Museum Studies programs?

October 10, 2005 5:10 PM

I'm considering an MA degree in Museum Studies. Can anyone offer any insider information on North American programs - which offer the best training, which are considered reputable by Museum professionals, etc. Thanks!

My areas of interest include collections management and curatorial studies. If you are a former student of a museum studies program and have any additional advice, I would be very appreciative!

posted by ananas to Education (8 answers total)

Just be careful that this is really what you want to spend the rest of your career doing. Because Museum Studies is a technical degree and not an academic discipline, the training can be relatively useless if you go on to work outside the field.

That said, in my region Tufts' program is well respected. Bank Street's is, as well, but it is strongly geared toward education, so I'd steer clear of that with your interests. I have worked with many of Cooperstown's graduates. They receive excellent training for those interested in management and administration, their true strength. Cooperstown cultivates a professional polish. GW is known for being strong in material culture and American studies background.
posted by Miko at 5:36 PM on October 10, 2005

I'm an anthropology student who's worked at UPenn's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, and known quite a few museum studies people. I'd recommend my Alma Mater, University of Delaware. They work pretty closely with Winterthur, the DuPont estate-turned-museum. I believe you can do Museum Studies at the graduate level, or at least get curatorial training. Check their website, and e-mail Dr. Luann DeCunzo if it looks good - she's an anthro prof with heavy ties to Winterthur, and can give you a better idea about programs and UD's offerings than I can


I'd also recommend University of Pennsylvania - they're an extremely good school, with a wonderful museum right there for you to work in :) The summer I spent there was unbelievably happy.

Good luck!
posted by kalimac at 5:37 PM on October 10, 2005

I've heard bad things about GW, but all of the others seem to do all right. You might also check out Texas Tech's program. Gary Edson is the director and they have some great faculty. If you have a musuem job that is flexible (and have a boss that is willing to invest in education) you should look at Leicester's distance learning program. Leicester has the world's best program and you will not find a program that gives you better exposure to the literature. (Be warned though, you lose a lot of the experience by not doing it on campus.)
posted by jmgorman at 7:03 PM on October 10, 2005

You should also note that administrators often report better perfomance by workers who earned a Museum Studies certificate as part of another master's program (history, anthro, etc.). I think those students are not as familiar with the literature and the diversity of best practices, but that is what the bosses say.
posted by jmgorman at 7:06 PM on October 10, 2005

You should also note that administrators often report better perfomance by workers who earned a Museum Studies certificate as part of another master's program (history, anthro, etc.). I think those students are not as familiar with the literature and the diversity of best practices, but that is what the bosses say.

I'd agree...content knowledge is harder to come by outside of a structured program, whereas you can do fairly well with best practices in a certificate program -- or even through strategically chosen conferences and staying up on the literature.
posted by Miko at 9:26 PM on October 10, 2005

Williams College Their graduates get many of the best jobs in the country in art history/museum studies. If you are interested in non-art museum work, it's probably not relevant.
posted by cushie at 1:53 PM on October 11, 2005

Response by poster: Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely follow up on the recommended schools/programs.

Are there any Canadian Museum professionals who can offer input, re: Canadian programs and job placement?
posted by ananas at 7:45 PM on October 17, 2005

Response by poster: Sorry, but a point of clarification: Miko, are you saying that those completing a certificate in Museum Studies (whilst pursuing an MA in another discipline) have an advantage over MA Museum Studies students? Or that a structured MA Museum studies program offers more comprehensive training in best practices...
posted by ananas at 7:56 PM on October 17, 2005