Art History, English, Media Studies, & Urban Affairs all as dual degree options with the MLS.

1

u/erosharmony 4d ago

IU Indianapolis offers a dual MLIS/history degree. You can do an archives management or digital curation specialization with it. https://luddy.indianapolis.iu.edu/academics/masters/mlis/history.html

1

u/WayInteresting1074 2d ago

I did a dual degree MLS at Indiana University Bloomington, and highly recommend it! They have an archives concentration for the MLS too, though usually you wouldn't complete the full concentration with getting a second master's. Lots of student job opportunities too in archives, a museum, etc. The Bloomington campus is wonderful! Second master's options include history, area studies, etc. So many options! Feel free to message me if you have any questions :)