Program Overview

Museum Studies, Master of Arts

The Master of Arts in Museum Studies program at Johns Hopkins University is designed to prepare current and future museum professionals to be visionary leaders in contemporary society. The program is offered almost fully online, providing expertise from highly regarded professors and museum professionals from around the world, innovative virtual field trips, and global resources from a wide array of museums.

Overview

Museums are more relevant today than ever before, serving as a gathering place for communities, a space for reflection, interaction, participation, and learning, and acting as an agent of social change. The program aims to provide a perspective on the theory and practice of museums in a changing technological, social, and political environment.

Admissions Criteria

In addition to the materials and credentials required for all programs, the Master of Arts in Museum Studies also requires:

• A resume
• A statement of purpose, up to one page in length, describing personal background and/or life experience that has shaped goals
• Two recommendations

Program Requirements

Students must take a total of ten courses:

• Five customizable core courses
• Five elective courses

Core Courses

• Select one of the following:
  1. AS.460.601: Exploring Museum Professions
  2. AS.460.602: Museums in the Digital Age
• Select three of the following:
  1. AS.460.604: Introduction to Museum Education
  2. AS.460.606: Exhibition Strategies
  3. AS.460.608: The Business of Museums
  4. AS.460.611: History & Philosophy of Museums
  5. AS.460.621: Museum Evaluation and Audience Research
  6. AS.460.666: Collection Management
  7. AS.460.671: Foundations of Digital Curation
• Select one of the following seminars (students are limited to one):
  1. AS.460.610: Two-Week Onsite Seminar
  2. AS.465.708: Two-Week Onsite Cultural Heritage Management Seminar
  3. AS.460.752: Museums in a Changing Time: Virtual Seminar
  4. AS.460.753: Museum Studies Virtual Field Course

Electives

• Select five of the following:
  1. AS.460.615: Museums and Community Engagement
  2. AS.460.618: Museum Controversies: Ethical Issues in Museums
  3. AS.460.619: Museums, Race, and Inclusion
  4. AS.460.620: Accessibility in the Museum
  5. AS.460.622: Evaluation Projects and Practice
  6. AS.460.628: Architecture of Museums
  7. AS.460.632: Practice of Public History
  8. AS.460.633: Conservation-Restoration: A 21st Century Approach
  9. AS.460.635: Curatorship: Principles and Practices
  10. AS.460.636: Living Collections
  11. AS.460.637: Curating Online Exhibitions and Experiences
  12. AS.460.639: Material Culture and the Modern Museum
  13. AS.460.640: Educational Programming for Museum Audiences
  14. AS.460.649: Shaping Reality: Immersive Technologies in the Museum
  15. AS.460.655: Museum Marketing and Communications
  16. AS.460.657: Fundamentals of Museum Fundraising
  17. AS.460.663: Social Media Strategies for Museums
  18. AS.460.665: Introduction to Archives
  19. AS.460.667: Collection Management Systems
  20. AS.460.668: Cataloging Museum Collections: History, Standards, and Applications
  21. AS.460.670: Digital Preservation
  22. AS.460.672: Managing Digital Information in Museums and Archives
  23. AS.460.673: Digital Curation Internship
  24. AS.460.674: Research/Capstone in Digital Curation
  25. AS.460.675: Leadership of Museums
  26. AS.460.683: Project Management in Museums
  27. AS.460.684: Museum Finance and the Economy
  28. AS.460.685: Private Collectors, Collections, and Museums
  29. AS.460.686: Culturally Specific Museums
  30. AS.460.687: Provenance Research: Connecting Histories
  31. AS.460.690: Science, Society, and the Museum
  32. AS.465.706: Research/Capstone in Heritage Studies
  33. AS.465.710: The Protection of Global Cultural Heritage: Laws, Policies, Politics, and Advocacy
  34. AS.465.736: Understanding NAGPRA, Repatriation Laws and Ethical Practice
  35. AS.460.750: Internship

Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the Master of Arts in Museum Studies program should be able to:

• Understand the roles and responsibilities of museums and museum practitioners in changing times
• Develop practical skills in museum work, including communication, collaboration, and planning
• Generate solutions to current challenges facing museums
• Analyze museum practices, theories, and methodologies through the lens of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion
• Analyze the intersection of museum practice and technology

Total Credits: 30