Museum Studies Graduate Certificate
The Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies (GCMS) is a transdisciplinary program open to UO graduate students interested in pursuing a career in a museum or in any profession that involves exhibition or curation. It addresses the demand for a deeper understanding of the guiding principles behind a museum’s mission and its practical day-to-day operations.
Today, the practice of exhibiting is not just the purview of art and cultural museums. Exhibition history and practice is integral to museums of science, medicine, natural history, ethnography, theater, and music as well as institutions such as zoos, aquariums, art galleries, botanical gardens, and libraries.
Housed in the College of Design, the GCMS collaborates with departments, programs, and museum professionals across campus to provide foundational theoretical and practical training in the museum field, while allowing students the freedom to explore museum operations from a variety of perspectives.
Program Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:
- Identify and explain the guiding principles of museum operations.
- Engage in theoretical and practical training relevant to museum careers.
- Apply their theoretical and practical training to first-hand experience in museum operations through an internship.
Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies
The Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies is a transdisciplinary program open to graduate students enrolled in any graduate program at the University of Oregon. The curriculum is designed to provide both scholarly engagement with issues related to museums and an introduction to the specialized skills pertinent to museum professionals. Students must complete a minimum of 24 credits in approved courses.
Among the minimum 24 credits, 4 credits must come from the core course, ARH540 (Museology), and 3 credits from DSGN604 (Internship). The remaining 17 credits are devoted to Electives. You may count up to 12 credits of relevant courses offered through your home department/program toward both the certificate and your major requirements.
The certificate requires a minimum of 17 Elective credits. Elective courses provide students the opportunity to explore issues surrounding museums today and to familiarize themselves with skill sets expected of the specific museum careers they are interested in. Students may choose courses from any of the preapproved elective courses, or may petition to the certificate director to substitute other courses when they are germane to their specific interests.
Interdisciplinary Requirement: You must take at least 5 credits of elective courses offered through a department or program outside of your home department/program.
Distribution requirements: The electives courses must fulfill the following two distribution requirements:
- Topics in Museum Studies (at least one course): A topics-based course involves historical, theoretical, or philosophical exploration of issues surrounding museums, for instance a course on museum ethics (PPPM 571 Cultural Policy, for instance).
- Practice/Methods in Museum Studies (at least one course): A practice/methods-based course deals with practical knowledge of and skills in museum operations, for instance a course on connoisseurship, exhibition planning or educational programming (ARH 510 Inside Museum Exhibition, for instance).
Certificate in Museum Studies
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | 7 | |
| ARH 540 | Museology | 4 |
| DSGN 604 | Internship: [Topic] 1 | 3 |
| Electives 2 | 17 | |
| Interdisciplinary Requirement | 5 | |
Students must take at least 5 credits of elective courses offered through a department or program outside of their home department/program. | ||
| Distribution Requirements | 12 | |
The elective courses must fulfill the following two distribution requirements: | ||
1. Topics in Museum Studies (at least one course): A topics-based course involves historical, theorertica, or philosophical exploration of issues surrounding museums | ||
2. Practice/Methods in Museum Studies (at least one course): A practice/methods-based course deals with practical knowledge of and skills in museum operations | ||
| Total Credits | 24 | |
- 1
During summer term students may satisfy this requirement by taking a 604 course from their home department.
- 2
Students may count up to 12 credits of relevant courses offered through their home department/program toward both the certificate and the major requirements.
