http://hp.uoregon.edu
James Buckley, Program Director
70 NW Couch Street, Floor 4R
Portland, Oregon 97209
The University of Oregon's Historic Preservation Program is best described as having broad cultural concerns with a technical emphasis. Attention is given to historic places, buildings, and landscapes in terms of their specific forms, materials, construction, and use. The cultural and theoretical context in which they were developed is addressed, as is the impact of time upon their materials, meanings, and needs. The technologies, interpretations, and means for sustaining the presence of historic places in the future are also emphasized.
Students gain an understanding of historic resources and the processes for their preservation. This includes core courses in research methods, preservation history and theory, architectural history, and the economic, legal, and administrative processes of preservation. Students choose from three focal areas:
- sustainable preservation theory, design, and technology
- cultural resource management
- resource identification and evaluation
Other focal areas are feasible but must be approved in advance by the submission of a curriculum plan by the student by the second term of the student’s first year.
Courses are augmented by fieldwork in the urban, suburban, and rural areas of the region. Oregon contains Native American sites, rural buildings and landscapes developed by U.S. and European immigrant pioneers from the 1830s, as well as urban development since the 1840s. More recent transformations of the landscape by various ethnic groups and technological innovations are also explored. Extensive instructional use of the region takes place through an emphasis on the cultural and technical aspects of vernacular resources, field trips, participation in projects at the university, and through local community groups. There is also frequent involvement with the area’s professionals, officials, and agencies concerned with historic resources.
Recent opportunities for experience include window restoration and traditional earth construction workshops, documentation for a Historic American Buildings Survey for the Alaska Regional Office of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior; a preservation field guide for the community of Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve; a condition assessment and stabilization of Gilbert’s Cabin in North Cascades National Park; a condition assessment of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian Gordon House in Silverton, Oregon; the documentation of the Finney House frontier cabin in Nevada City, Montana; the limestone roof replacement on a late sixteenth-century stone cottage on the island of Drvenik Veli, Croatia; and the reconstruction of the Ferry House porch in Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve, Whidbey Island, Washington.
In addition to providing hands-on training in what might be considered mainstream preservation activities, the program emphasizes the importance of cultural conservation including issues of diversity, identity, and community development. This includes a concern not only for how various ethnic groups shaped buildings and landscapes in the distant past, but how similar settings are reproduced by cultural groups in the present. Individual research efforts by students are augmented by visiting lecturers, such as those by Boyd Pratt, Jean Carroon, and Gunny Harboe.
Beyond completing core and focal area courses, each student is required to complete individualized study, including reading and thesis research, a summer internship, and a thesis or terminal project. Some former students have chosen to develop specialties and concurrent master’s degrees in closely related fields such as architecture, landscape architecture, and planning, public policy and management; others have created more unique combinations with studies in museums, economic development, and Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies. Besides encouraging students to develop an individualized course of study, the program is characterized by students who exhibit self-motivation and individual initiative. These traits, which are not only expected but are also necessary for successful completion of the program, contribute to the professional growth of students. Graduates of the Historic Preservation Program are employed in preservation-related fields over a wide geographic area. Some choose to pursue work in the private sector as specialists in architectural offices or as consultants. Others serve in the public sector with municipal planning departments, state historic preservation offices, or federal cultural resources divisions. Some graduates choose to work with nonprofit agencies, while others select careers in preservation and restoration.
Faculty
Christopher Bell, instructor (historic preservation). BA, 1998, Williams; MS, 2005, Oregon. (2009)
James Buckley, associate professor; Venerable Chair in Historic Preservation. BA, 1982, Yale; MCRP, 1986, PhD, 2000, California, Berkeley. (2016)
Elizabeth Carter, instructor (historic preservation). BA, 1988, MS, 1994, Oregon. (2005)
Eric L. Eisemann, instructor (legal issues). BA, 1974, Knox; MA, 1980, Western Kentucky; JD, 1994, Lewis and Clark. (1984)
Kingston Heath, professor (historic preservation). BA, 1968, Lake Forest; MA, 1975, Chicago; MA, 1978, PhD, 1985, Brown. (2003)
Rick Minor, courtesy adjunct instructor (archaeology). BA, 1972, California State, Fullerton; MA, 1973, PhD, 1983, Oregon. (2009)
Suzana Radivojevic, adjunct instructor (wood science). BScFE, 1997, Belgrade; PhD, 2006, Toronto. (2013)
Kirk Ranzetta, instructor (historic preservation, planning). BA, 1994, Mary Washington; MA, 1996, PhD, 2006, Delaware. (2006)
The date in parentheses at the end of each entry is the first year on the University of Oregon faculty.
Participating
Howard Davis, architecture
Keith Eggener, history of art and architecture
Mark Eischeid, landscape architecture
Mark Gillem, architecture
Maile Hutterer, history of art and architecture
Renee A. Irvin, planning, public policy and management
Robert L. Thallon, architecture
Jenny Young, architecture
Important note: The Historic Preservation Program is not currently accepting new undergraduate minors during the restructuring of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts into the College of Design.
Historic preservation is an inherently interdisciplinary field. The minor is particularly well-suited for students studying anthropology, architecture, history, the history of art and architecture, landscape architecture, and planning, public policy and management. Undergraduate students, no matter their major, are eligible to enroll in the minor, however.
