Program Overview

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Program Overview

The Professional Specialization Certificate in Collections Management is designed for museum professionals seeking new approaches to their work or looking to upgrade their skills. This program provides a highly respected credential, applicable knowledge, and skills in an innovative and flexible format.

Program Features

• Focused Programming: Four courses - three core courses and one elective, which can be completed in under a year.
• Flexibility: Can be completed entirely online; some face-to-face short immersion elective course options also available.
• Professional Networking: Study with other collections management specialists from across Canada and beyond, led by instructors who are experts in their field.

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, graduates should:

1. Have developed a critical understanding of current principles, practices, and current debates in the field of collections management.
2. Apply course learning and training to function within a professional collections management context.
3. Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility and stewardship.

Program Partners

• Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Art History and Visual Studies
• Various community partners and organizations.

Who is this Program For?

The Collections Management program is designed for museum professionals seeking new approaches to their work or looking to upgrade their skills. Students in this program work in a broad range of museum and heritage professions, including:

• Collections assistants
• Collections managers
• Conservators
• Curators
• Archivists

Career Options

Some of our learners pursue careers in the following roles:

• Collections management
• Museum and gallery management
• Conservation
• Curation
• Archival management

Instructors

The program is led by instructors who are experts in their field, including:

• Elizabeth Kidd
• Candace Tangorra Matelic
• Richard Gerrard
• Susan Maltby
• Sibyl Frei
• Beth Carter
• Tim Willis
• Mary Kay Cunningham
• Kate Kerr
• Bryan Smith
• Genevieve Weber
• Brandie Macdonald
• Lucy Bell

What do our Learners Say?

The Cultural Resource Management Program provides a medium through which professionals and those new to the field may establish working networks and be part of the ongoing development of the cultural sphere.

News and Resources

• The Decolonization of Museum Education
• Awards, scholarships, and bursaries
• Upcoming Museum and Heritage Studies courses
• Collections Management program brochure (PDF)

Courses and Fees

To earn the certificate, you must successfully complete six units of academic credit (four courses) with online or on-campus course work chosen from our program curriculum.

Required Courses

• Caring for Museum Collections
• Collections Management
• Curatorial Planning and Practice

Elective Courses

• Communicating Through Exhibitions
• Community Engagement and Social Change
• Curatorship: Contemporary Perspectives
• Digital Planning for the Cultural Sector
• Exhibit Fabrication
• Exhibition Planning and Design
• Indigenous Cultural Stewardship
• Managing Archival Collections
• Managing Cultural Organizations
• Museums as Learning Environments
• Public Programming
• Visitor Experiences

Estimated Fees

• Program application fee: $100.00
• Three required courses: $2,398.23
• One elective course: $799.41
• Estimated Total: $3,297.64

Application Information

Admission Requirements

To be admissible to the Certificate in Collections Management, applicants must normally:

• Hold a bachelor's degree or its equivalent
• Be admissible (or already admitted) to UVic
• Have a minimum of two years of related professional experience in the sector

How to Apply

1. Apply to the program by submitting your application and paying the $100 application fee.
2. Submit your CV to the Program Assistant.
3. Apply and be accepted as an undergraduate or returning student at the University of Victoria.

Application Dates

• Starting in May 2026: Apply by March 1, 2026
• Starting in September 2026: Apply by July 1, 2026
• Starting in January 2027: Apply by November 1, 2026

Deposit/Withdrawal Fee Policy

• Non-credit tuition fees will be fully refundable if you withdraw prior to the course registration deadline.
• Credit students are required to pay a deposit of $100 at the time of registration, which will be refunded following the second day of the face-to-face class, provided the student has not withdrawn.