Approved Courses
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Topics in Museum Studies | ||
| ANTH 575 | Regarding Remains | 4 |
| ANTH 681 | Archaeology and Anthropology | 5 |
| ANTH 689 | Social Theory II | 5 |
| ARCH 530 | Architectural Contexts: Place and Culture | 4 |
| ARH 565 | American Architecture II | 4 |
| CINE/ENG 586M | New Media and Digital Culture: [Topic] | 4 |
| EDST 553 | Racism and Education | 4 |
| EDST 614 | Cultural Context of Education | 4 |
| EDST 675 | Indigenous Methods | 4 |
| ENVS 525 | Environmental Education Theory and Practice | 4 |
| GEOG 548 | Tourism and Development | 4 |
| GEOG 565 | Environment and Development | 4 |
| MUE 532 | Music in School and Society | 3 |
| PPPM 570 | The Arts in Society | 4 |
| PPPM 571 | Cultural Policy | 4 |
| PPPM 587 | Impact Philanthropy | 4 |
| PPPM 588 | Nonprofit Legal Issues | 4 |
| PPPM 618 | Public Sector Theory | 4 |
| Practice/Methods in Museum Studies | ||
| ANTH 549 | Cultural Resource Management | 4 |
| ANTH 553 | African Archaeology | 4 |
| ANTH 579 | Taphonomy: Bones, Bugs, and Burials | 4 |
| ANTH 587 | Bioanthropology Methods | 4 |
| ANTH 685 | Professional Writing | 2-4 |
| ARCH 550 | Spatial Composition | 4 |
| ARCH 562 | Structural Design | 4 |
| ARCH 591 | Environmental Control Systems I | 4 |
| ARTD 513 | Emerging Technologies | 5 |
| ARTD 571 | 3-D Computer Imaging | 5 |
| BA 661 | Oregon Advanced Strategy | 3 |
| BA 680 | Data Visualization and Communication in Business | 3 |
| BA 715 | Managerial Economics | 3 |
| BA 719 | Marketing Strategy | 3 |
| BA 721 | Business Writing | 1 |
| BA 722 | Leadership and Motivation: [Topic] | 1 |
| BA 726 | Global Business | 3 |
| BA 731 | New Venture Planning | 3 |
| CRWR 635 | MFA Poetry Workshop | 6 |
| CRWR 645 | MFA Fiction Workshop | 6 |
| EDST 548 | Integrating the Arts | 4 |
| EDST 618 | Methods ESOL: Teaching English Language Development, K–12 | 3 |
| EDST 673 | Advanced Qualitative Methodology: Arts-Based Approaches | 4 |
| ERTH 518 | Earth and Environmental Data Analysis | 4 |
| ES 568 | Indigenous Research Methods and Ethics | 4 |
| FLR 595 | Folklore Fieldwork | 4 |
| GEOG 582 | GIScience II | 4 |
| GEOG 593 | Advanced Cartography and Geo-Visualization | 4 |
| GEOG 595 | Geographic Data Analysis | 4 |
| JCOM 520 | Documentary Pre-Production | 4 |
| JCOM 521 | Documentary Production | 4 |
| JCOM 545 | Photojournalism II Photo Story | 4 |
| JCOM 561 | Advertising Campaigns | 4 |
| JCOM 576 | Social Media Strategies | 4 |
| JCOM 649 | International Communication | 4 |
| JCOM 669 | Creating for Immersive Platforms | 4 |
| LA 515 | Computers in Landscape Architecture | 4 |
| LA 575 | History of Landscape Architecture II | 4 |
| LA 620 | Landscape Research Methods I | 2-4 |
| LA 694 | Exploratory Land Design | 6 |
| MGMT 543 | Life Cycle Assessment | 4 |
| MGMT 614 | Strategic Management | 3 |
| MGMT 615 | Leadership | 3 |
| MGMT 620 | Managing Global Business | 3 |
| MGMT 625 | New Venture Planning | 3 |
| MGMT 655 | New Venture Execution | 4 |
| MKTG 565 | Digital Marketing | 4 |
| MKTG 612 | Marketing Management | 3 |
| MKTG 660 | Marketing Research | 3 |
| MKTG 668 | Strategic Brand Management | 3 |
| MUE 550 | Practicum in Music Education | 2 |
| PPPM 522 | Grant Proposal Writing | 1 |
| PPPM 525 | Project Management | 4 |
| PPPM 526 | Strategic Planning for Management | 4 |
| PPPM 534 | Urban Geographic Information Systems | 4 |
| PPPM 548 | Collaboration | 4 |
| PPPM 565 | Program Evaluation | 4 |
| PPPM 572 | Creative Placemaking | 4 |
| PPPM 581 | Fundraising for Nonprofit Organizations | 4 |
| PPPM 583 | Volunteer Resource Management | 2 |
| PPPM 586 | Philanthropy and Grant Making | 2 |
| PPPM 625 | Community Planning Workshop | 5 |
| PPPM 680 | Managing Nonprofit Organizations | 4 |
| PPPM 687 | Nonprofit Board Governance | 1 |
| PS 615 | Teaching and Learning in Politics and Policy | 1 |
| Additional Elective Courses | ||
| ANTH 520 | Culture, Illness, and Healing | 4 |
| ANTH 538 | Race and Gender in Latin America | 4 |
| ANTH 559 | Advanced Evolutionary Medicine | 4 |
| ANTH 563 | Primate Behavior | 4 |
| ANTH 567 | Paleoecology and Human Evolution | 4 |
