Which Grad Program to choose??
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BDE
May 5, 2009, 9:57:44 AM5/5/09
to AAM-EMP
This is a question, and probably an obvious one, to those of you who
have either started or have already been to Graduate School.
Currently, I am working at a very small research library with an
expanding art collection which focuses solely on that of the Sporting
Genre (horse and field sports, racing, hunting, shooting, fishing) as
the Curatorial Assistant. This is excellent experience considering
how small our staff is, because my position incorporates that of the
curator, registrar, collections manager, exhibition designer and
research assistant. I love getting all these different types of
experience, however it is not exactly helping me narrow down what I'd
like to focus on in Grad School.
Originally, I thought I'd like to go into Museum Studies or Library
Science however, now I think I'm more interested in either Museum
Studies or Art History. Eventually, I would like to be a higher-level
Curator or Arts Administrator.
Can anyone suggest which program to focus on, or at least give me a
run down of which positions I would be best suited for with either a
Museum Studies MA, or an Art History MA (maybe eventually working
towards a PhD)? I'm sure that list huge and probably overlaps, but
I'm really trying to narrow my field of interest and decide which MA
would be best for me.
Thank you so much for any help you can give me!!
have either started or have already been to Graduate School.
Currently, I am working at a very small research library with an
expanding art collection which focuses solely on that of the Sporting
Genre (horse and field sports, racing, hunting, shooting, fishing) as
the Curatorial Assistant. This is excellent experience considering
how small our staff is, because my position incorporates that of the
curator, registrar, collections manager, exhibition designer and
research assistant. I love getting all these different types of
experience, however it is not exactly helping me narrow down what I'd
like to focus on in Grad School.
Originally, I thought I'd like to go into Museum Studies or Library
Science however, now I think I'm more interested in either Museum
Studies or Art History. Eventually, I would like to be a higher-level
Curator or Arts Administrator.
Can anyone suggest which program to focus on, or at least give me a
run down of which positions I would be best suited for with either a
Museum Studies MA, or an Art History MA (maybe eventually working
towards a PhD)? I'm sure that list huge and probably overlaps, but
I'm really trying to narrow my field of interest and decide which MA
would be best for me.
Thank you so much for any help you can give me!!
Ansley Simmons
May 5, 2009, 12:53:49 PM5/5/09
to aam...@googlegroups.com
Hi, Brenna - At Florida State University, you can do an MA in Arts Administration with a Certificate in Museum Studies, Art Museum Education, or Program Evaluation. Any of those Certificates would serve your needs (Program Evaluation would diversify you and make you exceptionally valuable to any institution). You can find more information on the MA by visiting http://www.fsu.edu/~are/pages/program/artsadmin.shtml, Museum Studies at http://www.fsu.edu/~ms/, Art Museum Education at http://www.fsu.edu/~are/pages/documents/worddoc/Certificate%20in%20Art%20Museum%20Education.doc, and Program Evaluation at http://www.fsu.edu/~elps/progeval/programs/certificate.html. I hope this all helps! If you would like some more information, don't hesitate to contact me or anyone on the sites provided. I promise we're all friendly folks.
Best wishes,
Ansley
________________________________
Ansley Simmons
MFA in Photography
Arts Administration Doctoral Student
Art Museum Education Certificate
Florida State University
Best wishes,
Ansley
________________________________
Ansley Simmons
MFA in Photography
Arts Administration Doctoral Student
Art Museum Education Certificate
Florida State University
futurecu...@gmail.com
May 6, 2009, 11:02:58 AM5/6/09
to AAM-EMP
Hi
In a lot of ways I'm in the same boat you are. My undergraduate degree
was in history but I had a minor in Art History and I still can't
decide if I want to work in an art museum or a history museum. I
currently go to school at the University of Missouri - St. Louis in
their Museum Studies program. I plan on getting my PhD later after I'm
hired by an institution and I can decide on an emphasis. It all
depends on where you see yourself working. If you see yourself in a
large institution like the Met or the Smithsonian, then you need to
get a PhD to be a curator. I too worked as a curatorial assistant n a
small museum at a medical school and I loved it. Our curator had no
formal training but she worked under the previous curator. In small
museums who you know matters more than what you know (then again the
same could be said for large museums), If you understand how that
particular museum works then you can almost always get the job. The
point is where you work dictates what you need. I would recommend a
masters program in museum studies just so that you can keep up with
the latest museum discussions, but if you want to stay in small
museums, the experience matters WAY more than the schooling. You need
to decide what exactly about your job you love. Then you can decide if
you want to work as a registrar, curator or exhibit designer. That
will help you shape your focus and narrow your grad school decisions.
During your schooling you'll get a better understanding of what each
position does and where you should go to achieve your goals.
