Museology

Offers undergraduates a Minor in Museum Studies and graduates a certificate in Museum Studies. Majors include art history, studio art, anthropology, communication arts, history and urban studies, zoology, fisheries and wildlife, geography, recreation, and tourism and resource studies

The primary goal of the undergraduate minor in museum studies is to teach students how museums work, both in historical and contemporary contexts. Doing so involves learning to critically engage the historical, social, cultural, artistic and scientific dimensions of heritage, both tangible and intangible, within the museum. The museum studies minor seeks to foster “museum literacy” by introducing students to the processes by which meaning is inscribed upon objects within the context of museums and to the roles museums, broadly defined, play in society. Objects and Collections, Institutions, and Society thus form the curriculum’s conceptual foci.

The Graduate Certificate Program in Museum Studies situated in the Rackham Graduate School. Students who have been admitted to or who are currently enrolled in a graduate degree program at the University of Michigan, or who have received a graduate degree from an accredited institution within the last five years, are eligible to apply for admission to the Program. The Program requires 18 credit hours of coursework for award of the Certificate in Museum Studies, a portion of which may be double-counted with coursework undertaken in the student's primary field of study. The Program offers some financial assistance, primarily for the spring and summer. The purpose of this funding is to promote internships, research assistantships, field work at museums, independent study related to students' programs, participation at professional meetings and conferences, and dissertation research for those MSP students who are writing dissertations that deal explicitly with museums.

Undergraduates can earn a specialization in Museum Studies ; graduates and lifelong education students may earn a certificate.

The Michigan State University Museum Studies Program prepares individuals for innovative careers in museums and non-profit institutions. Museum Studies offers an opportunity to obtain 15-credit transcriptable specialization for undergraduates or a certificate for graduate and lifelong education students. Either can be incorporated as a part of, or as an extension to, an MSU undergraduate or graduate degree program. Individuals who are not enrolled in a degree program but who are interested in seeking certification may do so through MSU's Lifelong (Continuing) Education program.

The program is designed to be flexible and tailored to a student’s specific interests. Students represent diverse majors, including art history, studio art, anthropology, communication arts, history and urban studies, zoology, fisheries and wildlife, geography, recreation, tourism and resource studies. Through a required internship experience and independent studies, students have an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a variety of exhibition, education, research, administration, and collection management activities. Students also are encouraged to seek both volunteer and paid positions in museums, botanical gardens and zoos.

Eastern Michigan University offers an Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Cultural Museum Studies and a Master of Science in Historic Preservation.

The Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate in Cultural Museum Studies (CMS) provides foundational training for professional engagement with the selection, conservation, interpretation, and exhibition of inanimate and living collections. Special attention is given to the cross-cultural analysis, application, and assessment of the various ways “research exhibit-and-presentation” dynamics affect display design in museums and related institutions, and to the pedagogical dimension of museological theory and practice. A flexible curriculum allows for individualized specializations in various aspects of museology, from the ecological impact on definitions of cultural heritage, to the application of virtuality to exhibition procedures.

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The MS in Historic Preservation is housed in the Department of Geography & Geology, and regularly cooperates with other departments including History, Art, Construction Technology, and the Division of Extended Programs for prerequisite and other coursework. The program focuses on career development in the following concentrations with the aim of preparing students for gainful employment in the field of historic preservation in the public and private sector: Preservation Planning; Heritage Interpretation, Tourism, and Administration; Conservation and Technology; and General Studies. A Field School in Preservation Technology is offered during the spring term.

A five-course graduate level certificate in historic preservation also is available, as is an undergraduate minor in historic preservation.

Museum Studies is part of an interdisciplinary program. The courses may be taken at the undergraduate or graduate level in conjunction with work in a related field.

The undergraduate level Museum Studies minor at Central Michigan University offers a balanced interdisciplinary program of coursework designed to prepare you for advanced educational opportunities or an entry-level position in a museum or similar organization. Your courses will give you practical skills needed to work in these facilities, planning and installing exhibits, preparing education programs for the public, and caring for collections.

