Undergraduate

Museum Studies, Minor

Explore the world of museums and contribute to humanity’s cultural legacy.

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Minor in Museum Studies

Two women on ladders hold up two sides of a painting to hang it on a gallery wall. Women's backs are turned to the camera. — "Museums are a foundation stone for our culture. You’ll be able to engage with them in ways you never thought you could."

Caleb Whittington (B.A. in Classics, minors in Anthropology and Museum Studies, '22)

Graduate Student in Museum Studies, Florida State University

About the Minor in Museum Studies

The College of Liberal Arts offers the interdisciplinary minor in Museum Studies. It is an interdisciplinary field that explores the world of museums, from collections and exhibitions, to education, archives, research, and more.

Museums are conduits for art, culture, history, and science to be shared with the public through exhibitions, educational programming, and collections. These spaces of wonder offer glimpses into who we are as humans, what we value, and how we see, and are seen by the world. Essentially, they are amazing resources from which to teach and learn.

Faculty from anthropology, art, art history, classics, history, and Southern Studies as well as staff at the UM Museum contribute to this program of study. Students are introduced to museum history and practice, affording the opportunity to explore career paths in museums, public history, and public humanities.

The Museum Studies minor provides opportunities for students to visit museums and historical sites across the US and abroad. Students can also gain hands-on experience through internships with museums.

College of Liberal Arts Undergraduates

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Program Information

Degree

Required Credit Hours

Program Type

Minor

Program Location

Oxford

School

College of Liberal Arts

What are some courses you will take to earn a Museum Studies Minor?

Here are some of the classes you may take while earning your Minor in Museum Studies. See all Museum Studies courses.

MUSE 2010: Introduction to Museum Practice

3 credits

This course offers a broad overview of the world of museums, the professionals who work in museums, and the political and ethical issues museums are facing today.

ARTH 4120: History of Museums

3 credits

Students receive a broad introduction to the museum world including where and why the concept of the public art museum emerged and how it continues to shape definitions of art. The course explores the history, role, and function of museums from historical contemporary perspectives and theoretical background. The course discusses collecting art and formation of museums in the U.S., and different types of museums and ways objects are displayed. It also examines different positions and duties in museums, with hands-on experiences and field trips.

Museum Studies Events

The Museum Studies minor hosts programming year round—attend lectures by museum professionals currently working in the field, featured exhibitions, and much more.

All Events

Welcome from the Director

"Museum Studies is an interdisciplinary field that explores the world of museums and all they encompass: collections, exhibitions, education, archives, research, and more. Our faculty from five departments—Art and Art History, Anthropology and Sociology, Classics, History, and Southern Studies—teach a broad range of courses to introduce students to the history and culture of museums and their basic functions as well as current topics and issues facing museums today. The University Museum provides students with the opportunity to explore career paths in museums, public history, and public humanities."

Kariann Fuqua

Instructional Associate Professor of Art, Foundations & Museum Studies, and Director of the Interdisciplinary Minor in Museum Studies

Museum Studies Faculty

Meet the faculty members teaching museum studies courses.

Aileen Ajootian

Professor of Classics & Art

Jackie Dibiasie-Sammons

Associate Professor of Classics and Senior Fellow, North Residential College

Carolyn Freiwald

Professor of Anthropology

Kariann Fuqua

Instructional Associate Professor of Art, Foundations & Museum Studies, and Director of the Interdisciplinary Minor in Museum Studies

Alex Lindgren-Gibson

Associate Professor of History

Kathleen McGuire

Lecturer in American History

Jodi Skipper

Professor of Anthropology and Southern Studies and Anthropology Associate Chair

Jesse Tune

Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director, Center for Archaeological Research

Franny Zawadzki

Instructional Assistant Professor of Art History

Enhance Your Academic Experience with an Internship

According to national surveys, employers are more likely to hire college graduates who have:

had professional internships,
worked with people from diverse backgrounds on community service,
collaborated with peers on projects,
taken multiple courses with significant writing,
produced a senior project or thesis, and
studied abroad.

These experiences are about core liberal arts skills of thinking, communicating, interpersonal skills, and understanding the world around us. Showcase and enhance these skills in an internship opportunity for that first step into the professional world.

We encourage students in Museum Studies to combine coursework with these hands-on, experiential learning opportunities. For example, our students complete museum internships, travel to New York with faculty for a Museums on Location course, and collaborate with peers to install exhibits on campus.

image of Mei Miller sitting outside on a stone wall

Interning at Rowan Oak

“I have always loved going to museums. The Minor in Museum Studies has given me hands-on opportunities that I would not have had otherwise, like setting up and taking down an art gallery and interning at Rowan Oak. I was introduced to the possibility of interning at Rowan Oak through a Museum Studies class in which we were involved in writing and recording part of an audio tour that is currently in use on-site. Since I started, Rowan Oak has given me the opportunity to experience the full spectrum of working at a small historical institution, from visitor services, to creating new signage, to handling the original objects.”

Mei Miller

Museum Studies Minor

Beyond the Classroom

Students can deepen their knowledge of and engagement with topics related to Museum Studies with a variety of opportunities, both on and off campus. For example, many students attend events or volunteer at the UM Museum.

Museum Studies on Location

In recent years, students traveled to New York City with the Museum Studies Director to visit different types of museums, such as the 9/11 Memorial Museum, the Tenement Museum, the Met, the American Museum of Natural History, the Morgan Library, and the Guggenheim. The course used the Discord app for students to post while at the museums and react to classmates.

Installation of Special Exhibits

Students gain practical experience by installing special exhibits on campus. In one example, they installed a traveling exhibition from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. in the UM library. The Americans and the Holocaust exhibit examined the motives, pressures, and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism, war, and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s.

Guest Speakers

Museum Studies co-sponsors speakers on campus. For example, Dr. Elizabeth Marlowe (Colgate University) gave a talk titled "Why Museums Sometimes Lie" to explore how some museums have responded to shifting public opinion around restitution and their strategies to hold onto artworks obtained by dubious means. Robert Parker, Director of the Chickasaw Heritage Center, discussed Leadership Realities in Public History.

What are related careers to Museum Studies?

Museum Director
Curator/Curatorial Assistant
Exhibition Designer/Exhibition
Coordinator Preparator
Collections Manager
Registrar
Education Director
Conservator
Preservationist
Archivist
Librarian
Display Designer

Meet a few Alumni

Reagan Whittington

Lawyer

Meet Reagan

Caleb Whittington

Graduate Student

Meet Caleb

Your Major + Museum Studies

Museum Studies can pair with a wide variety of majors on campus. Here are some likely combinations.

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