ALA-accredited online MLIS programs with archival concentrations range from about $12,500 to over $30,000 in total tuition.
Most programs require 36 to 48 credits, take two years full-time, and include a supervised practicum or internship.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports federal archivists earn notably more than those in academic, museum, or local government roles.
Optional credentials like the Academy of Certified Archivists exam and digital archives certificates can strengthen competitive applications.
Most working archivists do not hold a degree called "archival science." They hold a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) with an archival studies concentration, the credential the Society of American Archivists and most employers actually expect.
That path is distinct from a records management certificate (which trains corporate information workers) and from a general MLIS track (which leans toward public or academic librarianship without archival depth). The archival concentration adds coursework in appraisal, arrangement and description, preservation, and digital archives.
This guide walks through the practical decisions: ALA-accredited MLIS programs available online in 2026, tuition and total cost, admissions and practicum requirements, core curriculum, and what archivist salaries and career paths look like by sector after graduation.
ALA-Accredited Online Archival Studies Programs in 2026
Why ALA Accreditation Matters for Archivists
Most professional archivist positions, especially at universities, federal agencies, the National Archives, and major research libraries, require a master's degree from a program accredited by the American Library Association (ALA).1 The Society of American Archivists does not separately accredit degrees; instead, it recognizes the ALA accredited MLIS programs as the standard credential for the field, often paired with an archival concentration. Choosing an accredited program also protects your eligibility for federal hiring (the GS-1420 archivist series) and for Academy of Certified Archivists exam pathways down the road.
Fully unaccredited or generic history master's degrees can lead to archival work, but they narrow your options. The programs below are all ALA-accredited and deliver coursework either fully online (asynchronous) or in a hybrid format with limited campus visits.
Verified Online Archival Concentrations for 2025-2026
The following ALA-accredited MLIS programs currently offer an archival studies track that can be completed online or primarily online. Credit requirements and delivery formats are drawn from each school's 2025-2026 program materials.
San José State University: Archival and Manuscripts Concentration, 42 credits, fully asynchronous online.1
University of Missouri: Emphasis in Archival Studies, 36 credits, asynchronous online.2
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Archival Studies track (with optional certificate), 36 credits, asynchronous online.1
University of Alabama: Archival Studies concentration, 36 credits, hybrid format.3
Louisiana State University: Archival Studies focus, 36 credits, hybrid format.4
University of South Carolina: Archival Studies Specialization, 36 credits, hybrid format.1
Clayton State University: Master of Archival Studies, 36 credits, hybrid format.1
University of Denver: Archiving focus within the LIS degree, 72 quarter credits (roughly 48 semester credits), hybrid format.1
Reading the Format Differences
Asynchronous programs (San José State, Simmons, Syracuse, Missouri, Wisconsin-Milwaukee) let you complete every required course on your own schedule, with no mandatory campus visits. Hybrid programs deliver most coursework online but expect short on-campus residencies, weekend intensives, or a synchronous evening class each term. Denver's quarter-credit system looks heavier on paper, but the actual seat time is comparable to a 36-credit semester program. If sticker price is a deciding factor, it's worth weighing these options against the cheapest library science degree online before you apply.
Before committing, confirm directly with the school that the archival concentration is available to distance students in your state, since some programs restrict online enrollment based on state authorization rules.
How an MLIS in Archival Studies Differs From Adjacent Degrees
Several graduate degrees touch the archival profession, but they prepare students for different roles and are recognized differently by employers. Understanding the distinctions helps you avoid spending two years on a credential that does not match your target jobs.
MLIS With Archival Concentration vs. Standalone Archival Master's
In the United States, a dedicated Master's in Archival Studies as a standalone degree is rare. Most archival training is housed inside an MLIS (or MS in Library and Information Science) as a concentration, track, or certificate. A few universities offer a separate archives-focused master's, but the credential pool is small, and hiring committees are far more familiar with the MLIS pathway. If you are still weighing program structures, our guide on the difference between library science and information science breaks down how these labels map to coursework.
This matters because the Society of American Archivists has historically pointed to graduate-level archival education within an ALA-accredited library science program as the standard preparation. Most posted archivist jobs at universities, state archives, and the National Archives list an ALA-accredited MLIS with an archival concentration as the qualifying credential, sometimes alongside or instead of a subject master's.
Can You Become an Archivist With a Library Science Degree?
Yes. An MLIS with coursework in archival theory, arrangement and description, preservation, and digital archives is the most common entry credential for archivist roles in the US. The library science framing is a feature, not a limitation: archives sit inside the broader information professions, and MLIS programs build the cataloging, metadata, and reference skills archivists use daily.
Public History, Museum Studies, and Records Management
A public history MA or museum studies degree overlaps with archival work in areas like exhibits, oral history, and cultural heritage interpretation, and graduates do land archivist positions, especially in historical societies. They diverge in technical training: less emphasis on metadata standards (DACS, EAD), digital preservation, and information systems.
