United States

Students can earn an Undergraduate Museum Studies Certificate or a Master of Arts in Museum Studies and Graduate Certificate.

The Undergraduate Certificate in Museum Studies "complements majors in related fields, particularly anthropology, history, fine arts, visual communications, informatics, and education. People enter the museum field from all different academic backgrounds."

Graduate level students may earn a Graduate Certificate (18 credit hours) or a Master of Arts degree (36 credit hours). "The Graduate Certificate may be taken as a freestanding credential or paired with graduate work in another related discipline (ex. Anthropology, History, Philanthropic Studies, Education, Library Science, Non-Profit Management). The Masters Degree is an interdisciplinary curriculum integrating theory and practice of museum work. Through a foundation of core courses, internships, and a choice of electives, students build their knowledge and skills in museum practice. A variety of collaborative museum projects encourage students to explore their potential as self-reflective, creative innovators in a rapidly changing field."

Undergraduate Students earn a Certificate in Museum Studies.

"The University of Iowa maintains a long museum studies tradition, offering courses continuously since 1910. The number of students currently enrolled in Museum Studies courses has tripled since 2004, largely due to the program’s growing faculty and staff, as well as increased support from the University of Iowa and the Center for Credit Programs. The museum facilities at the University of Iowa include the Museum of Natural History, the University of Iowa Museum of Art and the Old Capitol Museum, just a few of the numerous resources available to students pursuing a certificate in Museum Studies at the University of Iowa.

The Museum Studies program is an 18-semester hour certificate program administered by the Center for Credit Programs. Undergraduate and non-traditional students complete a certificate alongside their major area of study. Through course work and internship experiences, the program prepares students for museum careers and graduate school while providing students with a greater understanding of museums and the important role they play in promoting education and cultural awareness on the local, national and international levels. Graduates of the Museum Studies program have become directors, curators, educators, and exhibit specialists in museums throughout the country. The Museum Studies program offers courses that are of value not only to students intending to pursue museum careers or continue their education, but also to those with a general interest in the arts, sciences, or humanities, as well as to those students who simply wish to know more about the workings of museums.

Museums are interdisciplinary institutions that embrace every aspect of cultural study, and the focus of one museum is often different from that of another. The study of museums mirrors this multiplicity. Many UI academic departments offer courses that supplement those required for the certificate. Some of these departments include American studies, anthropology, archaeology, art history, studio art, biology, business, communication studies, elementary and secondary education, English, foreign languages, history, historic preservation, library science, and recreation and leisure. Students pursuing the certificate are encouraged to connect their knowledge of museums with their major area of study, which offers each student a unique educational experience that is tailored to fit their personal interests.

A certificate in Museum Studies provides a broad foundation of knowledge that is becoming increasingly desired in the museum field. Museum Studies courses introduce students to the spectrum of museum endeavors, from organization and mission planning to institutional histories and current developments within the field. Most courses developed by the program offer hands-on experience in exhibition planning and design, collection management, educational programming, community development, and administration, so students graduate with the skills necessary for continuing their involvement with museums, whether it is on a personal or professional level."

The Department of History and Social Studies Education offers an undergraduate minor in Museum Studies, an advanced certificate in Museum Studies for those who already possess an undergraduate degree, and an MA in Museum Studies.  The minor requires 18-21 credit hours in Museum Studies; the Certificate, 18 hours, and MA students specialize in collections management and curatorial practice, museum experience and education, or museum operations.

Students can earn an MA in Curatorial Studies at the Center for Curatorial Studies (CSS) at Bard College.  CSS is an exhibition and research center dedicated to the study of art and exhibition practices from the 1960s to the present day. 

This broadly interdisciplinary program provides practical training and experience in a museum setting and an intensive course of study in the history of the contemporary visual arts, the institutions and practices of exhibition making, and the theory and criticism of the visual arts in the modern period.  The faculty includes curators and other museum professionals, scholars in the humanities and social sciences, artists, and critics.  The curriculum is specifically designed to deepen students understanding of the intellectual and practical tasks of curating exhibitions of contemporary art, particularly in the complex social and cultural situations of present-day urban arts institutions, and to help students improve their interpretive and critical writing.

"Students in the M.A. program in Museum Studies develop both their expertise in an academic discipline—American Studies, Anthropology, Geology, History, or Natural History—and their knowledge of the issues and practices central to museums. As a student in the Museum Studies program, you will work with outstanding faculty and accomplished museum professionals, and you will take advantage of the rich resources of the superb museums located at the University of Kansas and in nearby communities. "

"At the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, where our approach to anthropology encompasses the sciences, social sciences and humanities, we have developed a unique museum studies program that examines how museums produce and reflect culture and the role museums play worldwide."
 

This M.A. program has a 9 hour focus in archives, museums, or historical preservation.