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Historic Preservation

Graduate Curriculum & Courses

Graduate Curriculum & Courses

The Master of Science (MS) in Historic Preservation program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a two-year, 60-credit hour graduate curriculum that prepares students for careers in revitalizing our built environment.

Courses are offered in four areas:

  1. Architectural design
  2. Physical conservation
  3. Architectural and social history
  4. Preservation planning

Each graduate student in the program completes two years of coursework in each of these areas as part of the required curriculum. The program is geared toward full-time study.

AreaCredit Hours
Architectural Design 
  • HPRES Documentation and Research (6)
  • HPRES Restoration Design Studio (6)
 
Physical Conservation 
  • HPRES 5003 Historic Materials and Technology (3)
  • HPRES 5012 Building Pathology (3)
  • HPRES 6006 Building Conservation Lab (3)
 
Architecture, Design, and Social History 
  • HPRES 5006 History and Theory of Historic Preservation (3)
  • HPRES 5543 Historic Interiors (3)
  • ARTHI 4512 Vernacular Landscapes (3)
 
Preservation Planning 
  •  HPRES Preservation Planning Studio (6)
  • HPRES Preservation Advocacy, Ethics, and Law (3)
 
Thesis and Professional Engagement 
  • HPRES Thesis Strategies (3)
  • HPRES Preservation Project Studio (6)
  • AIA Professional and Embedded Projects: Pre-Graduation Practicum (3)
  •  Internship (210 hours) (12)
 
Electives (9) 
Completion of Thesis 
Total Credit Hours60

Degree Requirements & Specifications

Completion Schedule

Students have a maximum of four years to complete the course work and submit a final thesis. This includes time off for leaves of absences. Thesis in Progress: Students who have not submitted a finished thesis for review and approval by the end of the final semester of enrollment are given a Thesis in Progress grade (IP). All students with a Thesis in Progress grade (IP) will be charged the Thesis in Progress Fee in each subsequent full semester until the thesis is completed and approved and the grade is changed to Credit (CR). If the statute of limitations is reached without an approved thesis, the grade will be changed to No Credit (NCR).

Transfer Credit

A minimum of 54 credit hours must be completed in residence at SAIC. Up to 15 transfer graduate-level credits may be requested at the time of application for admission. No transfer credit will be permitted after a student is admitted.

Full-Time Status Minimum Requirement: 12 Credit Hours

Extracurricular Activities

In addition to course work, the two-year, 60 credit-hour Historic Preservation program requires students to undertake an internship. The 210-hour internship with a preservation agency, conservator, restoration architect, or designer enables students to work on historically significant sites and to learn firsthand the latest preservation techniques.

SAIC's Historic Preservation program has extensive international contacts and offers students significant overseas study opportunities. The Historic Preservation program's balanced curriculum and emphasis on real-world experience prepare students for a wide range of professional opportunities.

Course Listing

Title Catalog Instructor Schedule

Description

This lecture/discussion course examines the research, documentation, and analysis of historic structures through the lens of the National Register of Historic Places nomination process.The course will explore the various research methods and resources currently available and commonly used by historic preservation professionals, and students will have the opportunity to visit several Chicago research repositories to conduct research first-hand. Students will learn a common standard for written architectural descriptions, as well as criteria for evaluating historic significance. The course will also explore several essential aspects of the National Register process, including the development of historic contexts and evaluation of historic integrity.

Readings will include: ?Your House Has a History,? published by the Department of Planning and Development, City of Chicago; National Register Bulletin 15: How to Apply the National Register Criteria; National Register Bulletin 16A: How to Complete the National Register Registration Form; as well as a wide variety of National Register Nominations and Chicago Landmark Designation Reports.

Students will develop research, analytic, and writing skills that are fundamental to historic preservation work through the completion of a National Register nomination for an assigned historic building, as well as through several small research and writing assignments. Several guest lectures given throughout the semester will provide students with insight into how research and architectural writing is used in various professional contexts, and students will present their National Register nominations at the end of the semester to a panel of historic preservation professionals.

Class Number

2093

Credits

3

Department

Historic Preservation

Location

Lakeview - 1507

Description

This course investigates the materials and techniques used in North American building construction. The history and development of materials, their physical properties, and characteristics are studied. Building construction methods are explored including adobe, wood, stone, brick, concrete, and steel construction. Research papers and oral presentations are required. Lecture and field trips.

Class Number

2092

Credits

3

Department

Historic Preservation

Location

Lakeview - 1507

Description

This class will focus on the general thought processes, cultural contexts, and historical gaffs that lead to both the grassroot efforts and professionalization of Historic Preservation in the United States. Changes within the preservation movement have always been driven by the cultural ethics of the time, so we will increasingly discuss and grapple with current issues that have asked our field to stretch in scope and adapt to the rapidly changing social, economic, and environmental landscapes.

This class surveys ideas and approaches to historic preservation from multiple perspectives. We will cover a range of book excerpts, videos, newspaper articles, and other media to show the breadth of the field from both a theoretical and action-oriented perspective. Most of the required reading and viewing will be in pdf and video format and either uploaded to Canvas or linked to the syllabus.

By the end of this course, students will be able to articulate precedents in preservation approaches, describe how preservation practices have changed over time and why, weigh and demonstrate a variety of approaches to contentious or culturally-sensitive preservation challenges, demonstrate a self-critical approach, and articulate an ethical position as part of a coherent preservation narrative. Discussion will be key to this process, and a final project may consist of the creation of a zine that highlights a lesser- or un-known narrative about a place.

Class Number

2091

Credits

3

Department

Historic Preservation

Location

Sullivan Center 1240

Description

The documentation of historic cultural resources is critical to the field of historic preservation. By immersion, students will learn photographic, measuring and drawing methods and subsequently develop a deep understanding of the pattern language of architectural drawing. Collections management and inventory will also be addressed.

During the course, we will reference the Historic American Buildings Survey collection at the United States Library of Congress. All relevant standards and guidelines issued by the National Park Service will be referenced, as well as previous projects from the HABS collection.

By measuring and drawing extant historic objects and structures to exacting standards, students will become familiar with historic construction techniques, building materials and design principles. Students will develop skills and provide final drawings and notes which will be included in the HABS collection.

Class Number

2201

Credits

3

Department

Historic Preservation

Location

Sullivan Center 1233

Take the Next Step

Visit the graduate admissions website or contact the graduate admissions office at 312.629.6100, 800.232.7242, or gradmiss@saic.edu.