Public History Students

Though most students in the Public History Program are students pursuing an MA or PhD in History, students in any graduate program on campus can pursue the graduate certificate in Public History, making for a rich interdisciplinary environment.  The paragraphs below include information on students who are currently working toward the Certificate in Public History as well as PhD Affiliates who have completed their MA but remain part of our Public History community writ large, having chosen to stay at UMass to pursue a PhD.

This page is intended to give a sense of the range and focus of work and career objectives among students in the Public History program. You may write to current students via email or care of the Department of History, Herter Hall, University of Massachusetts,161 Presidents Drive, Amherst, MA 01003.

Curious about what kind of careers you can have with training from UMass public history? Check out our public history alumni profiles.

Certificate Students | PhD Affiliates

Certificate Students

The students listed below are MA and PhD students from the Department of History and departments across the UMass campus who are currently pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Public History.

	Jacob Boucher M.A. Candidate, Department of History jmboucher@umass.edu Bio
	Ross Caputi Ph.D. Student, Department of History rcaputi@umass.edu Bio
	Olivia Ekeh Ph.D. Candidate, W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies oekeh@umass.edu Bio
	Yuri Gama Ph.D. Student, Department of History ygama@history.umass.edu Bio
	Jason Higgins Ph.D. Student, Department of History jahiggins@history.umass.edu Bio
	Kiara Hill Ph.D. Candidate, W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies kiarahill@umass.edu Bio
	Peter Kleeman Public History, 20th-Century U.S., History of Science & Technology pkleeman@umass.edu Bio
	Perri Meldon M.A. Candidate, Department of History pmeldon@umass.edu Bio
	Sharon Mehrman MDesign Candidate, Department of Architecture and Design smehrman@umass.edu Bio
	Rachel Panasci M.A. Student, Department of History Bio
	Tanya Pearson Ph.D. Student, Department of History tpearson@umass.edu Bio
	Taneil Ruffin M.A. Student, Department of History taruffin@umass.edu Bio
	Camesha Scruggs Ph.D. Student, Department of History cscruggs@history.umass.edu Bio
	Matthew Smith M.A. Candidate, Department of History masmi3@umass.edu
	Kendall Taivalkoski M.A. Candidate, Department of History ktaivalkoski@umass.edu Bio
	Brian Whetstone Ph.D. Student, Department of History bwhetstone@umass.edu Bio
	Emma Winter Zeig M.A. Candidate, Department of History ewinterzeig@umass.edu Bio
	Lindsey J Woolcock M.A. Candidate, Department of History lwoolcock@umass.edu Bio
	Amelia Zurcher M.A. Candidate, Department of History azurcher@umass.edu Bio

PhD Affiliates

On occasion, students who come to UMass to complete an MA in History with the Graduate Certificate in Public History elect to remain at UMass for the PhD. Students also come to UMass for their PhD after having studied public history elsewhere.  Some of these students commit one of their three doctoral fields to Public History, and/or pursue dissertations that relate to the history of public history practice; others keep a hand in by participating in projects or contract work, and still others simply remain a resource in public history to their fellow students. Some of these PhD students are completing traditional dissertations while launching careers as public historians. Whatever direction their work takes after completing their certificates, we enjoy ongoing relationships with these students, and consider them part of our larger community of public historians on the UMass campus.

	Marwa Amer Ph.D. Student, Department of History mamer@history.umass.edu Bio
	Erica Fagen Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History efagen@history.umass.edu Bio
	Brittany Frederick Ph.D. Student, Department of History bfrederick@history.umass.edu Bio

Andrew Grim Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History agrim@history.umass.edu Bio

Cheryl Harned Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History charned@history.umass.edu Bio

Mark Roblee Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History mroblee@history.umass.edu Bio

Charles Weisenberger Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History cweisenberge@history.umass.edu Bio