How to Become an Archivist
Get a master’s degree in library science (MLIS)., Get a degree in history., Get an archival science degree., Obtain another specialized degree.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Get a master’s degree in library science (MLIS).
An MLIS is the most common educational requirement for becoming an archivist.
The best MLIS programs will have a curriculum enriched by courses in record keeping, archival administration, and born-digital documents that can familiarize you with archival processes and practice.MLIS courses will offer training in both libraries and archives.
Most MLIS programs focus more on libraries than on archives, but tend to balance in the other direction.
Coursework will prepare you to organize and retrieve information, develop indexes and catalogs for library users, and teach you to use the controlled vocabularies of your national library classification system.
To get into a graduate program in history, you will need an undergraduate degree, but MLIS students tend to come from a wide range of undergraduate backgrounds.
If you're interested in general archival work, an undergraduate degree in history or museum studies could help.
If you want to work with electronic archives, a degree in computer science or digital technology might help. -
Step 2: Get a degree in history.
Instead of (or in addition to) an MLIS degree, an advanced degree in history may also provide you with a route into archival work.
This is especially true when you want to work in a particular archive or a particular field of archival science.For instance, if your long-term goal is to work at an archive specializing in early American history, you’d have a better chance of finding work at such an institution if you’ve done graduate-level academic work in early American history.
To get into a graduate program in history, you typically need an undergraduate degree in a related field.
Specifications vary depending on the school you're applying to.
Undergraduate degrees in history, political science, or sociology will probably best enable you to enter and succeed in a graduate-level history program.
A graduate program in history will require several years of seminar courses on various topics in history.
Master's degrees typically require a thesis based on original historical research.
PhDs require a longer and more intense research process which results in a dissertation.
PhD candidates are also expected to pass series of comprehensive exams that test your general knowledge of broad historical themes. , A small but growing number of schools now offer degrees in archival science.
These programs are less common than those in history or library science, but they offer another great way to prepare for a career in archival work.
In such a program, you’ll be able to learn about provenance, archival theory, arrangement, and description of archival materials.Longer master's degree programs typically require the production of a thesis that closely examines a relevant topic or problem in archival science.
If you can’t get an advanced degree in archival science, you might be able to complete a shorter certificate program that focuses on archival studies.
Certification programs can often be completed in two or three semesters. , Several other advanced educational degrees might prove useful in pursuit of archival work.
These degrees include public administration, political science, museum studies, and public history.A law degree might be of use in obtaining work in a legal archive.
English and other liberal arts courses that emphasize writing and research can be beneficial for budding archivists.The applicability of a particular degree to a particular job in an archive largely depends on the needs of the institution. -
Step 3: Get an archival science degree.
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Step 4: Obtain another specialized degree.
Detailed Guide
An MLIS is the most common educational requirement for becoming an archivist.
The best MLIS programs will have a curriculum enriched by courses in record keeping, archival administration, and born-digital documents that can familiarize you with archival processes and practice.MLIS courses will offer training in both libraries and archives.
Most MLIS programs focus more on libraries than on archives, but tend to balance in the other direction.
Coursework will prepare you to organize and retrieve information, develop indexes and catalogs for library users, and teach you to use the controlled vocabularies of your national library classification system.
To get into a graduate program in history, you will need an undergraduate degree, but MLIS students tend to come from a wide range of undergraduate backgrounds.
If you're interested in general archival work, an undergraduate degree in history or museum studies could help.
If you want to work with electronic archives, a degree in computer science or digital technology might help.
Instead of (or in addition to) an MLIS degree, an advanced degree in history may also provide you with a route into archival work.
This is especially true when you want to work in a particular archive or a particular field of archival science.For instance, if your long-term goal is to work at an archive specializing in early American history, you’d have a better chance of finding work at such an institution if you’ve done graduate-level academic work in early American history.
To get into a graduate program in history, you typically need an undergraduate degree in a related field.
Specifications vary depending on the school you're applying to.
Undergraduate degrees in history, political science, or sociology will probably best enable you to enter and succeed in a graduate-level history program.
A graduate program in history will require several years of seminar courses on various topics in history.
Master's degrees typically require a thesis based on original historical research.
PhDs require a longer and more intense research process which results in a dissertation.
PhD candidates are also expected to pass series of comprehensive exams that test your general knowledge of broad historical themes. , A small but growing number of schools now offer degrees in archival science.
These programs are less common than those in history or library science, but they offer another great way to prepare for a career in archival work.
In such a program, you’ll be able to learn about provenance, archival theory, arrangement, and description of archival materials.Longer master's degree programs typically require the production of a thesis that closely examines a relevant topic or problem in archival science.
If you can’t get an advanced degree in archival science, you might be able to complete a shorter certificate program that focuses on archival studies.
Certification programs can often be completed in two or three semesters. , Several other advanced educational degrees might prove useful in pursuit of archival work.
These degrees include public administration, political science, museum studies, and public history.A law degree might be of use in obtaining work in a legal archive.
English and other liberal arts courses that emphasize writing and research can be beneficial for budding archivists.The applicability of a particular degree to a particular job in an archive largely depends on the needs of the institution.
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