Core Concentrations
Museum Studies Core
The students must complete at least 15 credit hours of course work at the graduate
level in a Museum Studies concentration: Administration, Collections
Management, Exhibition Development or Design. Other departments
including American Studies, Anthropology and History offer Museum
related courses that may be credited toward the Museum Studies concentration
with approval of your Museum Studies advisor. A student may also choose not
to specialize, but to take Museum Studies courses in several areas for
training as a generalist.
Administration
An examination of the non-profit sector in the United States and the role of museums within
this sector including the concept of trusteeship, governance within United States
museums, policy formation and implementation, project management, leadership and marketing.
Core Courses:
MSTD 202: Museum Administration (fall or spring)
MSTD 203: Fiscal Management (spring)
MSTD 205: Special Topics: Managing People, Managing Projects (fall)
MSTD 297.13: Special Topics: Leading Change in Museums (spring)
MSTD 297.11: Special Topics: Marketing the Museum (summer)
Collections Management/Preventive Conservation
A study of the legal and ethical issues which form the basis for drafting sound collections
policies and the implementation of policies through the establishment of effective
procedures concerning documentation, movement, and care of collection
objects with an emphasis on preventive conservation.
Core Courses:
MSTD 215: Collections Management: Legal and Ethical Issues (fall)
MSTD 216: Collections Management II: Practical Applications (fall or spring)
MSTD 232: Preventive Conservation I (fall or summer)
MSTD 233: Preventive Conservation II (spring)
MSTD 297 Archival Practices (spring or summer)
Exhibition Development
A study of the exhibition process from the point of initial research, through artistic conception,
planning and budgeting. The team approach is stressed with attention given
to contributions by the curator, designer, educator and audience advocates.
Core Courses:
MSTD 227: Museum Evaluation (spring)
MSTD 270: Museum Exhibition: Curatorial Research and Planning (fall)
MSTD 271: Museum Exhibition: Conceptual Design (fall)
MSTD 271: Museum Exhibition: Design Processes (spring)
MSTD 272: Exhibition Development: Script Development (fall or spring)
Visit the Masters Degree Courses page for detailed course descriptions.
Academic Core
The student must complete at least 15 credit hours of course work at the graduate level in an Academic
Core discipline: American Studies, Anthropology, History or an appropriate interdisciplinary combination.
American Studies:
American Studies offers broad interdisciplinary training in cultural history,
with concentrations in museums and material culture, folk life, and historic
preservation. The American Studies department maintains close affiliations
with the Smithsonian Institution, the National Park Service, and other
local cultural resource management institutions, using their personnel and
resources as a regular part of its curriculum and for internship opportunities.
Anthropology:
Museum Studies students with a core in Anthropology
are subject to specific requirements. The Department of Anthropology requires
that the academic portion of the comprehensive exam be defined by two
of the four anthropology sub-disciplines: biological anthropology, sociocultural
anthropology, anthropological linguistics and anthropological archaeology.
History:
The History department offers graduate classes in traditional topics such as American
and European history, as well as newer areas of inquiry such as the colonial
and imperial studies and the history of recent science.
Electives
The student must complete
two electives (six credit hours). Students may select Museum Studies
courses, Academic Core courses or additional internships.
Some Museum Studies special topic courses are:
- MSTD 297.10: Special Topics: Seminar on Cultural Property (spring thematically related to Collections Management)
MSTD 297.10 Digital Imaging (summer)
- MSTD 297.12: Special Topics: Historic House Interpretation (fall thematically related to Exhibition Development)