The Museum Studies minor, when matched with an appropriate academic major such as geology, earth science, art, teacher education, geography, recreation, history, biology, anthropology, is designed to give you the necessary background to pursue a career in informal education, research or cultural affairs.

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.

MA in History with a concentration in Public History

Course offerings include the following: Administration of Non-Profits, Historical Exhibits and Museums, Historic Preservation, History and Media, Local History Methodology, Publishing for Non-Profits, Oral History, Issues in Public History, Genealogical Research, Historical Re-enacting, Public Policy Analysis, Industrial Archeology, and Historical Societies and Archives. Graduates have gone on to significant positions in historical societies, museums, archives, business, documentary film production, and other related organizations.

Fieldwork courses assist students in preparing for careers in public history, and enable students to tailor their program to their interests and needs. In recent years, students have completed their fieldwork requirement in such organizations as: WGBH (PBS) Boston, the Frederick Law Olmsted House, the USS Constitution Museum, the National Park Service, the Massachusetts Historical Society, Blackside [Film] Productions, the Massachusetts Preservation Commission, Old Sturbridge Village, the Concord [MA] Museum, the New England Historic and Genealogical Society, The Bostonia Society, the Tsongas Historical Center, and the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities ... opportunities in other regions of the United States, including the Minnesota Historical Society and the Cowpens National Historic Site [SC]. International fieldwork opportunities have included work in Museums in London and Prague.

The graduate program in Museum Studies offers an MA

The Graduate Program in Museum Studies is designed to give students the tools to be successful in every aspect of museum work, from exhibitions to education, collections to preservation. Engage in a diverse curriculum that connects theory and practice. In courses and through an internship, you investigate the challenges confronting museums today and learn the intricacies of operations.

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.

At the undergraduate level, Regis offers a BA in History with a Museum Studies Minor, a Museum Studies Concentration, a Museum Studies Certificate, or a Heritage Studies Concentration. At the graduate level, the Heritage Studies Department offers an MA in Heritage Studies for a Global Society and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Heritage Studies.

The Museum Studies program at Regis College is one of only two programs in Massachusetts recommended by the Smithsonian. It introduces students to the history, internal workings, and the significant public place of museums in today's society. Students examine grant-writing, collections management, interpretive analysis, exhibition design, and nonprofit governance. They receive hands-on experience with diverse aspects of museum work through professional internships, and explore the history of museums, in addition to new challenges faced by museum leaders today.

The undergraduate applied history curriculum is a hands-on experience. The approach is designed not only for students interested in public history, archaeology, and historical preservation; it also serves those students with a passion for cultural memory, folklore, myth, and religion. The program is a cultural one, built on the fundamentals of ethnohistory (an interdisciplinary approach blending history with anthropology, archaeology, art history, etc.). Maintaining the rigor of the traditional major, it adds a practical and applicable set of skills which will serve students who choose to begin their careers immediately after their undergraduate training, in addition to those intending to pursue a post-baccalaureate degree.

The MA in Heritage Studies for a Global Society is a program that responds to social and economic demands for practical application of liberal arts skills in a variety of contexts. As historical, material, and cultural artifacts – ancient or modern, local, national or international, written or traditional – are lost, destroyed, or misrepresented and poorly understood, competent professionals with theoretical training across the disciplines will be in high demand. Our students are prepared for two pathways: academic and professional. The rigorous curriculum reinforces a student’s aptitude for successful scholarship, and the high standard – including an individualized thesis – prepares students for continued studies in graduate or professional schools, or Ph.D. programs in one of our affiliated universities. It is also a tool for skill sharpening and experience building in order to either gain or enhance professional employment in a variety of areas, including: museums and archives, heritage tourism and historic site interpretation, public history, and historic preservation.

The Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies (CAGS) in Heritage Studies is designed for students seeking further education, intellectual dialog, interdisciplinary experience, or to explore new ideas relating to their careers or previous courses of study, who do not need a second master’s or a doctoral degree.

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.