Program Overview

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MA Museum Studies

Dive deep into the world of museums and their role in society.

Overview

Year of entry: 2026 (September)

Course Details

• Start date: September 2026
• Length:
  • 1 year full-time
  • 2 years part-time
  • 3 years part-time
• School/department: Department of Archaeology

Course Content

You will study 180 credits over the duration of your course:

• Semester 1: one core and two option modules
• Semester 2: two core and one option module
• Summer Semester: 60 credit dissertation

Modules

• Core modules:
  • Contemporary Issues in Museums
  • Museums, Audiences and Interpretation
  • Curated Placement
• Option modules: You will choose three option modules from examples including:
  • Artefacts and Materials Analysis
  • Digital Creativity
  • Heritage Principles and Concepts
  • Presenting Historic Houses
  • Virtual Reality and 3D Modelling
  • From the Department of History:
    • Concepts and Approaches in Public History
    • Public Histories in Practice
  • Additional options from the full module catalogue:
    • Ancient Biomolecules
    • Animal Bones for Archaeologists
    • Archaeologies of Colonialism in the British Atlantic World
    • Becoming Human
    • Building Conservation Projects
    • Buildings Recording
    • Critical Approaches to Archaeological Practice
    • Data Science for Archaeology
    • Death, Burial and Commemoration in the Roman World
    • Debates in Funerary Archaeology
    • Digital Approaches to Archaeology
    • Experimental Archaeology
    • GIS and Spatial Analysis
    • Histories of Conservation
    • Landscape Survey and Geophysics
    • Life and Death in Iron Age Britain and Ireland
    • Making the Nation
    • Medieval Settlement and Communities
    • Mesolithic Life and Death
    • Prehistoric Art: Origins and Transitions
    • Project Management
    • Researching & Analysing Historic Buildings
    • Roman Europe
    • Roman Archaeology: Ancient pasts, current issues
    • Skeletal Evidence for Health in the Past
    • Sustainability I: Definitions of Sustainability & Methods of Assessment
    • Sustainability II: Understanding Sustainability as Change through Time
    • Sustainable Buildings
    • Sustainable Conservation Challenges
    • The Ancient Celts: Archaeology and Identity in Iron Age Europe
    • The Archaeology of the Human Skeleton
    • The Archaeology of Roman Religion
    • The Viking Age
    • Thinking through Material Culture
    • Understanding & Interpreting Historic Buildings
    • Zooarchaeology in Context

Dissertation

You'll complete an 8,000-word dissertation on your research.

Learning Outcomes

Every course at York is built on a distinctive set of learning outcomes. These will give you a clear understanding of what you will be able to accomplish at the end of the course and help you explain what you can offer employers. Our academics identify the knowledge, skills, and experiences you'll need upon graduation and then design the course to get you there.

• Demonstrate an applied, systematic, in-depth understanding of essential disciplinary knowledge of museology and museum practice, and awareness of its breadth and its relevant academic, professional, and socio-economic contexts
• Engage critically with current debates and advanced scholarship in local and international research and practice within museology and museum practice in order to evaluate the field of practice
• Inform decision-making in complex and unpredictable situations by assessing and applying advanced museological theories and methodologies to diverse problems or forms of data
• Confidently synthesise research findings and key scholarly debates, and communicate (through a variety of forms and media) to peers, public or professional audiences in such a way that demonstrates an ability to consider and adapt to their respective needs
• Demonstrate originality in rigorous and imaginative independent inquiry, using advanced research skills, and a clear contribution to the work of a team
• Demonstrate a critical understanding of the legislative, policy and theoretical frameworks that have an impact on museum practice and how they are applied in practice in the UK and internationally
• Demonstrate a critical awareness of ethics as they relate to museum practice and of expertise in mediating conflict over management, interpretation and learning in museums
• Critically evaluate the diverse methods used to engage the public in museum practice in order to inform decision-making in museums

Fees and Funding

Annual Tuition Fees for 2026/27

• Study mode:
  • UK (home):
    • Full-time (1 year): £12,500
    • Part-time (2 years): £6,250 (year 1 fee)
    • Part-time (3 years): £4,167 (year 1 fee)
  • International and EU:
    • Full-time (1 year): £27,250
    • Part-time (2 years): £13,625 (year 1 fee)
    • Part-time (3 years): £9,083 (year 1 fee)

Fees Information

• UK (home) fees may increase in subsequent years (up to a maximum of 2%).
• International fees may increase in subsequent years in line with the prevailing Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate (up to a maximum of 10%).

Additional Costs

We don't anticipate there being any additional fees associated with this course. All books and resources you need will be available in the library or online and it isn't mandatory that you buy your own copies. You may wish to set aside a small budget for photocopying, depending on how you like to work.

Funding Information

Discover your funding options to help with tuition fees and living costs.

Teaching and Assessment

You’ll work with world‐leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace.

Teaching Format

You'll be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, workshops and site visits. There is plenty of one-on-one guidance with staff and leading external experts in the conservation and heritage sector.

Teaching Location

You will be based on Campus West and in King's Manor.

Assessment and Feedback

You will be assessed by a variety of methods. Depending on which modules you opt to take, these could include:

• Essays
• Oral presentations
• Report writing
• Dissertation
• Alternative assessment methods such as film-making, blogging or posters

Careers and Skills

You will engage with practical applications of museum practices through module assessment and a curated museum placement. You'll develop a wide range of employability skills by giving presentations, by writing management, exhibition or media plans, and working directly with local museums. Graduates have gone on to careers in archaeology and heritage-related organisations across the UK and abroad. You'll also develop transferable skills that are applicable to a multitude of careers beyond archaeology and heritage.

Career Opportunities

• Museum Curator
• Charity Fundraiser
• Collections Officer
• Education Officer
• Museums Development Officer

Transferable Skills

• High level of written and oral skills
• Problem solving
• Teamwork
• Project management
• Time management

Entry Requirements

• Qualification:
  • Undergraduate degree: 2:2 or equivalent in a Archaeology or a relevant subject such as History, History of Art, English, Geography, Anthropology, Politics or any related field.
  • Other qualifications and experience: Mature students or those with less conventional qualifications but with relevant professional experience and enthusiasm for this field will be considered.
  • Other international qualifications: Equivalent qualifications from your country

English Language

If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:

• IELTS (Academic and Indicator): 6.5, minimum 6.0 in each component
• Cambridge CEFR: B2 First: 176, with 169 in each component
• Oxford ELLT: 7, minimum of 6 in each component
• Oxford Test of English Advanced: 136, minimum 126 in each component
• Duolingo: 120, minimum 105 in all other components
• LanguageCert SELT: B2 with 33/50 in each component
• LanguageCert Academic: 70 with a minimum of 65 in each component
• Kaplan Test of English Language: 478-509, with 444-477 in all other components
• Skills for English: B2: Merit overall, with Pass with Merit in each component
• PTE Academic: 61, minimum 55 in each component
• TOEFL: 87, minimum of 21 in each component
• Trinity ISE III: Merit in all requirements

If You Haven't Met Our English Language Requirements

You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer. The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.