Certificate Program

This is a color photograph of a group of people taking walking tour looking at historic buildings in Trenton, NJ. They are pointing toward one of two buildings sided in wood in the background.
Participants in Taking Care of Buildings, pictured above, learned about how to preserve buildings on a walking tour in Trenton, NJ, in the Fall of 2019.

The Certificate in Historic Preservation at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH), Rutgers University-Camden, is designed for those who desire to gain a deeper understanding of the theory and practice of historic preservation. Participants learn from professionals working in the field to gain a realistic perspective on how the tangible remains of our past can be integrated within current environments.

The program is open to anyone interested in historic preservation: members of historic preservation commissions, town planners, historic site administrators and volunteers, museum staff and volunteers, owners of old or historic buildings, architects, engineers, attorneys, students, and anyone else with an interest in preserving cultural heritage. The certificate program is not a degree program, but it can be used to supplement a participant’s work in an allied field, such as history, architecture, public history, or planning. Participation in the certificate program does not require matriculation (or enrollment) in a Rutgers degree program. Participants may take classes in any sequence and complete the program at their own pace. Enrollment in the certificate program is not required to take a class or workshop. 

Classes and workshops are taught on a pass/fail basis.

Requirements for the Certificate

A minimum of 15 continuing education credits (CEUs) earned by successfully completing:

  • Two required courses:
    • Introduction to Historic Preservation (2 CEUs)
    • American Architectural History (2 CEUs)
  • At least one of either:
    • Preservation Planning (2 CEUs)
    • Materials and Techniques of Historic Restoration and Rehabilitation (2 CEUs)
  • 9 additional credits earned from any combination of classes or workshops

One CEU is defined as 10 contact hours of participation. MARCH calculates CEUs for its program and maintains records of CEUs earned by participants.

Selected classes may also offer American Institute of Architects (AIA) and American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) continuing education credit.

Learning Objectives

Objectives for Introduction to Historic Preservation 

  • Recall the history and recent use of historic preservation practice and theory in the United States for the purposes of participating in formal and informal historic preservation work.  
  • Summarize the specific concepts, terms, and programs that people use in the United States to pursue historic preservation. 
  • Recognize historic preservation’s complexity as a multi-disciplinary field of professionals and community members who have unique perspectives that shape preservation outcomes, including the preservation of the built environment associated with marginalized groups. 
  • Compare contemporary historic preservation practice in the United States to historic preservation practice in other parts of the world to inform your understanding of historic preservation in your community.

Objectives for American Architectural History  

  • Identify domestic architectural styles in the United States from European settlement to the present for the purposes of advocacy, research, and interpretation in the field of historic preservation with a primary focus on Mid-Atlantic style and form. 
  • Identify a variety of reputable resources you can use to credibly articulate a building’s style and form. 
  • Identify non-domestic architecture landscape features such as burying grounds and industrial architecture, including those associated with marginalized groups, to contextualize preservation efforts of domestic architecture. 
  • Relate United States architecture to European style and form and broader themes in United States and world history to place architecture within the broader context of the global built environment.

View our catalogue of past course and workshops here. PDF | Word Doc

Questions? Email us at preservation@camden.rutgers.edu.