Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jerry Symonds on October 27, 2007 at 3:49am

Hi Melissa,

Mike Bertrand and myself both took the MA by Distance Learning with Leicester University in the UK. Students from all over the world have taken this course and it has a LOT of kudos in the museum world! It's truely distance learning and your studies can follow you around as you move locations/change jobs. It covers all the important areas such as Collections Management, Conservation, Material Culture, Exhibitions and Museum Management and Marketing.

The course should prepare you well for working in ANY type of museum, so it keeps your options open.

It's also a fantastic networking opportunity.

I graduated in 2004.

Unless the structure has changed it takes about 3 years to complete and I think you would be pleasantly surprised to find that the cost is a lot less than American MA/MSc packages!

Give me a shout if you would like more information.

Best Wishes,

Jerry

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Diana Welsh on November 10, 2007 at 5:56pm

Hello Melissa. If you go into the museum world you may want to consider Registration or Collection Management. This concentration allows you to work hands on with the museum collections. Something that might go along with your background. IF you decide that education is the way to go I would consider finding a Museum Studies program that has an Education concentration. I don't know where you are located or how far you want to go for school but I know that Seton Hall University in New Jersey has this as part of their program. A Museum Studies program will prepare you for a specific area of work in a museum depending on your concentration. Once you have the degree and with you background I don't think that you would have a problem finding a job in a history or anthropological museum.
Good luck.
Diana

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Michael Bertrand on November 14, 2007 at 8:47pm

Hi Melissa,

The answer here is easy...if you have a choice between getting a degree in anthro or Museum Studies, GO FOR ANTHROPOLOGY!! Trust me on this one!! I have worked in collections at the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum for the past 3 years as a volunteer in both anthropology and mammals and the people with the careers that you (and I) aspire to nearly without exception have advanced degrees in the scientific area in which they work. Most of these people are scientists who work in a museum, not museum workers who specialize in science. You kind of need to make that distinction in your own mind as to which of those two things you want to be. Not to say that a Museum Studies degree is worthless...as Jerry pointed, he and I got our masters in museum studies at the University of Leicester and it can be applicable in many areas of museum work. But, for science and natural history museums, a degree in a particular science discipline is the way to go. By the way, I come from your area (Fall River) and I am Portuguese too! I love Amaral's Chourico.
-Mike B.

▶ Reply to This