The interdisciplinary minor in historic preservation requires a minimum of 27 credits as described below. The lowest accepted passing grade for courses used to complete the undergraduate minor in historic preservation is a C– or better. Some courses required for the minor are only offered every other year.
Minor Program
Course List Code | Title | Credits |
AAAP 411 | Introduction to Historic Preservation | 3 |
| 12 |
| Workshop: [Topic] (Pacific Northwest Field School) | |
| American Architecture from a Preservation Perspective I | |
| American Architecture from a Preservation Perspective II | |
| American Architecture from a Preservation Perspective III | |
| Legal Issues in Historic Preservation | |
| Historic Survey and Inventory Methodology | |
| Overseas Experimental Program: Europe | |
| 12 |
| National Register Nomination | |
| Cultural Policy | |
| Cultural Resource Management | |
| Architectural Contexts: Place and Culture | |
| Human Context of Design | |
| Building Construction | |
| American Architecture II | |
| American Architecture III | |
| North American Historical Landscapes | |
| GIScience I | |
| Grant Proposal Writing | |
| Justice and Urban Revitalization | |
| Sustainable Urban Development | |
| Collaboration | |
| Public Participation in Diverse Communities | |
| Nonprofit Management | |
| Fundraising for Nonprofit Organizations | |
Total Credits | 27 |
Courses from other university departments may be substituted with approval of the program director.
To declare the minor, please complete the undergraduate minor intent form and schedule an advising appointment with the program director, James Buckley (jbuckley@uoregon.edu), to clarify your goals for enrolling in the program and map out your curriculum. Once complete, submit your signed intent form to the program office.
The program offers a master of science (MS) degree in historic preservation. Although no particular training is preferred, students whose backgrounds are primarily in historic preservation, architecture, landscape architecture, and architectural history are most prepared for this program. Course work includes training in the social sciences, preservation theory and law, the characteristics of historic buildings and landscapes, historic building technology, and the procedures for evaluating and recording historic sites and buildings.
The program is administered by the Historic Preservation Committee, an interdepartmental committee in the School of Architecture and Environment.
Admission
Applications to the graduate program should contain the following:
- Completed online application and fee
- Biographical summary
- Educational and professional summary
- Statement of intent
- Selected examples of written material, graphic work, or both
- Official transcripts of all college work
- Three letters of recommendation, preferably from academic or professional sources
Students whose first language is not English must submit Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores of at least 88.
Students who want to participate in the program through the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) should inquire at the historic preservation office or the Division of Graduate Studies.
General university regulations about graduate admission are described in the Division of Graduate Studies section of this catalog.
The application deadline is January 15 for admission the following fall term. Requests for more information and application materials should be directed to the office staff of the Historic Preservation Program at histpres@uoregon.edu. Information is also available on the program website.
Master of Science Requirements
The MS degree in historic preservation requires 73 credits in five areas: historic preservation core courses, architectural history core courses, focal area courses, approved electives, and individualized study courses, which include thesis or terminal project, research, and an internship. Students choose one of three focal areas in which to specialize—sustainable preservation theory, design, and technology; cultural resource management; or resource identification and evaluation.
Course List
Code |
Title |
Credits |
AAAP 508 | Workshop: [Topic] (Pacific Northwest Field School) | 2 |
AAAP 511 | Introduction to Historic Preservation | 3 |
AAAP 531 | National Register Nomination | 3 |
AAAP 541 | Legal Issues in Historic Preservation | 3 |
AAAP 551 | Historic Survey and Inventory Methodology | 3 |
AAAP 610 | Experimental Course: [Topic] (Thesis Proposal) | 3 |
1 | 8 |
| American Architecture from a Preservation Perspective I | |
| American Architecture from a Preservation Perspective II | |
| American Architecture from a Preservation Perspective III | |
1 | 4 |
| 18 |
| 7 |
AAAP 601 | Research: [Topic] | 2 |
AAAP 609 | Terminal Project (Internship I) | 2 |
AAAP 607 | Seminar: [Topic] (Internship II) | 1 |
AAAP 503 | Thesis 3 | 12 |
or AAAP 611 | Terminal Project |
Total Credits | 71 |
Focal Areas
The three focal areas described in this section reflect the particular interest areas and professional careers that are traditionally sought by program graduates. To focus their studies, students select courses from one of the three areas. Those who want to pursue a broader range of interests may select courses from more than one of the focal areas and develop an approved alternative focal area. It is the student’s responsibility to construct such an alternative focal area and present it to the program director for approval no later than the second quarter of the first year of study. A full list of courses for each focal area are available on the program website: archenvironment.uoregon.edu/hp/graduate.
- Sustainable Preservation Theory, Design, and Technology. Focusing on the practice of preservation, emphasis is placed on the skills needed to research, plan, and direct the restoration and adaptive reuse of buildings, places, and landscapes as well as to determine the appropriate levels of treatment.
- Cultural Resource Management. Embodied in historic preservation is the management of cultural resources. This focal area provides the legal, planning, and management skills needed for individuals to work within organizations that support efforts to manage cultural resources in both the public and private sectors.
- Resource Identification and Evaluation. This focal area reveals the insights and investigative tools for archival and cultural resource research to establish the history and context of buildings, interior spaces, and landscapes that determined settlement, organization, and a sense of place.