Art/Art History/Dec Arts/Architecture

The College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning offers a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies and a Graduate Certificate in Curatorial Practice. The College-Conservatory of Music offers an MA in Arts Administration.

The Museum Studies program teaches students how museums are organized and operate, how they care for and interpret their collections, how they serve their audiences, and what issues they face in satisfying their diverse responsibilities.

Curatorial Practice is designed to train students in the practical and critical aspects of assembling exhibitions. Since the greater number of exhibitions take place outside institutions (in galleries and artist-run spaces), it is as important for Fine Artists to be engaged with these alternative venues as it is to be cognizant of Museum exhibitions. With two galleries on campus and with a faculty actively engaged in exhibiting and curating contemporary work, the University of Cincinnati is positioned well to offer this certificate. There are plentiful opportunities for internships in the city where artist-led curatorial initiatives are already practiced. Cincinnati also has several significant private collections of contemporary art whose owners are already engaged with our programs in various capacities.

The Graduate Arts Administration Program prepares and trains students to become successful CEOs and senior managers of nonprofit arts and cultural institutions. The philosophy and structure of the program reflects the understanding that sound business training and practical, real-world exposure to the field are both essential qualities of a successful arts administrator. The program further recognizes that the successful arts administrator has the leadership capacity to adapt classical theories and practices to the management of complex and changing arts environment. The College-Conservatory of Music also offers a dual degree with the nationally-recognized College of Business called the MA/MBA option. The two programs combine resources to train administrative leadership for professional performing arts and visual arts organizations.

Master of Arts in Art History and Museum Studies.

The master's program in Art History and Museum Studies is designed to give students advance qualification in art history and a broad introduction to museum work. The program is offered for those hoping to work in art collection-related fields. It provides students with skills to integrate the theoretical study of art history with practical concerns of displaying, managing, and interpreting art objects in a variety of museum settings. Students take courses in art history and museum studies simultaneously. Graduates of this program typically pursue careers in museums, art galleries, art publishing, museum education, teaching, art libraries, visual resource collections, or auction houses. If you are interested in museum studies courses only please see the Museum Studies Certificate Program.

Students pursuing an MA orPhD through the Department of History of Art & Architecture may take the courses required for a Certificate in Museum Studies.

The program in museum studies is also open to MA students in other disciplines of graduate study, as well as qualified non-degree students. The Department has ongoing internship placements at a range of institutions, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities; the Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy; the Photography Resource Center; the Peabody-Essex Museum; the Boston Public Library; the Harvard University Art Museums; the List Art Center at M.I.T.; the Preservation Society of Newport County; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, among others.

The Summer Institute in Art Museum Studies at Smith College engages liberal arts students in an in-depth, behind-the-scenes, hands-on exploration of art museums. Through a combination of classroom instruction and assignments, visits to museums, conversations with museum professionals, and an exhibition project, participants learn about the purpose and function of art museums and the numerous challenges they face. Travel to museums, galleries, and art venues in New York City, Boston, and elsewhere provide opportunities to consider the values and responsibilities of different kinds of institutions: academic and city museums, private and public institutions, encyclopedic and focused collections. Students meet with professionals in a variety of fields, from directors and curators to private collectors and art conservators. Throughout the six-week program, students have the unique experience of planning and mounting a complete exhibition project at the Smith College Museum of Art. In collaboration, they conceive and implement curatorial, education and marketing plans, as well as install the exhibit and design and publish the exhibition catalogue.

Goucher offers a MA in Arts Administration and a Concentration in Arts Administration. Arts administration is a rapidly expanding profession in performance and institutional arts organizations, including museums and galleries; in community or regional centers for the arts; and in government, corporate, and foundation agencies that are concerned with the development of the arts.

The Master of Arts in Arts Administration (MAAA) program is a distance learning graduate degree meant for those interested in furthering their career in arts administration; it gives working professionals living anywhere an opportunity to further their skills and knowledge in the challenging and ever-developing field of arts administration. This program brings together students and distinguished faculty members from around the world who share one common goal: to see that the arts thrive in their own communities, and in society as a whole.

