The concentration in Museum Studies equips students for success in a range of careers in museums and other arts and cultural organizations. Art history seminars provide a historical foundation in modern and contemporary art as well as advanced research, writing, and presentation skills. Museum studies seminars provide both theoretical and practical instruction and require projects rather than traditional research papers. In the required internship, students gain practical, real-world experience and begin to establish their own professional network.
The museum studies degree is completed in 2 years (four semesters), with full-time enrollment in the first three semesters and part-time enrollment in the fourth semester. Full part-time enrollment is also an option, with degree completion in 3 years. The carefully structured curriculum and active, individualized mentoring enable students to complete the program on schedule.
Funding: All applicants who intend to enroll full-time are considered for 9-month graduate teaching and research assistantships that include tuition support (excluding fees) and a stipend. Some awards are for two years, some for just one but with the possibility of renewal for the second year (based on the student’s performance and the availability of funds). Grants and awards are available to current students to support travel to conferences and to conduct research for the Qualifying Paper.
Program Requirements
- 5 core courses: art historiography, history and theory of museums, a seminar in art and representation, and two writing seminars
- 2 elective courses, usually art history seminars but may include approved courses in other departments
- 2 museum studies seminars, may include approved courses in other departments
- 1 museum internship
- submission of a qualifying paper completed in consultation with a faculty advisor
- satisfaction of a foreign-language requirement, either with undergraduate course work or a department-administered translation exam
In the first semester, students complete the required course in art historiography and methodology, which provides an essential foundation for research in a chosen area of study. Required and elective seminars are taken in both the first and second year. Internships are usually completed in the second year, but may also be done in the summer. Our students find their internships at one of the many museums and similar institutions in the Richmond area, as well as nearby in Washington, D.C., or Norfolk/Virginia Beach.
By the end of the first year, students identify the advisor for their qualifying paper. This takes the form of a manuscript formatted for submission to an academic or professional journal in the student’s area of primary interest. In the second year, they work closely with their advisors on research and writing while also enrolled in the two required writing seminars. In the fall, the first introduces them to the process of preparing work for scholarly publication: selecting a journal, formulating an argument, presenting research in a variety of pre-publication contexts, securing copyright for text and images, and formatting for submission to a journal. In the second seminar, in the spring semester, they workshop drafts with peers and prepare a presentation of their research for the entire department.
Advisors are chosen from full-time tenure and tenure-track faculty: Hala Auji, Kathleen Chapman, Lisa Freiman, Eric Garberson, Babatunde Lawal, Catherine Roach, Tobias Wofford, and Michelle Yee.
Alongside coursework, the department offers professional development workshops on preparing resumes, CVs, and cover letters; applying to doctoral programs; and attending academic and professional conferences.
Meet current graduate students.
Our Museum Studies graduates have pursued a wide range of careers:
- collections managers
- development officers
- exhibition coordinators
- communications specialists
- gallery directors
- educators
- public arts coordinators
- arts librarians and archivists
They have been employed by museums, galleries, universities, and cities and government entities in Richmond and beyond:
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
- Valentine Richmond History Center,
- Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU
- Smithsonian Institution
- Architect of the Capitol
- Yale University Art Gallery
- South Dakota Art Museum
- Harn Museum at the University of Florida
- City of Richmond
- Old Dominion University
- University of Richmond
Some are pursuing careers as curators or professors after doctoral study in leading art history programs at the
- University of Virginia
- University of Delaware
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne, and are pursuing careers as either curators or professors.