Students in our program learn about preservation both in the classroom and through hands-on preservation planning, historical research, and exploration. They study the built environment and cultural landscape through courses taught by leading experts who teach in departments across the University and numerous professionals who do outstanding work in the regional and national preservation field.
The Preservation Studies Program integrates Preservation Studies Lecture Series and Round Tables, Preservation Field Trips, guest lectures, site visits during courses, and visits to preservation practices and firms into the MA experience. Drawing on the traditions of its vibrant preservation locality, Boston University has a long history of inventively readapting historic buildings to house its students and faculty. The University was founded in 1869 in two adaptively reused Beacon Hill townhouses adjacent to the Boston Athenaeum and Charles Bulfinch’s Massachusetts State Capitol. We have been preserving buildings before it became an academic program. The Preservation Studies Program draws inspiration and vitality from the rich context of stewardship and practice in Boston and New England.
