Best Universities offering graduate programs in Museum, Museology and Curatorial Studies

The Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) in Museum Studies program at Harvard College provides students with in-depth knowledge of twenty-first-century museum operations, such as program development and evaluation, visitor engagement and education, collections care and research, fundraising, marketing, and legal issues. Students learn more about exhibition conception and design, museum technology, public outreach, communications, and social media.

The free-standing MA in Museum Anthropology is a professional degree for those who work in or want to work in museums. This program combines the strengths of a leading academic department of anthropology and an innovative museum anthropology department, whose collections and archives span the discipline's history and global scope. Students in the program are prepared to interpret ethnographic and archaeological collections to the general public, work in registration or collections management, and become scientific, educational, or research staff at various levels at facilities ranging from small local museums to larger institutions.

The MA in Museum Studies program offers the theory and practice of all aspects of the museum field, teaching innovative skills and knowledge to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Museums are more relevant today than ever before. They are responsible for cultural stewardship and serve as a gathering place for communities; a space for reflection, interaction, participation, and learning (onsite and online); and act as an agent of social change.

Prepare for 21st-century museum leadership and stewardship with a master’s degree in museum studies at Johns Hopkins. With a focus on technology’s role in the field, the program explores how museums can attract new visitors, increase engagement, and transform experiences for today’s diverse audiences.

Access your course work — and collections from museums around the world — from wherever you are. Available 90% online, the MA in Museum Studies program is flexible enough to fit your scheduling needs and also highly interactive, providing an enriching learning experience filled with virtual field trips and engaging discussions.

The Art and Museum Studies core course and electives are designed to stimulate discussion and to provide first-hand experience of museum specializations. Students may emphasize academic study of art and museums or an area of professional museum work such as education or curatorship, but all members of the program will have some experience in both kinds of study. Most courses meet frequently at area museums. The sample courses listed here are for general information only seminar topics vary from year to year.

The two-year master's program in Art History and Museum Studies integrates the theoretical study of art history with practical concerns of displaying, managing, and interpreting art objects in a variety of museum settings. After completing the degree, you will be well prepared for careers in museums, art galleries, art publishing, museum education, teaching, art libraries, visual resource collection, or auction houses.

Designed for those hoping to work in art collection-related fields, the master's program in Art History and Museum Studies, offered by the Department of the History of Art and Architecture, provides advanced qualifications in art history and a broad introduction to museum work. As a student in the program, you'll take courses in art history and museum studies simultaneously. With the consultation of a faculty advisor, you'll also complete independent research and either a thesis or two qualifying papers.

The Master of Arts degree requires completion of 32 points, of which at least 24 must be within the Program in Museum Studies. Students must complete five core courses. Three core courses provide an understanding of the historical and theoretical ground of current museum practice, both nationally and internationally, History and Theory of Museums, MSMS-GA 1500; a focused introduction to the creation of exhibitions and the management of collections, Museum Collections and Exhibitions, MSMS-GA 1501; and a comprehensive account of the administrative, strategic, and financial aspects of museum management, Museum Management, MSMS-GA 1502. Students also enroll in the Museum Studies Research Seminar, MSMS-GA 3991; write an M.A. thesis; and enroll in Internship, MSMS-GA 3990, a project-based, 200-hour internship in a museum or appropriate cultural institution. Students must successfully complete Internship, MSMS-GA 3990, with a grade of B or better to receive the degree.

In addition to this broad grounding, students take four electives related to their particular interests: at least two courses in museum studies, and, if the student so chooses, one or two courses within a discipline connected to the sort of museum in which the student intends to work (history, anthropology, art history, etc.). The M.A. program must be completed within five years of admission.

Museum Studies is an interdisciplinary program that serves multiple departments in the Colleges of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Fine and Applied Arts and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. It is housed in the Department of Anthropology. The program offers a graduate minor in museum studies, effective Fall 2009. It also offers an undergraduate curriculum and serves as an informal hub of museum-related research on campus.

Museum Studies courses are offered each fall and spring term. The full range of courses is described below. Please check the university course information pages to see which courses are available for a specific term.

The Master of Arts program in Museum Education is a program of study within the art education department at Boston University. Students learn to teach visual art in a museum setting, to design curricula for museum educational programs, and to perform curatorial and administrative duties associated with departments of museum education. The program prepares students to address the contemporary educational needs of an art museum through training in education, museum studies, and arts administration. Skills gained are also applicable to art education programming in history and science museums.

Museum education students take courses from three University departments: art history, art education, and arts administration. The Master of Arts in Museum Education program is designed for students who have earned BA or BFA degrees in visual arts or art history and who wish to teach in cultural institutions other than public schools.

The Museology Graduate Program at the UW actively encourage students to try out as many different things as possible. Internships, classes, community events, research projects—all of these are great ways to explore what truly inspires the students. The courses are problem-based. Students think creatively and collaborate to design and build exhibits, create and evaluate educational programs, write grants and care for collections. The curriculum prepares students to work in museums as well as a broad range of other cultural organizations from parks to libraries to the symphony. The department emphasize transferable skills in learning and education, evaluation, design, and nonprofit management, which means our graduates can be innovators across museums and beyond.

The Museum Education Program at GW prepares graduates as professional practitioners to meet the needs and interests of the public in museums and other lifelong learning environments. Students complete internships that provide real-world application of museum education and leadership principles. Graduates of the program take on positions as education directors, development and fundraising officers, event planners, docent/volunteer coordinators, and community-relationship coordinators.

There is no better place to examine museum education than in the heart of our nation's capital, Washington, DC. With close proximity to the White House, the Smithsonian Institution, Newseum, art galleries, and other national monuments, students are provided with rich environments to work, attend scholarly events, and hone their analytical skills.

Museum Education Program students balance academic study with supervised fieldwork at world-class institutions, where they build their skills and reputation as advocates for museum accessibility and accountability.