Museum Studies: programme outline
MA:12 months full-time; 24 months part-time (180 credits)
Postgraduate Diploma: 9 months full-time; 18 months part-time (120 credits)
MPrac: 24 months full-time; 48 months part-time (260 credits)
Postgraduate Certificate: 18 months part-time (60 credits)
Modules are also available on a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) basis
Museum Studies (MS) is intended to train students to work in a variety of roles in public sector institutions ranging from major national and local authority museums to small independent ones. This programme will:
- expose you to many types of curatorship, from the care of historic collections to the curation of contemporary society;
- give you the understanding of where your professional vocation lies – to find your ideal place in the sector; and,
- allow you to develop flexible skills so that you can work in different kinds of institutions, and with different kinds of collections; this will help you when looking for work or career development.
Who is this Programme for?
Alumni of the Museum Studies programme have followed a variety of career paths, ranging from curators of social history, archaeology, and craft, to access, outreach, learning and exhibitions officers, to managers. The Masters in Museum Studies is also an excellent preparation for students who would like to pursue doctoral research.
Programme Structure
The programme begins with the compulsory modules Issues and Ideas, Management and Communication and Interpretation. These modules offer you an important opportunity to develop your awareness of the workings of the museum, gallery and heritage sector as a whole and the common concerns and interests across it. While you will rub shoulders with students from other programmes, you will also engage in programme-specific seminars in which we will consider the particular ways in which the sector-wide issues relate to museum work.
You then proceed to a further compulsory specialist module, Collections Management, followed by one of the elective specialised modules: Archaeology, History, Interpretation and Exhibitions, Natural Sciences or Heritage, Education & Interpretation 2. If you have an appropriate art background you may opt to take the specialised module on Art Curatorship 2. In these modules, you will develop curatorial skills relating to the care, interpretation, display and exhibition of museum collections.
After the elective module, you undertake an 8-week Work Placement in a museum. This in turn is followed by the Dissertation assignment (masters students only), in which you will produce a 12,000-15,000-word dissertation on an aspect of museum studies to be agreed with your supervisor.
MA/PgDip full-time study (12 months) |
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Autumn Term |
Spring Term |
Summer Term |
Issues & Ideas |
Dissertation |
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Management |
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Communication & Interpretation |
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MPrac full-time study (24 months) |
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Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Students follow the MA schedule |
Museum work-based Placement |
PgCert part-time study (18 months) |
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Issues & Ideas |
Work-based project |
Programme delivery and assessment
All modules in these programmes are delivered through lectures, seminars, workshops and study visits. Specialised modules include hands-on practical sessions, and project work. You will also have a lot of opportunities to have discussions with professionals in your field.
Assessments in these programmes include essay and report writing, presentations, group-work based projects such as an exhibition development and oral history interviews, and self-reflective statements.
Are you interested in applying?
Information about entrance requirements, tuition fees and funding opportunities for these programmes is available on our How to Apply section.