Master of Arts in Museum studies

The graduate program requires a minimum of 36 semester hours. These include four core courses The Museum: History, Philosophy and Prospects; Collections Management, Issues in Museum Administration, Museum Education. In the last semester there is a required capstone seminar, Capstone: Issues in Museum Administration, which serves to review and synthesize the things students have learned and to begin their transition into museum professionals. There are also elective courses in American Material Culture, American Decorative Arts, Historic Preservation, Archival Management, Ethical Issues in Collections Management, and Design and Management of Museum Exhibits. Students may also take up to six semester hours of classes outside the department. This can provide more depth of knowledge in a specific subject which museums interpret, be it art, history, or science; it can also introduce the student to a potential out-of-department reader for their thesis. All students are required to submit a one-page proposal to the faculty committee by the end of their second semester; the committee will determine which option will work best for the student.