Museum Studies

The Historical Information Management Program offers three certificate programs: Archival Management, Museum Management, and Records Management. They are designed to deliver a fundamental technical grounding in each profession.

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 Master of Art Curatorship offers you a sophisticated awareness of the range of challenging cultural, theoretical, social, political and economic issues confronting gallery curators. A highly valued aspect of the course is the project-based internships supervised by industry professionals in local, national and international visual arts organisations which provide invaluable workplace experience, training and networking opportunities.

You will be trained to work as an art curator, educator, collection manager, administrator, critic, dealer and valuer. The course allows those already working in the sector, art teachers, advisors, curators, librarians, administrators, writers and gallery workers, to further develop their career prospects, while also serving as a career change option for those new to the field.

The course includes studies in art and curatorship (taught at the Art Gallery of New South Wales), the art museum: past, present, future, and the business of art."

"Museum Studies is a program of post-graduate courses and research degrees that encompasses the study of museums, museology and the development of skills necessary for museum practice. The Museum Studies programs investigate the theory and history of collecting material things, their display and interpretation, and the changing nature of the museum as a concept and as an organisation."

"This programme is taught at the Ironbridge Institute, run jointly by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and the University, and situated in the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site in Shropshire; it is appropriate for people working or planning to work in conservation and recording agencies, museums, tourism, environmental education, archaeology, landscape design and planning."

"This programme offers you a unique opportunity to study the history and operations of museums in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. We will investigate the cultural significance of museums, their histories and contemporary issues. You will acquire and refine skills in archival and historical research and verbal and written communication. You can opt to take a work placement in one of our prestigious partnership museums. "

"This innovative course benefits from collaborative relationships with museums and galleries of national and international significance, notably the Holburne Museum, Arnolfini, Bristol and Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. It covers a wide range of curatorial approaches, from management of the historical collection to creative curating of cutting edge contemporary art, craft and design."
 
"The MA adopts a 'practice-led' approach; while some sessions are delivered by Bath School of Art and Design (BSAD) university academics, others are delivered by our collaborators and relate to particular case studies or collections. There are opportunities to work alongside museum and gallery professionals on selected in-house activities and 'real life' projects can be pursued in response to assessment assignments, especially in relation to the final 'Master's Project' double module."
 

Heritage Studies and Museums (MPhil in Social Anthropology and Museums or in Archaeological Heritage and Museums), covers "the core issues and approaches within the field of heritage generally (including tangible and tangible, movable and immovable heritage) and museums specifically. It traces the development of heritage as a public enterprise whether in the form of museums or heritage organisations and legislation, and focuses on the ways this field has expanded and the core issues that now defines it. These include:

• The historical development of museums and heritage institutions
• The concept of value, its historical development, ways of assessment and contestation
• The links between heritage and identity
• The political dimensions to heritage and museums
• Ethics
• The management structures, and the divisions of tasks and responsibilities between different kinds of organisations
• The development of `heritage tools' such as laws and organisation
• The public—the actors, from international bodies to local communities"

"The UCL Institute of Archaeology is the largest and one of the most highly regarded centres for archaeology, cultural heritage and museum studies in Britain, as evidenced by its top position in university league tables and National Student Survey results. It is one of the very few places in the world actively pursuing research on a truly global scale. Its degree programmes offer an unrivalled variety of courses on a diverse range of topics, and wide-ranging fieldwork opportunities.  The Institute hosts events on many different aspects of archaeology and is linked to heritage organisations, museums and archaeological societies, providing an outstanding research environment for staff, students and visitors."