Resources for Students
Certificate in Public and Oral History
The Department of History offers a certificate in Public and Oral History. Students may also pursue a Certificate in Public and Oral History, which will train students in the methodology and practice of public history, focusing particularly on museums and oral history. Public history is a broad field that encompasses archives, museums, historical interpretation, and historic preservation, among others. Oral history, which is often classified as a subsection of public history, is the methodology and practice of collecting recorded oral interviews that are historically contextualized and made available for researchers and others. This certificate emphasizes oral history and museum exhibits. If you plan to earn the Certificate in Public and Oral History, please contact Dr. Yolanda Chávez Leyva at yleyva@utep.edu.
Degree Plan
|
Course |
Title |
Hours |
|
HIST 5302 |
Intro to Public History |
3 |
|
HIST 5304 |
Studies in Public History |
3 |
|
HIST 5390 |
Public History Internship |
3 |
|
Three additional hours of graduate seminar or independent reading courses with public/oral history content, or Museum Studies courses taken for graduate credit |
3 |
|
|
Total Hours |
12 |
|
Department of History Procedures for Conducting Oral History Interviews
The U.S. Office for Human Research Protection, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, working with the American Historical Association and the Oral History Association, has determined that oral history interviewing projects may be excluded from Institutional Review Board oversight because they are not considered “research.” Nonetheless, in order to ensure that they grasp the ethical issues involved in oral history interviews, researchers (faculty, graduate students, undergraduates) using such interviews in a public capacity must adhere to outlined procedures and receive written approval from the department’s Oral History Review Committee (OHRC) before beginning the interview process.
Research Guides
The Columbia University Center for Oral History (CCOHR) has developed a transcription style guide and a comprehensive oral history bibliography that are available for public use. These guides are helpful to students seeking to learn more about the oral history process.
Oral History Institute Internship Program
Gain hands-on experience preserving and sharing the stories of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands through the Institute of Oral History (IOH) at UTEP. Undergraduate and graduate interns work alongside faculty, researchers, and community partners to support oral history interviews, archival collections, digital preservation projects, public programs, and community-engaged initiatives.
Interns develop valuable skills in:
- Oral history interviewing and research
- Transcription and translation (English-Spanish)
- Archival processing and metadata creation
- Digitization and digital preservation
- Digital collections and public humanities projects
- Community engagement and cultural stewardship
This internship provides excellent preparation for careers in archives, libraries, museums, public history, digital humanities, education, media, nonprofit organizations, and cultural heritage preservation.
Compensation: Internship opportunities may be paid or unpaid, depending on funding availability.
Contact the IOH for more information! oralhistory@utep.edu
Programa de pasantía del Instituto de Historia Oral
Obtén experiencia práctica preservando y difundiendo las historias de la región fronteriza entre Estados Unidos y México a través del Instituto de Historia Oral (IOH) de UTEP. Estudiantes de licenciatura y posgrado colaboran con docentes, investigadores y organizaciones comunitarias en proyectos de historia oral, archivos, preservación digital, programación pública e iniciativas de vinculación comunitaria.
A través de esta pasantía obtendrás experiencia en:
- Entrevistas e investigación en historia oral
- Transcripción y traducción (español-inglés)
- Organización y descripción archivística
- Digitalización y preservación digital
- Gestión de colecciones digitales y humanidades públicas
- Participación comunitaria y preservación del patrimonio cultural
Esta pasantía ofrece una excelente preparación para carreras en archivos, bibliotecas, museos, historia pública, humanidades digitales, educación, medios de comunicación, organizaciones sin fines de lucro y preservación del patrimonio cultural.
Compensación: Las oportunidades de internado pueden ser remuneradas o no remuneradas, según la disponibilidad de fondos.
Contact the IOH for more information! oralhistory@utep.edu