Records management programs, by contrast, focus on active business records, retention schedules, and compliance. They prepare you for corporate records roles rather than special collections or manuscript archives, though the skills transfer in regulated industries. For a closer look at that adjacent track, see our overview of the Master's in Library Science in Records Management degree.
Tuition and Total Program Cost Comparison
Sticker price is one of the clearest ways to compare ALA accredited programs online with archival concentrations. The spread is wide: the cheapest path on this list runs around $12,500 in total tuition, while the most expensive crosses $30,000. Below is a side-by-side look at 2025-2026 published rates for archival-focused tracks, plus what those numbers do (and do not) include.
2025-2026 Total Tuition at a Glance
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Archival and Special Collections, 48 credits): $261.38 per credit in-state for a total of about $12,526; $630.25 per credit out-of-state for about $30,252.
Emporia State University (Archives Studies, 36 credits): $375.53 per credit in-state for about $13,519; $619 per credit out-of-state for about $22,284.
University of Central Missouri (36 credits): flat $445 per credit, totaling about $16,020.
University of Alabama (Archival Studies, 36 credits): flat $480 per credit, totaling $17,280.2
Indiana University (39 credits): about $19,208 total.
University at Buffalo (Archival Studies, 36 credits): $554.94 per credit in-state for about $19,968; $648.66 per credit out-of-state for about $23,352.
Louisiana State University (36 credits): flat $560 per credit, totaling $20,160.3
Kent State University (Archival Studies, 37 credits): $724.32 per credit in-state for about $26,800; $735.14 per credit out-of-state for about $27,200.
Flat Online Rates vs. Residency Tiers
Several programs charge a single online tuition rate regardless of where you live. Alabama ($480), Central Missouri ($445), and LSU ($560) all use flat per-credit pricing, which makes them especially attractive for out-of-state students who would otherwise pay non-resident premiums. Indiana also publishes a single total for its online MLIS. By contrast, UNC Chapel Hill, Emporia State, Buffalo, and Kent State maintain separate in-state and non-resident rates, and the gap can be dramatic: at UNC, an out-of-state student pays roughly $17,700 more than a North Carolina resident for the same 48-credit degree.
What the Sticker Price Leaves Out
Published tuition rarely captures the true cost of attendance. Most programs add per-semester fees (technology, library, distance-learning, and student services charges) that can run several hundred dollars per term. Books, software, background checks for practicum placements, and travel to any required on-campus residency are typically excluded. Programs requiring more credits, such as UNC at 48 and Indiana at 39, will also push totals higher than the 36-credit norm even when the per-credit rate looks competitive. Always pull the current cost-of-attendance worksheet directly from the program before committing.
Admissions, Program Length, and Practicum Requirements
Applying to an online MLIS with an archival concentration is more straightforward than applying to many graduate programs. The bar is real, but it is built around your academic record and your reasons for entering the field, not standardized test gymnastics.
Admissions Requirements: GRE Largely Optional
Most ALA-accredited programs have dropped the GRE as a hard requirement. The University of Alabama, Louisiana State University, and the University of Denver all offer GRE waivers for their online MLIS programs in 2026, and many other accredited schools have followed suit.123 A few programs still accept scores if you want to submit them, but a competitive application no longer hinges on test prep. If testing is a dealbreaker for you, it's worth reviewing the broader landscape of No-GRE Master's in Library Science Programs before narrowing your shortlist.
What does matter is your undergraduate GPA. The typical floor at accredited programs, including Alabama, LSU, and Denver, is a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Applicants below that threshold can sometimes be admitted conditionally, especially with strong professional experience.
Beyond the transcript, expect to submit:
A statement of purpose explaining your interest in archives and library science
Two to three letters of recommendation from professors or supervisors
A current resume or CV
Official transcripts from all prior institutions
Program Length and Credit Load
Most MLIS degrees run 36 to 42 credits. Alabama and LSU each require 36 credits; Denver's program ranges from 36 to 48 depending on concentration choices. Full-time students typically finish in about 24 months. Part-time students, which is the norm for working adults, usually take three to four years, and most programs allow up to six years to complete the degree.
Accelerated tracks exist at several schools. Alabama can be completed in 18 to 24 months, while LSU and Denver both offer paths that finish in roughly 21 months for students taking heavier course loads. Students prioritizing speed can compare timelines across the fastest library science degree options nationally.
Practicum and Internship Hours
Nearly every accredited program requires a supervised practicum or internship. Expect 100 to 150 hours at an approved archive, library, or records repository. Alabama requires 120 to 150 hours, LSU requires 120, and Denver requires 150. Online students generally complete these placements locally, with the program's field experience coordinator helping match you to a host site near home.
Curriculum: Core Courses and the Digital Archives Pivot
An MLIS with an archival studies concentration blends a shared library science foundation with specialized archival coursework. Most programs follow a similar structure, even if course names vary by school.
The MLIS Core
Every accredited MLIS, regardless of concentration, builds from a common set of foundational courses. Expect to take roughly four to six core classes covering:
Foundations of library and information science
Organization of information (cataloging, classification, metadata basics)
Research methods for information professionals
Management and leadership in information organizations
Information ethics, policy, or user services
These courses give archivists the same professional grounding as librarians, which matters because many archival jobs sit inside libraries, universities, or government agencies that expect MLIS-trained staff. They also build the top skills employers look for in library science degree graduates, from metadata fluency to research methods.