Students pursuing a concentration in arts administration take a major in one of the arts and supplement that major with three courses in arts administration and four in economics and business management. The courses in the major provide a solid foundation in an art form. The additional courses enhance knowledge appropriate to the student’s interest in arts administration. Students major in art, dance, music, or theatre, completing a minimum of 27 credits that are chosen in consultation with the department and that cover both historical/ theoretical and studio work.

The minor in Historic Preservation is designed for undergraduate students interested in the stewardship and future of America’s historic buildings, structures, and landscapes. Basic historic preservation courses emphasize the theory and history of historic preservation and the various tools and techniques used to document cultural resources. Each course challenges students to think critically and to improve their writing and oral presentation skills. Additional courses are to be drawn from American studies, art history, history, and the social sciences. The historic preservation minor is composed of six courses.

The MA in Museum Studies consists of both academic preparation and practical experience. Students select and pursue a disciplinary emphasis of their choice (for example Anthropology, Art Education, Art History, Education, English, History, Historic Preservation, or Tourism, Recreation, and Sports Management) while participating in comprehensive museum studies seminars, practica, and internships. At the same time, students complete a concentrated study in professional museum practices. Upon completion of the program, graduates will have attained the skills and knowledge necessary to pursue careers in a variety of institutions, including art museums, natural history museums, history museums, anthropology museums, children's museums, historic sites, and various other interpretive sites and institutions.

Museum Studies at Florida State University is a certificate program with a broad understanding of museums and practical experience in museum work. The program prepares students for museum careers by adding specific museum instruction to their departmental studies. Students gain critical intelligence and the ability to analyze and achieve objectives in the professional museum field through a combination of discipline-based knowledge and practical training.

The certificate is granted as a supplement to a graduate degree program. This dual approach follows the American Association of Museums’ recommendations that specialized museum training be combined with one or more academic disciplines as the ideal preparation for a professional career.

The program includes students from the arts, humanities, and sciences. The following degree programs grant the certificate: Art, Arts Administration, Art Education, Art History, Classics, Dance, History, History and Philosophy of Science, Information Studies, Interior Design, Recreation and Leisure Services Administration, Retail Merchandising and Product Development, and Theatre. Graduates of the program will be qualified to seek employment in science centers, art museums, history museums, historic sites, ethnographic museums, natural history museums, and related institutions. Those who have already obtained a graduate degree may enter the program as a non-degree seeking student.

The program enjoys a collaborative relationship with museums in London, Florence and cities throughout Belgium. FSU’s extensive network of international study programs affords additional opportunities for course work and internships. Students in the program can also benefit from the unique opportunity of studying at the FSU Ringling Center for the Cultural Arts in Sarasota, with its world-renowned fine arts museum, circus collection, historic home, and Asolo Theater.

The University of Leicester's School of Museum Studies is the only department in the country solely devoted to the study of museums and galleries; it has played an influential role in the reinvention of museum theory and practice.

Several degree options ranging up to an MPhil or a PhD in research may be earned in one of several programs of museum, galley, and heritage studies that are offered in the School of Arts and Culture.

The International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies (ICCHS) is a leading academic centre for research and teaching in museum, gallery, and heritage studies. The taught postgraduate programs are vocational, providing students from all over the world with the knowledge, skills and understanding required to work in a variety of roles, from curators, education officers and managers to cultural policy makers. The programs benefit from the Center's experience in and engagement with the museum, gallery and heritage sector: it works closely with sector professionals both in the delivery of teaching and on research initiatives and on providing advice and consultancy for the sector.

Students develop a holistic view of the sector, focusing on everything from ancient castles to contemporary art galleries; after this, students specialize in specific areas. Students are equipped for work both in single areas (e.g. art or history curatorship) and between different kinds of organizations.

Student may earn a MA in Art Gallery and Museum Studies. The program is continually being reviewed and developed in response to new research and shifts in museum practice. Throughout the degree, you will examine diverse of museum theory and practice, visit museums, galleries and cultural organisations, and have many opportunities to discuss ideas and issues with professionals and academics in the field. One of the most popular aspects of the AGMS is the work placement that you undertake in a museum or gallery. Each placement involves a minimum of 20 days work on a specific project, such as exhibition developmoent, collections management, or education programme. Many students find this such a positive experience that they carry on working in their museum when the work placement has finished, and each year a few students are offered jobs by their placement hosts.