Museum Practice and Management - PgDip/MA drafted draft
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Program Overview
This course prepares you for working in the museum sector in UK, Ireland, Europe and internationally. The content will develop your knowledge of issues and practice in the sector, reflecting the requirements of accreditation and standards schemes in UK and Ireland as well as issues explored by the museum profession internationally.
There are four modules in the taught part of the programme:
Museums and Culture: Policies and Values
This module considers the meaning, purposes and impact of museums. It looks at the value of objects, histories of museums as well as issues in relation to governance, museum ethics, social policies and display. It draws on key debates in the museum sector both nationally and internationally and encourages students to reflect upon the potential of museums.
Management and Strategy for the Museum
Issues of management, marketing, finance and strategic planning are core to this module. Module content explores key thinking and principles in these areas and applies them to the museum sector.
Communication and Learning in Museums
The focus of this module is museum communication through exhibition development and learning policies. Units relating to exhibitions focus on the importance of display, writing museum text and evaluation. Lectures also reflect upon contemporary learning theories, how these might be applied in museums, and writing an education policy for a museum. Consideration is also given to engaging lifelong learners and employing new media in museums.
Collections Care and Management
Collections are the basis on which most museum work is developed. This module considers how to make collection management a strategic part of a museum service. It considers the development of standards and accreditation, issues relating to acquisition and disposal of collections as well as documentation. Lectures relating to the care of collections consider preventive conservation; storage; object handling; movement of collections; disaster planning; and the broader context of collections care.
MA Research Project
This module gives students the opportunity to conduct supervised research in an area of museum studies, chosen and undertaken in consultation with their tutors.
Attendance
This is an entirely online programme, with no requirement to attend the Ulster University. However, there is an annual calendar of museum events in Ireland which many students attend and the tutors use as an opportunity to informally meet with students.
Start dates
Teaching, Learning and Assessment
When enrolled you are provided, week by week over a period of 12 weeks, online access to lectures, readings, and discussion topics. Lectures and all required reading can be downloaded via the module area. Each lecture contains discussion topics to encourage dialogue between you, fellow students, and your module tutor. Each module has approximately two assignments. The first assignment is submitted during the module, with feedback within three weeks, and the final assignment is due a fortnight after the module is completed.
On successful completion of 4 modules (a total of 120 credits), you may exit with Postgraduate Diploma in Museum Practice of Management. You also have the option to continue to the research module (60 credits) and exit with Master’s Museum Practice and Management.
Academic profile
Your
Course Director
is Prof Elizabeth Crooke
, Professor of Heritage and Museum Studies at Ulster University.
Elizabeth has close links with the museum sector
Museums Association, National Heritage Lottery Fund
, NI Museums Council, working with local museums (2020-22);Irish Museums Association
(2020-24)Northern Ireland Museums Council
(2015-2021) and current University RepresentativeMuseum Standards Programme Advisory Committee
of the Heritage Council (Ireland)Elizabeth has published three books in museum and heritage studies, as well as many peer reviewed journals and book chapters in the field. In 2018 she published a report with the Irish Museums Association.
Drawing on her extensive knowledge of the sectors, Elizabeth works with a team of expert and experienced tutors to deliver this programme.
The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 59% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.
Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (25%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (20%) or Lecturers (55%).
We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic staff (81%) are accredited fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) by Advanced HE - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.
The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise. The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff. This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.
Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.
Figures correct for academic year 2021-2022.