Achievement and Distinction During and After Pratt
During their time at Pratt, our Historic Preservation students attain a deep grasp of cultural heritage issues, preservation law & policy, and preservation practice. They build an amazing set of skills – from historic documentation and site evaluation, to community engagement and collaboration, to the interpretation of heritage sites and narratives, to the ability to design adaptive reuse solutions that can transform historic structures into community assets, and beyond. Case study research and interaction with community leaders and practitioners ensures an integrative, interdisciplinary, and inclusive approach, particularly through the students’ studio and Thesis projects. The New York City environment, its urban context, and our accomplished faculty support the goal of excellence and national recognition in the field. Pratt’s Historic Preservation Alumni are also a resource for the program and its students. Our alumni hold leadership positions in government agencies, civic organizations, heritage institutions, and community-based organizations in New York, the U.S., and internationally. Many of our alumni and their organizations, agencies and firms engage current Historic Preservation students as interns and fellows, and each year the alumni mentor students in one-on-one interactions and mentorship events.
Pratt Historic Preservation Organization
The Pratt Historic Preservation Organization (PHPO) is a student-led educational, inter-departmental organization dedicated to the advancement of the preservation field and related areas of study through activities that include advocacy, community outreach, volunteering, extracurricular scholarship, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Pratt’s Historic Preservation department and PHPO share a goal to enrich student experiences and connect with opportunities within the School of Architecture and Pratt Institute as a whole, creating understanding and advancement across all disciplines. PHPO organizes social and educational events, and works with program administrators to identify preservation internship and fellowship opportunities for students. Membership in PHPO is automatic for all students at Pratt Institute who are enrolled in the Historic Preservation program.
International Travel
In addition to supporting local site visits as part of course curricula, PHPO collaborates with the department to develop exciting travel opportunities for students. In recent years, students have traveled to Rome under the supervision of one of our History of Architecture professors, to explore archeological sites and classical architecture; to Amsterdam in an interdisciplinary trip with Sustainable Environmental Systems students and faculty, to explore the impacts of climate change on heritage sites; and to Tokyo with Fulbright Scholar and City/Regional Planning Professor Jonathan Martin, to analyze the layers of history being conserved by Japanese heritage specialists. The Historic Preservation program offers international excursion courses for one credit as well as more intensive international studios for five credits, and trips typically take place during Spring Break, with student travel expenses funded wholly or in part by the School of Architecture.