Museology

The University offers an MA in History with a concentration in Museum Studies or Historic Preservation; or, an MS in Interior Architecture with a concentration in Historic Preservation or Museum Studies. In addition, the Department of Interior Architecture administers a Certificate in Historic Preservation, which introduces students to current issues and practices in the field by having them take three core Historic Preservation courses (Historic Preservation: Principles and Practice; History of American Landscapes and Architecture; and Preservation Planning and Law), a for-credit internship, and one elective. The Historic Preservation Certificate is ideal for professionals who already have a job in the field (and are seeking further training) or people who already have a Master's and want to gain additional skills.

Master of Arts in History:
The Museum Studies concentration offers a broad-based training in how to build relationships between history and public audiences, focusing on the theory and practice of telling stories through museums, historic sites, and other cultural institutions. It introduces students to the tools that public historians use; examines contemporary models for how best to reach audiences in ways that make history meaningful; and offers concrete experience in the development of public projects, collaboration, and leadership. Students engage in re-thinking how the professional practices of collecting, preserving, and interpreting the past are changing in the 21st century.

The Historic Preservation concentration trains students to see the past in the tangible world around us. Students focus on the theory and practice involved in “reading” the built environment, developing skills in researching the stories these sites tell, and making informed decisions about the appropriate treatment of historic buildings and neighborhoods. Students gain tools that help them inject historic preservation into contemporary discussions about urban planning, economic development, and environmental impact.

Master of Science in Interior Architecture:
The MS in Interior Architecture program is a post-professional degree with opportunities for concentrations in historic preservation, museum studies, interior product design. It approaches Historic Preservation from the designer's perspective offers opportunities to identify, document, evaluate, restore, rehabilitate, and adapt the historic built environment. As preservationists work with historic buildings, neighborhoods, urban downtowns, and rural districts, they directly impact the quality of life for local communities as they protect and enhance their sense of place. Career paths include preservation-related design and planning practice, architectural survey fieldwork, architectural conservation, and historic site interpretation or administration.

The MS in Interior Architecture approaches museum studies from the designer's perspective offers special opportunities to tell stories visually and graphically through designing exhibits or interpreting historic interiors. Students learn how to present the past in meaningful ways to the larger community. Career options include working at a museum, historic site, or other public history venue as an exhibit designer, graphic designer, web designer, and historic site interpreter or administrator.

MA in Public History prepares its students to work in a variety of public and applied history settings; archives, museums, libraries and other public history facilities. Public History is viewed as an approach not only to scholarship but to the practice of history and engagement with the world. Public history is the way in which they make history relevant to our communities, states, and nation. They promote the collaborative nature of public history, the importance of relevance over objectivity, and the civic role of the public historian.

The Museum Studies Program offers intense training in museology theories and methodologies, preparing students to work with public audiences in museums, historic sites, and other cultural institutions. The program introduces students to the tools that public historians use: material culture, shared inquiry and authority, weighing relevance against objectivity, and professional ethics. Through the development of public projects, students learn the benefits of collaboration and the responsibilities of leadership.

The Heritage Studies Program provides students with professional skills to work for local, state, national, and international organizations as well as private institutions in developing concepts and strategies for the conservation, rehabilitation and promotion of cultural resources and heritage sites. They will be able to design and implement plans for the protection and development of heritage properties, and create models for sustainable tourism around historic and heritage sites.

Archival studies is offered through a dual degree program with the School of Information and Library Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The dual degree program allows students to pursue an MILS degree in archival management as well as an MA in public history in museum studies, heritage studies, or a tailored curriculum to complement their archival degree. The dual degree program was created in response to today’s marketplace demands that archivists, manuscript curators, and records managers have both historical knowledge and advanced information management skills. The new archival workforce must both be able to appraise and describe historical records, and create World Wide Web sites and preserve electronic documents. ... Students must apply and be admitted to each graduate program separately, identifing their interest in the dual degree prior to admission.

