California State University, Chico

Students have two options in pursing a degree in museum studies: the Certificate in Museum Studies or the Masters Degree in Anthropology, with an Option in Museum Studies. The Museum of Anthropology was established in 1970 in Trinity Hall at California State University, Chico, to support the Department of Anthropology’s unique and innovative museum training program. Today, the Valene L. Smith Museum of Anthropology continues to function as a multifaceted educational facility for students in the Museum Studies Program. The Museum Studies Program at CSU Chico is one of the few museology programs in the United States, where students conceive, research, design, and install exhibits as part of their formal training, as well as gain hands-on courses in museum collections management and other areas of museology.

The Certificate in Public History program prepares students for non-teaching careers as historians outside the academy. Emphasis is placed on gaining skills and knowledge necessary for public and private sector employment in the fields of historic preservation, historic site assessment, archival management, and cultural resources management.