The Archival Concentration
The specialization layer typically adds four to six courses focused on the archivist's actual daily work:
Arrangement and description of archival materials
Appraisal and acquisition (deciding what to keep)
Preservation and conservation of physical records
Archival reference and access services
Digital archives and electronic records management
The biggest shift in archival education over the past decade has been the move toward digital preservation. Born-digital records, web archives, email collections, and digitized holdings now dominate professional practice, and curricula reflect this. Students learn metadata and descriptive standards including EAD (Encoded Archival Description), DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), and PREMIS (Preservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies), along with tools like ArchivesSpace and digital preservation platforms.
Capstone Requirements
Most programs cap the degree with a culminating experience: a capstone project, a professional portfolio, a practicum write-up, or a thesis option for students considering doctoral study. The portfolio route is increasingly common because it doubles as a job-search artifact.
Archivist Salaries and Career Outlook by Sector
Archivist pay varies more by employer type than by geography, and the federal premium is real. Here is what the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports for the occupation, plus how earnings break down across the sectors that hire the most MLIS graduates.
National Wage Data for Archivists
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023), archivists (SOC 25-4011) earned a median annual wage of $59,910, with a mean of $65,700.1 The wage distribution gives a clearer picture of the career arc:
10th percentile: $37,720
25th percentile: $46,450
Median: $59,910
75th percentile: $79,190
90th percentile: $103,000
The gap between entry-level pay and the top decile (roughly $65,000) is wide, reflecting the difference between a starting processing archivist and a senior digital archivist or department head at a well-funded institution. For broader context on how these figures compare across the field, see our overview of library science salary data.
Pay by Sector
The BLS reports about 7,150 archivists employed nationally.1 Mean wages by sector show where the money is:
Colleges, universities, and professional schools: $66,200 mean wage (1,170 jobs). Academic archives are the single largest employer and pay near the top of the non-federal range.
Local government (excluding schools and hospitals): $62,970 mean wage (770 jobs). County records offices and municipal archives.
State government (excluding schools and hospitals): $58,060 mean wage (770 jobs). State archives and historical commissions.
Web search portals, libraries, archives, and other information services: $56,280 mean wage (520 jobs).
Museums, historical sites, and similar institutions: $51,870 mean wage (1,070 jobs). Mission-driven work, lower pay.
Federal archivist roles, particularly at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Library of Congress, are not broken out in the sector table above but consistently pay above the national median, with GS-11 and GS-12 positions commonly ranging from the mid-$70,000s into six figures depending on locality pay. Corporate archives (pharmaceutical companies, banks, media conglomerates) are a small slice of the field but can match or exceed federal pay for archivists with records management or digital preservation expertise.
Job Outlook and the AI Question
BLS projects 6% employment growth for archivists, curators, and museum workers through 2033, faster than the average for all occupations, with about 4,800 annual openings driven largely by replacement needs.2 As for AI: tools that auto-tag, transcribe, and surface metadata are accelerating backlog processing, not eliminating archivist roles. Appraisal, provenance research, rights management, and ethical access decisions still require human judgment. Candidates who pair traditional archival theory with hands-on digital skills (ArchivesSpace, Preservica, born-digital workflows, basic scripting) have a clear hiring advantage in the library science jobs market.
After the Degree: ACA Certification and Digital Archives Credentials
An MLIS qualifies you to work as an archivist on day one, but several post-degree credentials can sharpen a resume, especially for federal positions, academic libraries, and specialized digital roles. None are legally required to call yourself an archivist or hold the job, but hiring committees in competitive sectors often view them as evidence of sustained professional commitment.
Academy of Certified Archivists (ACA)
The ACA grants the Certified Archivist (CA) credential to candidates who hold a master's degree and have at least one year of qualifying professional archival experience. Once eligible, candidates sit for a written exam offered annually at multiple locations and online. The exam covers selection, arrangement, description, reference, preservation, outreach, and management. The CA must be renewed every five years, either by retaking the exam or by accumulating continuing education and professional service points. Application and exam fees typically run a few hundred dollars combined; check the ACA site for current figures before budgeting.
SAA Digital Archives Specialist (DAS)
The Society of American Archivists offers the Digital Archives Specialist certificate for archivists who want documented competency in born-digital and digitized materials. Unlike the CA, DAS has no degree or experience prerequisite. Candidates complete a set number of SAA courses across foundational, tactical, tools, and transformational tiers, then pass a comprehensive exam. The credential is increasingly common in library science jobs postings for digital archivists and electronic records roles.
Records Management: The CRM Path
Archivists who lean toward active records, compliance, or corporate environments sometimes pursue the Certified Records Manager (CRM) designation through the Institute of Certified Records Managers. It requires a bachelor's degree, three years of records management experience, and a six-part exam, making it an adjacent rather than overlapping credential.