The Public History Program trains students for great jobs in museums and historic sites, archives, and historic preservation. Student can pursue an MA or a PhD in Public History and earn one of two certificates (the “Certificate in Museum Management” and the “Certificate in Historical Archaeology & Cultural Resource Management”). In addition, a dual-degree is offered in the a Joint Program with the School of Library and Information Science. Coursework, internships, advising, and job placement are supervised by a designated faculty member for each of our three tracks of specialization: museum studies, historic preservation, and archival administration.

The Museum Management Certificate is designed to be completed concurrently with a graduate degree in an academic field, or to supplement a degree already in hand and for museum professionals who have already attained a graduate degree and would like to extend their knowledge in the museum field. Focuses on management, collections, and exhibitions and related programs.

The Master of Arts in Museum Studies is a 33-hour degree program completed 100% online.

The museum studies graduate program prepares you to meet the challenges involved in museum operation. Courses address museum management procedures, budget administration, exhibit and educational programming, and community interaction. Faculty members for this program are drawn from museums across the country, including two AAM-accredited museums located at the University of Oklahoma – the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.

The Museum Studies Program publishes the e-journal, Journal of Museum Studies.

School offers a BA in History-Museum Studies and an MA in History-Museum Studies.

The undergraduate Museum Studies Program provides training to students interested in pursuing careers in museums, historical agencies, archives, national parks, and related institutions. The Master of Arts in History is designed for those who wish to further their knowledge of history and the historian's craft, prepare for doctoral programs, or pursue professional goals through the Social Studies Teaching or Museum Studies options. Course offerings reflect the Department of History and Geography's commitment to the highest standards of research and writing and to the development of an awareness and understanding of diverse cultures.

The MA in Museum Studies and Historical Preservation is an interdisciplinary graduate program within the College of Liberal Arts. The courses and faculty are interdepartmental. Through theoretical (curriculum-based) and practical (hands-on) training, students are prepared for a wide range of positions in varying types of museums, as well as gaining an understanding of historic resources and the processes necessary for their preservation. The Program's goals are:

• Produce professionally trained museum staff in the areas of museum management, museum education, collection management, exhibition design, conservation, curatorship, and the methods of archiving and historical preservation.
• To increase the number of museum professionals with formal training at the graduate level.

The Department of Art + Design, Art History, Art Education offers undergraduate degrees with a minor in Museum Studies provides students with a comprehensive education in the field of museology by looking at the history, philosophy, role, operation, and multiple functions of museums in American society. Academic theory in the political, social, business, legal, and ethical issues that confront museum professionals is combined with practical experience in the form of museum internships, field trips, and directed research projects to give students a foundation for work in university, public, and private museums. This minor is designed to complement majors in the fields of studio art, art history, art education, history, anthropology, business, interdisciplinary studies, environmental science and studies, among others.

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 Master of Arts in Museum Studies Program trains students to become innovative and knowledgeable leaders in museums and cultural institutions. The program is designed for students who desire a career in the professional museum field.

Through the Department of History, students can earn an MA in Public History with a specialization in Museum Studies or a Certificate in Historic Preservation. The Public History program provides students with an M.A. degree in history from the Department of History with a public history specialization. The Public History track within the UWF Department of History trains students in the various aspects of public, or applied, history.

The specialization in Museum Studies emphasizes Museology including exhibit conception, interpretation, design and construction, museum administration, working with missions, budgets, collections, and boards. Electives provided by courses offered within the department and with the departments of Art History.

Master's students may also earn a certificate in Historic Preservation. The certificate program is geared to individuals interested in acquiring a general focus in the field of historic preservation and to current practitioners in the field who wish to add a historic preservation certification to their academic or professional credentials.
The certificate program in historic preservation requires the completion of eighteen (18) credit hours of courses at the Master’s level. These courses provide students both the breadth and depth necessary for a basic understanding of the diverse field, while also allowing students to gain some expertise in certain areas of the field through their selection of the elective courses, and, in some cases, by providing an opportunity to work on faculty grant projects. Courses are multi-disciplinary, including coursework in anthropology, archaeology, art history, environmental studies, traditional history, and public history.