Hope that helped some :)
In a lot of ways I'm in the same boat you are. My undergraduate degree
was in history but I had a minor in Art History and I still can't
decide if I want to work in an art museum or a history museum. I
currently go to school at the University of Missouri - St. Louis in
their Museum Studies program. I plan on getting my PhD later after I'm
hired by an institution and I can decide on an emphasis. It all
depends on where you see yourself working. If you see yourself in a
large institution like the Met or the Smithsonian, then you need to
get a PhD to be a curator. I too worked as a curatorial assistant n a
small museum at a medical school and I loved it. Our curator had no
formal training but she worked under the previous curator. In small
museums who you know matters more than what you know (then again the
same could be said for large museums), If you understand how that
particular museum works then you can almost always get the job. The
point is where you work dictates what you need. I would recommend a
masters program in museum studies just so that you can keep up with
the latest museum discussions, but if you want to stay in small
museums, the experience matters WAY more than the schooling. You need
to decide what exactly about your job you love. Then you can decide if
you want to work as a registrar, curator or exhibit designer. That
will help you shape your focus and narrow your grad school decisions.
During your schooling you'll get a better understanding of what each
position does and where you should go to achieve your goals.
Hope that helped some :)
museumresearch
May 7, 2009, 12:27:43 PM5/7/09
to AAM-EMP
Hello,
The program I am in could work for you, you can kind of tailor it to
your needs and it is fairly broad.
There is a lot of focus on administration but equal emphasis on
evaluation of visitor experience and
services. It is a 100% online program and we have students from all
over-even deployed in Iraq. It
is the Museum Studies program in the liberal studies dept at the
University of Oklahoma. You can
check it out at ou.edu/cls/ Good Luck! Lisa
The program I am in could work for you, you can kind of tailor it to
your needs and it is fairly broad.
There is a lot of focus on administration but equal emphasis on
evaluation of visitor experience and
services. It is a 100% online program and we have students from all
over-even deployed in Iraq. It
is the Museum Studies program in the liberal studies dept at the
University of Oklahoma. You can
check it out at ou.edu/cls/ Good Luck! Lisa
Nathan Richie
May 7, 2009, 1:34:03 PM5/7/09
to museumresearch, AAM-EMP
I would recommend checking out Marjorie Schwarzer's book: What Students Need to Know : Graduate Training in Museum Studies
Nathan
Cristina
May 7, 2009, 4:27:11 PM5/7/09
to AAM-EMP
Which route probably has a lot to do with what type of institution you
see yourself in. For curatorships at larger art museums, a graduate
degree in the relevant discipline is often required. For example, at
my institution newly hired curators need to have a PhD (or be
finishing one) in the area they are being hired for. Curatorial
assistants usually need a Master's.
On the other hand, a collections position or administrative career may
be better off with a broader practical degree such as in Museum
Studies or Arts Administration, especially for someone who likes doing
a little bit of everything. I did a Museum Studies degree partially
because I am interested in many kinds of museums, as opposed to being
introduced in a particular academic field or collection type.
Since you seem to want to stick to art museums, to keep your options
open you may want to do an Art History MA combined with a Museum
Studies certificate. You could then always chose to go on to a PhD at
a later date, if your career path was heading in that direction.
Whatever you choose, good luck!
On May 7, 10:34 am, Nathan Richie <nrichie...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I would recommend checking out Marjorie Schwarzer's book: What Students Need
> to Know : Graduate Training in Museum Studieshttp://www.allbookstores.com/book/9780931201745/Marjorie_Schwarzer/Wh...
>
> Nathan
see yourself in. For curatorships at larger art museums, a graduate
degree in the relevant discipline is often required. For example, at
my institution newly hired curators need to have a PhD (or be
finishing one) in the area they are being hired for. Curatorial
assistants usually need a Master's.
On the other hand, a collections position or administrative career may
be better off with a broader practical degree such as in Museum
Studies or Arts Administration, especially for someone who likes doing
a little bit of everything. I did a Museum Studies degree partially
because I am interested in many kinds of museums, as opposed to being
introduced in a particular academic field or collection type.
Since you seem to want to stick to art museums, to keep your options
open you may want to do an Art History MA combined with a Museum
Studies certificate. You could then always chose to go on to a PhD at
a later date, if your career path was heading in that direction.
Whatever you choose, good luck!
On May 7, 10:34 am, Nathan Richie <nrichie...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I would recommend checking out Marjorie Schwarzer's book: What Students Need
>
> Nathan
Julia Unger
May 17, 2009, 4:32:21 PM5/17/09
to aam...@googlegroups.com
Hi Everyone,
This is a question for those of you who work at Children's Museums (or other
more "active" museums), as it's related to visitor injuries. If you have a
few moments to answer the following questions, I would be very grateful.
Do you reimburse for medical expenses when a child gets injured at your
facility?
If yes, under what circumstances and what is the process to determine that
payment is warranted?
Are there limits? Exceptions?
If you do not offer reimbursement, what do you tell the customer/guest? How
is your policy phrased?
Thanks you for your feedback...
Julia Unger
Visitor Experience & Volunteer Coordinator
The New Children's Museum
jun...@thinkplaycreate.org
t 619 233 8792 x122
f 619 233 8796
200 West Island Avenue
San Diego, California 92101
thinkplaycreate.org
New art and new fun all summer long! Visit our website to learn more about
Keep It New programming at The New Children’s Museum.
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