Art/Art History/Dec Arts/Architecture

Students may take courses to earn one of several degrees: BA History of Art with Gallery and Museum Studies, MA Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies, or an MA Museum Studies. In addition, the university offers three research degrees: Masters by Research, MPhil, and the PhD.

The University of Delaware offerings for those seeking training for a career in museum work: a Certificate in Museum Studies to students enrolled in a number of Masters' or Ph.D. programs, Undergraduate Material Culture Preservation Major in the Arts Conservation Program, an MS in Art Conservation in the Arts Conservation Program, a PhD in Preservation Studies. The School of Public Policy and Administration offers an MA in Historic Preservation and a twelve-credit hour Certificate Program in Historic Preservation.

• The Certificate of Museum Studies (a 12-credit program) is available to students enrolled in a degree granting graduate program at the University, such as a Masters’ or Ph.D. program in History, Urban Affairs and Public Policy (UAPP), Education, Art History, Art Conservation, Master of Business Administration, Master of Arts Liberal Studies (MALS), Fashion Apparel, the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, and the Longwood Graduate Program.  Students take a minimum of 9 credit hours of classes and complete a three - credit internship to receive the Certificate in Museum Studies. Instructors include distinguished professionals from area museums as well as university faculty. Ensuring Quality in the Future Our mission is to help ensure the future of museums and related cultural institutions by educating graduate students who either plan careers in public arts and humanities or will collaborate with cultural institutions as part of future academic careers. While receiving excellent training in their home academic disciplines, Museum Studies students also develop their understanding of the ethical frameworks that guide museums and other cultural not-for-profit organizations. They become knowledgeable in administrative, curatorial, and educational practice. Most important, they understand the challenges faced by cultural institutions in the twenty-first century.

• The Art Conservation Department offers an undergraduate degree in Material Culture Preservation that prepares students for graduate-level study in conservation, historic preservation, museum studies, library science, or other allied fields. Material Culture includes objects made or modified by humans, such as photographs, archival documents, decorative and fine arts, clothing, domestic possessions, toys, tools, machines, motion pictures and videotape, ethnographic materials, archaeological remains, and architecture.

• The MS in Art Conservation is offered in collaboration with the Winterthur Museum & Country Estate.  It is a three-year course leading to a Master of Science in Art Conservation. The curriculum is designed to educate and train conservation professionals who can carry out the examination, analysis, stabilization and treatment of art and artifacts, speak to general principles of collection care, and have a broad academic background in science and the humanities.

• The PhD  program in Preservation Studies is in collaboration with the Center for Material Culture Studies at the University of Delaware.  The Preservation Studies Program (PSP) is an interdisciplinary doctoral course of study that will teach the philosophies, research methodologies, and policies informing preservation efforts focused on art, architecture, landscapes, and material culture. It is distinct from other discipline-based courses of graduate study in that it provides a mechanism to combine cross-field expertise toward doctoral study in preservation. The PSP prepares students to address questions regarding individual objects and works of art, collections, buildings and structures, and sites and landscapes.  The Preservation Studies doctoral program builds on unique and distinguished programs at the University of Delaware and is administered within the College of Arts and Sciences. The PSP may involve collaboration with faculty and physical resources in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Agriculture, Engineering, Human Services, Education, and Public Policy, Marine Studies, and the Winterthur Museum (which is already a collaborative partner with the University of Delaware for two graduate programs related to this new Ph.D. program).

• The Master of Arts in Historic Preservation prepares professionals for the successful practice of historic preservation in public, private, and non-profit venues.  Students are prepared in the theory and practice of historic preservation.  The specific skills that will be developed are: analysis and documentation of historic resources, practice of preservation planning, contextual research design, and advocacy. The program is designed to meet the needs of both traditional graduate students and working professionals, with graduates having the skills and knowledge to work with a wide variety of populations and in diverse settings.  The program provides opportunity to pursue specific areas of emphasis within historic preservation, including (but not limited to): planning, museum studies, material culture, documentation and analysis, non-profit leadership, vernacular architecture and landscapes, geographic information systems, and design.

Denver University offers several degrees that prepare students for working in a museum environment: a BFA in Pre-Art Conservation, an MA in Anthropology with a concentration in Museum and Heritage Studies, or an MA in Art History with a concentration in museum studies. 

The course of study to earn a BFA in Pre-Art Conservation students desiring to enter graduate programs to train to become art conservators or to enter an art materials safty profession. It requires intensive work in chemistry, languages, art history and studio art, as well as training in the senior year under the supervision of the chief conservator at the Denver Art Museum. One semester in Florence, Italy during the junior year is highly recommended in order to continue conservation studies under the conservators at Studio Art Centers International.  Students participate in the group BFA exhibition at the conclusion of their studies.

Both the Anthropology and Art History Museum Studies Concentration programs have joint course offerings in conservation, information technology, and museum management. Both programs benefit from institutional ties between DU and the Denver Art Museum and Denver Museum of Nature and Science, providing students with research, internship and job opportunities. Other Denver-area museums and cultural organizations offer ampleinternship and job opportunities.

The majority of students seeking an MA in Art History choose to complete the museum studies concentration. Alumni have gone on to diverse and rewarding careers in the museum world. Our partnership with the Denver Art Museum forms a central part of the museum studies program.

Candidates for an M.A. degree in Anthropology with a concentration in MHS are expected to achieve graduate competence in anthropology as a whole, along with their specialization in MHS.  Ideally, we train students to be practicing anthropologists in museums and related cultural institutions.  Both generalist and specialist training in museum and heritage studies are provided for students interested in working in different sizes and types of museums, cultural institutions, archaeological and heritage sites.  The program's goal is to train museum professionals, but to also provide students with an understanding of the larger sociocultural, economic, and political contexts in which museums exist and how they influence museums and museum practices.  The Museum Studies concentration in the Department of Anthropology prepares students to be both scholars and practitioners. The program rests on the philosophy that anthropology should be in service to both science and the public, and that cultural work is an essential and valuable part of social life. Students are trained, both academically and professionally, to meet the many challenges of cultural work in contemporary society.

Master of Arts in Art and Certificate in Museum Studies is offered. 

Courses leading to the certificate are designed to educate students in museum practices in preparation for entry into the museum profession. The curriculum includes instruction in the historical development and philosophical basis of collections, exhibitions and their design, and curatorship. A museum internship is required. The Certificate in Museum Studies may be undertaken as a self-contained program, or may be taken in conjunction with the Master of Arts in Art degree or, by special permission, with other graduate degrees in the university. Studies incorporate required prerequisites and 24 units of upper-division and graduate classes.

School offers two degree programs, an Associate of Arts in Museum Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Museum Studies. Or a student may minor in Museum Studies.

Designed from a Native American perspective of the world to assist and direct Indigenous ways of seeing, presenting, and caring for important cultural arts and artifacts throughout North America; Graduates from this program work in positions such as collections managers, curators, education managers, museum directors, and repatriation officers.

SAIC prepares the graduate student for entry into institutions, organizations, and workplaces through the integration of theory and practice and by stressing the importance of access and agency within the world at large. Students have many avenues of study that would prepare them for work in a museum setting. Among the degrees offered are the following:

• Master of Arts in Arts Administration and Policy
• Master of Arts in Art Education
• Master of Arts in Modern Art History, Theory, and Criticism
• Master of Science in Historic Preservation
• dual degree in Modern Art History, Theory, and Criticism and Arts Administration and Policy
• Certificate in Historic Preservation is available to students pursuing a Master of Architecture or a Master of Architecture with an Emphasis in Interior Architecture tracks

"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."
 

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.