Program Overview

Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies

The Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies is a comprehensive program designed to provide students with a wide range of topics and challenges in the museum field. The program includes six core courses and one elective or internship, totaling 18 credits.

Required Courses

• Anthro 620 – Museum Fundamentals (3 credits, Fall Semester): This course introduces students to various topics and challenges in the museum field, including governance, ethics, collections, exhibition, research, education, marketing, and development.
• Anthro 720 – History and Theory of Museums (2 credits, Fall Semester): This course explores the history of museums and their changing social and cultural roles through seminar discussions and readings from several disciplines.
• Anthro 721 – Administration and Organization of Museums (3 credits, Spring Semester): This course focuses on management and administration, organizational structure, and the qualities and skills required of museum leaders, with a focus on the changing nature of museums in the 21st century.
• Anthro 722 – Visitor Experience Design in Museums (3 credits, Spring Semester): This course provides a practical guide to understanding the elements of the museum visitor experience, exploring experience design within the frameworks of marketing, exhibit design, and educational programming.
• Anthro 723 – Museum Collections Management and Curation (3 credits, Fall Semester): This course covers basic knowledge and skills for curating and managing museum collections, including methods and techniques used in collections registration and documentation, risk management, and preventive conservation.
• Anthro 725 – Professionalism Capstone in Museum Studies (1 credit, Spring Semester): This course prepares students for professional museum employment through assignments such as resume and cover letter writing, job searching, and professional networking, along with discussions of topical issues with museum professionals.

Elective/Internship Options

• Anthro 621 – Internship in Museum Studies (Each Semester): An internship provides in-depth practical experience in a chosen subfield of museum studies, with opportunities to specialize in areas such as education or marketing.
• Museum Studies Elective Courses: Various departments at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee offer courses that supplement the Museum Studies Program curriculum and fulfill the required elective.

Program Requirements

For students entering the program beginning Fall 2019 and thereafter, the formal program includes six core courses and one elective or internship, totaling 18 credits. The elective may be taken at any time, preferably after completion of Anthro 620. The elective must have relevance to the field of museum studies and must be approved by the Museum Studies Program Coordinators and the student's advisor before the student enrolls in the course.

Prior Curriculum

For those who began the program up to Fall 2018, students must complete the four required courses (and the elective/Anthro 724 internship) in a specific sequence to fulfill the certificate requirements under the prior curriculum:

• Anthro 720, History and Theory of Museums
• Anthro 721, Administration and Organization of Museums
• Anthro 723, Museum Collections Management and Curation
• Anthro 722, Visitor Experience Design in Museums

Graduate Student Grievance Procedures

Federal law and UWM policy require programs and departments to have procedures for graduate students to appeal academic decisions such as grades or scholastic standing, ensuring the protection of students' rights.