Museum Studies

Polly McKenna-Cress
pmckennacress@uarts.edu
Chairperson
215-717-6328

The Museum Studies Department provides students with the skills and knowledge necessary to promote and enhance the relationship between museums and the public. In all three graduate museum programs, students take core courses addressing the character of museums, the nature of museum audiences, current museum practice, and the theory underlying museum practice.

Lecture courses, seminars, and studio courses allow students to understand the demands of museum practice, to understand past and current issues in the profession, to address the future needs of museums, to meet and talk with professionals in the field, and to acquire hands-on skills in the many areas of museum practice.

Students specialize in the areas of museum exhibition or museum education or pursue a more general course of study focusing on the interface between the museum and the public. Most museum studies courses are open to all museum studies majors, and some are open to students from other departments who are interested in museum practice and professions. A wide range of concepts, experiences, and approaches are encountered, including hands-on visitor studies and on-site internships and practicums; computer skills are developed for use in design, publication, museum record keeping, interactive museum media, and museum outreach via the Web.

Museum Studies graduates find career opportunities as museum educators, creators of museum exhibitions, museum digital media specialists, program specialists, and in the ranks of museum administration dealing with the public: directorships, collections management and display, public relations, development, and related activities in museums, historic sites, zoos, aquariums, botanic gardens, and specialist consultancies.

Museum Communication (Link)

Robert Vosburgh, Jr.
rvosburgh@uarts.edu
Director
215-717-6640

The MA in Museum Communication is a course of study in the contemporary theory and practice of museum work with an emphasis on how communication happens within museums and between the museum and its publics. The program prepares students to work in museum management, external affairs (development, public relations, membership, marketing), publications (including development of online resources) or collection management. People wishing to enter the museum profession, American and international museum professionals seeking a graduate degree in museum studies for professional advancement, and museum volunteers who seek professional credentials to make the transition into professional museum work all can acquire skills, knowledge, and practical training in dealing with the public sector.

Full-time Museum Communication students undertake a three-semester course of study and a six-week (120 hours) internship. Organized within the traditional academic semester framework, students participate in lectures, seminars, workshops, and study visits to museums, historic sites, galleries, and government cultural agencies. Courses welcome visiting scholars and museum professionals to give lectures and hold discussions groups on aspects of museum practice. The Department of Electronic Media and the College of Media and Communication contribute to graduate students’ education through interdepartmental coursework, workshops, seminars, and interdisciplinary special projects. Students conclude their degree program through the submission of a written thesis and thesis defense.

The Department of Museum Studies prepares those who seek careers as collection managers, exhibitor developers, educators, administrators, and external affairs staff. Course content and design, which bridge the academic and the professional, recognize the growing need for specialized museum training in a competitive job market for those with both graduate degrees and museum studies training. Graduates work in museums of anthropology, archeology, fine arts, history, natural history, science centers, zoos, arboretums, and national parks. Others find employment in government agencies, historical societies, historic sites and houses, and with private and corporate collections and foundations.

Applicants to the Masters of Arts in Museum Communication should have demonstrated work experience in the museum field or in related institutions/consultancies or have discipline-based training with the intention of utilizing this specialized training in a museum context. They also should possess a BFA, BA, or BS degree, clear oral and written communication skills, and basic word processing and Internet research skills.

Museum Education (Link)

Helen M. Shannon
hshannon@uarts.edu
Director
215-717-6051

The Master of Arts in Museum Education is a concentrated program focused on the development and implementation of appropriate pedagogical practices and critical/interpretive skills for communicating to the public about culture and the arts. Coursework comprises three distinct areas: a broad education core addressing theory and methods, concentration in museum studies and practices, and a professional core including research and an internship with a cooperating museum.

Applicants should have had a core of at least 40 credits in the arts and/or liberal arts. This degree is an appropriate option for those with a strong commitment to providing educational programming within a museum context or alternative site, as well as for teachers who wish a concentration in museum education so they may utilize museum resources more effectively in the classroom.

The role of museums is changing to meet audience demands, including expectations for more relevant and accessible public educational programming to promote cultural knowledge and interests. This growing trend has created a greater demand for well-trained professionals with special knowledge and expertise in planning and implementing museum programs. The MA in Museum Education focuses on a wide variety of museums and institutions with similar missions and operations and prepares educators to function within the changing context of contemporary schools, museums, and related institutions. The MA in Museum Education may be completed in two semesters and a summer or in three semesters.

The Museum Studies core may be taken separately or in conjunction with the Master of Arts in Teaching in the Visual Arts , or the MFA in Museum Exhibition Planning and Design .

Museum Exhibition Planning and Design (Link)

Polly McKenna-Cress
pmckennacress@uarts.edu
Chairperson, Museum Studies
Director, Museum Exhibition Planning and Design
215-717-6328

Recognized formally by the American Association of Museums since 1981, the field of exhibition planning and design has become a demanding, fast-growing profession as museums respond to the demand for exhibitions addressed to public needs and interests. With the cooperation of a group of major regional museums, following the guidelines established by N.A.M.E. (National Association for Museum Exhibition), The University of the Arts offers a two-year, 60-credit Master of Fine Arts degree that prepares students for professional careers in the development and design of exhibits for museums and other interpretive centers, focusing on methods of presentation for collections, while exploring the full range of exhibition communication and methodology.

Representatives of cooperating museums and the University faculty offer a curriculum that addresses the conceptualization, research, organization, design, and production of museum exhibits and educational presentations, utilizing a variety of techniques and media. It also explores exhibit programming, evaluation, and management methods applicable in a wide range of museum situations. Visiting experts teach many aspects of museum presentation, education, and management, and students make formal visits to design departments, production shops, galleries, exhibits, and programs in numerous museums, service providers, and consultancies in Philadelphia, the Mid-Atlantic Region, Washington, D.C., and New York.

Students undertake a thesis project and a supervised museum internship related to their career interests during the second year of the program. To preserve the intimate contact with museum professionals and to guarantee participants studio facilities, the program is limited to nine entrants per year.

Many candidates for this program have previously completed a baccalaureate degree in industrial, graphic, interior, or architectural design and demonstrate an acceptable level of professional accomplishment through a portfolio or another appropriate means. Alternatively, they may seek admission with a baccalaureate in a discipline related to a particular career direction, and take courses to develop the necessary background in design. Students from non-design, non-art backgrounds are also encouraged to apply.

The first year provides a basic understanding of the exhibition process, with the first semester focused on conceptual development, planning, audience team dynamics, and critical analysis of problems, and the second on the practical implementation of concepts and on understanding materials and methods of exhibition design and production. The second year is dedicated to practice of skills learned during the first year and practical exposure to actual exhibition development practice in museums and museum consultancies. Activities during the final semester are focused primarily on thesis development and completion.

Specialized Facilities

The graduate studios in Museum Exhibition Planning and Design have courses in Computer-Aided Design in the Academic Computing laboratories that are equipped computer centers for drafting, rendering, desktop publishing, computer-aided graphic design, multimedia, and illustration. Students receive some installation experience through the University galleries and regional institutions.