Program Overview

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Museum Studies Concentration

The Museum Studies concentration offers a broad-based training in how to build relationships between history and public audiences, focusing on the theory and practice of telling stories through museums, historic sites, and other cultural institutions. It introduces students to the tools that public historians use; examines contemporary models for how best to reach audiences in ways that make history meaningful; and offers concrete experience in the development of public projects, collaboration, and leadership.

Program Overview

Students in the program build a broad and powerful skill set as public historians. The core skills of the historian—gathering and reading evidence, analyzing, and writing—are powerful, transferable skills that will serve students well in any part of the public history field. The program trains students to conduct oral interviews, interpret images and documentary evidence, deploy digital tools, "read" material culture, decode buildings and landscapes, and analyze how citizens use history in their daily lives.

Career Opportunities

If you concentrate in Museum Studies within History, you could work at a museum, historic site, or other public history venue as:

• Curator
• Educator
• Exhibit developer/planner
• Collections manager
• Director/administrator
• Media developer (web sites, radio documentaries, video)
• Marketing/public relations director

Practical Experience

Every semester, students complete projects that make a difference in the region, such as:

• Opening a museum exhibit
• Documenting overlooked communities through oral history
• Creating tours of historic neighborhoods
• Organizing the collections of an understaffed local museum
• Designing interactive websites
• Helping a Main Street get on the national register

Community Connection

The program serves as a significant resource for the region, building ongoing relationships with area history organizations, including:

• International Civil Rights Center and Museum
• Old Salem
• Greensboro History Museum
• Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
• High Point Museum
• North Carolina Humanities
• NC Museum of History
• Weatherspoon Art Museum

Faculty Involvement

Participation from a range of faculty gives the program breadth, with a premium on good teaching. Faculty members include:

• Anne Parsons, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Director of Public History
• Lisa Tolbert, Ph.D., Professor

What We Do

The program features various projects and events, such as:

• Roots of Resistance: The Tuchyn Story
• More Than Just a Home: Historic Magnolia House
• Patient No More: People with Disabilities Securing Civil Rights

Where We Go

Alumni from the program have obtained jobs with museums, historic sites, government agencies, and private firms across the country, including:

• Missouri Historical Society
• LBJ Presidential Library and Museum
• Kansas Historical Society
• Petersburg National Battlefield
• Rhode Island Historical Society
• Kentucky Historical Society
• James A. Garfield National Historic Site
• Stratford Hall Plantation
• Monticello
• Westchester Township History Museum (Chesterton, IN)
• Historical Museum of Southern Florida
• Town of Windsor Museum (CO)
• Orange County Historical Society (NC)
• Sagamore Institute of the Adirondacks
• Hampton Roads Naval Museum
• Alliance for Historic Hillsborough (NC)
• DAR Museum (Washington, D.C.)
• Roanoke Island Festival Park (NC)
• Shirley Plantation (VA)
• Thomas Wolfe Memorial Historic Site
• Newberry Library (Chicago)

Internships

With guidance and assistance from the faculty, students gain experience and explore the field through internships at institutions such as:

• National Museum of American History
• Chicago History Museum
• Oakland Museum of California
• Minnesota Historical Society
• Humanities Tennessee
• North Carolina Museum of History
• Margaret Mitchell House/Atlanta History Center
• Charleston [SC] Museum
• Petersburg National Battlefield
• Old Salem Museums and Gardens
• Thomas Wolfe Memorial Historic Site
• Stan Hywet Museum and Gardens (Ohio)
• Greensboro Historical Museum
• Newport Historical Society
• International Civil Rights Center and Museum
• Gettysburg National Military Park
• Museum of International Folk Art
• Museums of Old York (Maine)
• Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (Albuquerque)
• Eastern State Penitentiary (Philadelphia)