Thanks to everyone who answered my question regarding archival online education. In case anyone is interested, here is a rundown of the responses I got –

 

**Let your friend know that East Tennessee State University offers and online Master of Arts in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Archival Studies.  I believe the program is entirely online except for one week long residency attached to the Archives Conservation course.  I did not attend this program but have heard many people take advantage of the online format when considering a career change.

 

**The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee offers an MLIS with extensive coursework in archives – we’re in process of creating an actual concentration.  We also offer a Certificate of Advanced Study in Archives to people who hold their MLIS already, but would like additional archives training.  All of our degrees can be achieved entirely online.

 

**I know that a number of colleges are offering MLS (or MLIS) degrees through on-line programs and I believe they have archival components. Two that come immediate to mind are the University of Pittsburgh and Rutgers University. Information on both programs are available on their web sites. The American Association of State and Local History offers a good on-line program, called "The Basics of Archives," which she might find useful. It's only $95 and will help her get her feet wet, regarding the work.

 

**The University of Illinois has one of the best online programs in the nation.  I can't remember if they offer an archival focus, but I'm fairly sure they do.  Not to discourage your friend, but the archival profession is very competitive, (even though the pay is horrible for entry level positions).  Another issue is that she won't have the experience of processing a collection, since she won't have access to the materials at home.

 

**I believe that both the U of Illinois and U of Southern Mississippi have online programs with archival concentrations.

 

Thanks for everyone's input!

 

-Heather

 

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