M.A. in Museum Studies: Necessary???
Anne Farrell | MCA San Diego
Ariane,
My two cents, for what it is worth, is that a graduate degree is not
necessary to be a registrar, but that most curatorial positions these days do
require at least an M.A. if not a Ph.D. I am from the group that does NOT
have a grad degree; I started out in a small university museum 20 years ago
as the receptionist, doing a little exhibition design on the side, with a
B.A. in art history. I worked my way up through the ranks, moving on to
bigger jobs in bigger museums, and for the past ten years have been
development director at my museum here in Southern California. Over my
career, I've hired many people; granted, the development function depends a
lot on "track record," but I often have hired people without graduate
training but who DO have some practical work experience in internships or
entry-level jobs. Our registrar began as a registrar's intern, then
assistant, and has now held her position as Registrar for over 10 years.
She, too, only has a B.A. in art history. However, we are in the process of
hiring some junior curatorial staff,and those definitely require an M.A.,
with additional practical experience a big plus.
In terms of certificated programs, I'm not that impressed with them,
personally. I think the time would be better spent actually working in a
museum, even at the most entry-level job. However, I do think that the few
graduate programs that combine academic training and an academic M.A. with
the museum studies curriculum are good -- one that comes to mind is at USC in
Los Angeles (although its focus is art history, not anthropology). I know
that UCLA has a great museum of cultural history (it was where I had my first
museum job!) and that many of the anthro students work or do projects with
the museum; there is also an informal museum studies program, I believe.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
Anne Farrell
Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego
J./B. Moore
I am a curator with a M.A. in art history, but no certificate or degree in
museum studies, and with varied experience in museums. I agree with Anne
Farrell that for curatorial work you do need an ACADEMIC advanced degree,
but that one specifically in museum studies is not required. In large
institutions your academic degree and skills will be more necessary than in
smaller ones, and may even need to be a PhD: in small institutions, the
M.A. will be listed as required or desired but more important will be your
ability to work closely with people--you will be called upon to wear many
more hats and you cannot afford to involve yourself in academic isolation.
Museum studies degrees instead of academic degrees are more crucial in
smaller institutions where the research opportunities are fewer and farther
between--you will use the general museum knowledge more often.
If you want to advance into museum management, however, I would recommend
formal advanced training in both museum studies and business administration
in addition to an advanced academic degree. In the current climate, a PhD
in an academic discipline is nice for a director to have, but the
versatility of business training and breadth of technical knowledge derived
from museum studies training is what will stand him/her in better stead in
the long run.
Again, just my opinion...
Julia Moore
Director of Exhibitions and Artist Services
Indianapolis Art Center
Anne Farrell | MCA San Diego
A few additional thoughts on this subject --
I agree with Julia about the importance of business/management training -- I
went to the Museum Management Institute in '83 (the program managed by the
Getty & AFA, held at U.C.Berkeley), and that month-long, intense experience
was (and still is, 13 years later) invaluable. Had I known I was going to
end up a development director, I would have probably tried to pursue an
M.B.A. right out of undergrad. But since I sort of tumbled into museum work,
I ended up on that "learn by doing " track, and it's turned out fine. In my
field, however, as well as in any kind of museum administration -- one can
really benefit from an M.B.A., especially with an arts or not-for-profit
focus. But I still contend that an effective track record can be equally
valuable; it just depends on the good fortune of finding a museum, a mentor,
and a situation where you can learn and grow.
Anne Farrell
MCA San Diego
Hodcarry
Can't hurt-A lot depends on exactly which area you are interested in in
the long run, but a Ph. D. would be my goal if I were starting out in this
racket. Having said that, the most effective museum professional I worked
with in 25 years of experience was a high school dropout who went from
being a window dresser in a department store to a exhibit worker in a
museum to a director.
Jose A. Ortiz
Ariane,
My experience has been that larger institutions require an advanced
degree for most professional positions. For curatorial, they prefer a
Ph.D. or an MA (at a minimum). I still think that there are
opportunities in smaller musuems--where they are willing to train you.
(My thoughts)
The industry is changing and the requirements for museum jobs seem be be
more demanding. Additionally, there is a new breed of museum
professional that is knowledgeable in areas other than academia---i.e.,
fundraising, financials, community, etc.
Regards,
Jose
--
Jose A. Ortiz
Assistant Manager, The Cloisters
A branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Tel. (212) 650-2289
John Martinson
At 10:19 AM 1/6/97 -0800, you wrote:
>Ariane,
>My experience has been that larger institutions require an advanced
>degree for most professional positions. For curatorial, they prefer a
>Ph.D. or an MA (at a minimum). I still think that there are
>opportunities in smaller musuems--where they are willing to train you.
>
>(My thoughts)
>The industry is changing and the requirements for museum jobs seem be be
>more demanding. Additionally, there is a new breed of museum
>professional that is knowledgeable in areas other than academia---i.e.,
>fundraising, financials, community, etc.
>
>Regards,
>Jose
I agree.
John Martinson
jpm...@bmi.net
College Place, WA