Program Overview

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Program Overview

The Diploma in Cultural Resource Management (CRM) is a professional development program designed for career professionals working in the museum and heritage field. The program provides practical, theoretical, and management-based training, along with a recognized and respected diploma credential, in a flexible format taught by established industry experts.

Program Features

• Comprehensive programming: 10 courses, including three core courses and seven electives, which can be completed in two to three years of part-time study
• Flexibility: Can be completed entirely online, with some face-to-face short immersion elective course options also available
• Professional networking: Study with other cultural specialists from across Canada and beyond, led by instructors who are experts in their field
• Practical experience: Internship option provides valuable sector experience

Program Partners

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

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, graduates should:

• Have developed a critical understanding of current principles, practices, and debates in cultural resource management
• Apply course learning and training to function within a professional context and have necessary skills to enter a career in the cultural resource management field
• Apply a range of management and administrative knowledge and skills to maintain and strengthen the role and impact of cultural organizations in society
• Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment, and environmental stewardship

Who is this Program For?

This program is designed for career professionals working in the museum and heritage field, who are looking to gain valuable professional development and earn a credential. Students in this program come from a wide variety of cultural sectors and professions, including:

• Curators
• Collections managers
• Historical interpreters
• Museum designers and technicians
• Museum educators
• Heritage planners
• Public historians

Career Options

Some of our learners pursue careers in the following roles:

• No specific roles listed, but the program prepares students for various positions in the cultural resource management field

Instructors

The program features a diverse range of instructors with expertise in various areas of cultural resource management, including:

• Candace Tangorra Matelic, PhD
• Richard Linzey
• Richard Gerrard
• Wendy Shearer, FCSLA
• Elizabeth Kidd
• Ben Gourley
• Gord Macdonald
• Sibyl Frei, MAdEd, BSc
• Susan Maltby, MAC
• Beth Carter
• Mary Kay Cunningham
• Sharon Vattay
• Tim Willis
• Kate Kerr
• Chris Wiebe, MA
• Dianne Lister, BA (Hons), LLB
• Mary Jo Hughes, MA
• Genevieve Weber
• Bryan Smith
• Brandie Macdonald
• Marcus Letourneau, PhD, MCIP, RPP, CAHP
• Lucy Bell, PhD
• John Summers

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.

• Arrianna D’Orsay, Museum Archivist and Heritage Consultant The CRMP program has provided me with much more confidence when approaching new challenges at my job.
• Amy Cubberley, Curator and Archives Assistant Having the chance to take all kinds of different courses, in all kinds of fields, with all kinds of different people involved—this is an opportunity that only Continuing Studies can give.
• Shawn Cure, Cultural Resource Management Graduate

Courses and Fees

During your program, you'll complete 15.0 units of academic credit (10 courses) with online or on-campus course work chosen from our program curriculum.

Required Courses

• Heritage Resource Management
• Museum Principles and Practices I
• Museum Principles and Practices II

Electives

• Caring for Museum Collections
• Collections Management
• Communicating Through Exhibitions
• Community Engagement and Social Change
• Cultural Landscapes
• Cultural Tourism: a Place-based Approach
• Curatorial Planning and Practice
• Curatorship: Contemporary Perspectives
• Digital Planning for the Cultural Sector
• Exhibit Fabrication
• Exhibition Planning and Design
• Heritage Conservation Planning
• Indigenous Cultural Stewardship
• Managing Archival Collections
• Managing Cultural Organizations
• Museums as Learning Environments
• Practicum in Cultural Resource Management
• Public Programming
• Recognizing the Significance of Heritage Resources
• Visitor Experiences

Estimated Fees

• Program application fee: $125.00
• Three required courses: $1,924.44
• Seven elective courses: $5,595.87
• Estimated Total: $7,645.31

Application Information

Admission Requirements

To be admissible to the diploma program, applicants must normally:

• Hold a bachelor’s degree, or have completed a minimum equivalent of two years of post-secondary education
• Be admissible (or already admitted) to UVic
• Have a minimum 6 months experience and be actively involved in a paid or volunteer capacity in the cultural, museum or heritage sector to provide a context for studies

How to Apply

Applying to our diploma program is a two-step process:

1. Apply to the program on our website.
2. Once you hear back from the office, you must also apply and be accepted as an undergraduate or returning student at the University of Victoria.

Application Dates

• Starting in May 2026: Accepting Applications, Apply by March 1, 2026
• Starting in September 2026: Accepting Applications, Apply by July 1, 2026
• Starting in January 2027: Accepting Applications, Apply by Nov. 1, 2026