Museum
Studies

Program Overview

Minor Requirements | Secondary Fields | Internships | Courses Offered

Museum practice is inherently multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary, benefiting from knowledge and experience in the fine arts, sciences, history, anthropology, education, computer science, design, marketing, finance, and other fields.

To complete a minor in the Museum Studies program, students must satisfy the following requirements, designed to acquire the depth and breadth of knowledge and experience intended for the program:

1. General College Requirements;

2. All requirements of the chosen major field;

3. One required 4-credit, 200-level course, Introduction to Museum Studies (MUST 200), offered annually;

4. At least 12 hours of appropriate electives, 8 of which need to be upper-division, selected from at least two of three primary fields of art history, anthropology, and history;

5. Completion of a single eight-credit internship in a museum-related area of study (upon approval of the program coordinator, two four-credit internships may be substituted).

Primary Fields: (at least 8 hours upper-division electives from this partial list; a complete list of approved current offerings will appear in the online “Schedule of Classes”)

• ANTH 302: Food and Culture (4AF)
• ANTH 303: The Gambia, West Africa Field Study Program (8ASu)
• ANTH 304: Anthropology of Media (4AF)
• ANTH 306: Practicing Anthropology: Principles of Applied Anthropology (4AF)
• ANTH/HIST 311: Native American Culture and History (4AS)
• ANTH 313: African-American Colonial Culture (4AF)
• ANTH 346: Analysis of Material Culture (4AS)
• ANTH 348: African-American Culture (4AS)
• ANTH 353: Egyptian Archaeology (4AS)
• ANTH 357: Archaeological Analysis and Curation (4F)
• ANTH/HIST 410: Historical Archaeology Field School (8Su)
• ANTH 412: Archaeological Curation, Conservation, and Collections Management (4Su)
• ANTH 450: Historical Archaeology (4AS)
• ARTH 306: American Art (4AF)
• ARTH 310: Art in Europe, 1500-1850 (4AS)
• ARTH 314: African-American Art (4A)
• ARTH 321: Art and Architecture of the Ancient Maya (4AS)
• ARTH 322: Native North American Art and Architecture (4AS)
• HIST/ANTH 311: Native American Culture and History (4AS)
• HIST 360: Early African Civilization (4AF)
• HIST 361: African Civilization, 1800-1900 (4AF)
• HIST 381: History of Ancient Greece and the Hellenistic World (4AS)
• HIST 382: History of the Roman Republic and Empire (4F)
• HIST 383: History of the Byzantine Empire (4AS)
• HIST/ANTH 410: Historical Archaeology Field School (8Su) 
• ANTH, ARTH, ART, HIST Independent Studies and Internships, with the approval of the chair of the Museum Studies Program.

Secondary fields:

None specified, but a wide variety of disciplines furnish appropriate courses for individual programs, depending on the goals of the participant. Additional appropriate courses at all levels in such disciplines as history, anthropology, art history, art, computer science, biology, chemistry, education, geology, geography, religious studies, et cetera, which support the student’s program goals will be selected in consultation with the program coordinator. Each year the participating program faculty will designate any new or experimental courses, topical courses, field trip sequences, or special offerings that will satisfy elective requirements. A complete list of these will appear in the online “Schedule of Classes.”

Internships:

As part of their participation in Museum Studies, students undertake an 8-credit internship. Possible internship locations include the Dwight Frederic Boyden Gallery of Art, Historic St. Mary’s City, Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum, Sotterley Plantation, Calvert Marine Museum, St. Mary’s County Recreation, Parks, and Community Services Museum Division, and other nearby cultural institutions. As the International Education programs develop, numerous Museum Studies-related opportunities will emerge for internships, as well as independent studies, St. Mary’s Projects, museum field visits and new Museum Studies courses through exchange programs and study tours. For comparative purposes, students may wish to request the program coordinator to approve two four-credit internships, for example, in two different countries. Students are strongly encouraged to coordinate their internship plans with the chair of the Museum Studies Program and the Career Development Center.

Courses

The Museum Studies Program increasingly offers its own courses in addition to those found in other departments.

• MUST 200: This course considers museums—their history, social context, and their challenges—in the 21st century. The format is seminar-style, based on case studies, field trips, readings, and a class project. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the course examines the roles that a broad range of museum types play in society: the diversity of collections, exhibitions, and interpretation techniques; management and marketing challenges; visitor behavior and learning; virtual museums; and museum ethics, law, and controversies. This course fulfills the Core Curriculum requirement in Arts.
• MUST 301: Interpreting History to the Public The goal of this course is to combine classroom discussions, presentations, and readings with a practicum to demonstrate the use of history as a career choice in the fields of museum administrators, educators, and interpreters. The class will explore the theory and techniques of public history and museum education in general and more specifically, at Historic St. Mary’s City. The class will also utilize guest lecturers and visits to exhibits and living history sites at HSMC. The practicum will stress critical and creative thinking and allow students to develop practical skills similar to those used to design, implement.
• MUST 350: Chesapeake in the Age of Sail (4S).
• MUST 352: Special Topics. Special Topics courses explore important subjects, issues, and topics concerning museum studies. To date, courses have included Post and Beam in an Age Gone Modern and History Museums and Historic Sites.

• MUST 398, 498: Museum Studies Internship (8E). The internship provides direct hands-on and academic experience in a museum environment selected by the student, approved by the program coordinator, mentored by a member of the Museum Studies steering committee, and formalized in a learning contract. The internship may be undertaken in a nearby institution, but further afield and abroad as well.