| ANTH 570 | Statistical Analysis of Biological Anthropology | 4 |
| ANTH 571 | Zooarchaeology: [Topic] | 4 |
| ANTH 572 | Primate Conservation Biology | 4 |
| ANTH 611 | Ethnographic Research: Epistemology, Methods, Ethics | 4 |
| ARCH 517 | Context of the Architectural Profession | 4 |
| ARCH 523 | Media for Design Development: [Topic] | 3 |
| ARCH 525 | Building Information Modeling | 2-3 |
| ARCH 561 | Structural Behavior | 4 |
| ARCH 570 | Building Construction | 4 |
| ARCH 571 | Building Enclosure | 4 |
| ARCH 572 | Natural Building Systems and Materials: [Topic] | 4 |
| ARCH 573 | Advanced Mass Timber Design | 4 |
| ARCH 574 | Design the Unseen: [Topic] | 4 |
| ARCH 576 | Residential Construction | 4 |
| ARCH 580 | Supervised Design Teaching | 1-3 |
| ARCH 584 | Architectural Design | 6 |
| ARCH 592 | Environmental Control Systems II | 4 |
| ARCH 622 | Computational Design | 2 |
| ARH 511 | Art History Critical Methods | 4 |
| ARH 521 | Ancient Mediterranean Art: [Topic] | 4 |
| ARH 562 | Modern Architecture | 4 |
| ARH 566 | American Architecture III | 4 |
| ARH 585 | Japanese Art: [Topic] | 4 |
| ARTC 555 | Advanced Ceramics | 4 |
| ARTD 512 | Experimental Animation | 5 |
| ARTD 515 | Video Art: Experimental Film | 4 |
| ARTD 563 | Communciation Design | 4 |
| ARTM 559 | Advanced Metalsmithing and Jewelry | 3-5 |
| ARTO 555 | Conceptual Strategies in Photography | 4 |
| ARTO 576 | Alternative Photographic Processes | 4 |
| ARTO 584 | Advanced Photography: [Topic] | 4 |
| ASIA 525 | Asian Foodways | 4 |
| ASIA 580 | Chinese Economy: Transition, Development, Globalization | 4 |
| BE 625 | Business Law and Ethics | 3 |
| CS 670 | Data Science | 4 |
| EC 513 | Advanced Macroeconomic Theory | 4 |
| EC 524 | Econometrics | 4 |
| EC 527 | Games and Decisions | 4 |
| EC 530 | Urban and Regional Economics | 4 |
| EC 581 | International Trade | 4 |
| EC 590 | Economic Growth and Development | 4 |
| EDST 552 | Poverty and Education | 4 |
| EDST 556 | Decolonization and Education | 4 |
| EDST 557 | Immigration, Diaspora and Education | 4 |
| EDST 617 | Sapsik'walá Indigenous Education Seminar I | 1-2 |
| ENVS 530 | Nature in Popular Culture | 4 |
| ENVS 555 | Sustainability | 4 |
| ERTH 520 | Geocommunication | 3 |
| ES 556 | History of Native American Education | 4 |
| ES 566 | Native American Ethnohistory | 4 |
| ES 570 | Native American and Indigenous Feminisms | 4 |
| ES 617 | Genealogies of Ethnic Studies | 5 |
| FLR 511 | Folklore and Religion | 4 |
| FLR 681 | History and Theory of Folklore Research | 5 |
| GEOG 581 | GIScience I | 4 |
| GEOG 586 | Remote Sensing II | 4 |
| GEOG 632 | Progress in Human Geography | 1 |
| GLBL 520 | Global Community Development | 4 |
| GLBL 531 | Cross-Cultural Communication | 4 |
| HIST 566 | The American West | 4 |
| HIST 612 | Historical Methods and Writings | 5 |
| IARC 547 | Color Theory and Application for the Built Environment | 3 |
| IARC 574 | History of Interior Architecture I | 3 |
| IARC 576 | History of Interior Architecture III | 3 |
| IARC 584 | Interior Design | 6 |
| IARC 586 | Furniture Design | 6 |
| IARC 592 | Electric Lighting | 3 |
| JCOM 518 | Global Television | 4 |
| JCOM 524 | Latin American Cinema | 4 |
| JCOM 546 | Photojournalism III Multimedia Storytelling | 4 |
| JCOM 554 | Digital Ads and Analytics | 4 |
| JCOM 555 | Brand Strategy | 4 |
| JCOM 571 | The Public Relations Planning Process | 4 |
| JCOM 578 | Sustainability Public Relations | 4 |
| JCOM 611 | Media and Society | 4 |
| JCOM 642 | Quantitative Research Methods | 4 |
| JPN 573 | Japanese Environmental Cinema | 4 |
| LA 540 | Introduction to Landscape Planning Analysis | 4 |
| LA 541 | Principles of Applied Ecology | 2-6 |
| LA 550 | Advanced Landscape Media: [Topic] | 2-4 |
| LA 574 | History of Landscape Architecture I | 4 |
| LA 589 | Site Planning and Design | 6 |
| LA 639 | Landscape Architecture Foundations | 6 |
| MKTG 515 | Marketing Analytics | 4 |
| MUE 649 | History of Western Music Education | 3 |
| MUS 536 | World Music Ensemble: [Topic] | 2 |
| PPPM 518 | Introduction to Public Law | 4 |
| PPPM 557 | Nonprofit and Government Communications | 4 |
| PPPM 612 | Legal Issues in Planning | 4 |
| PPPM 626 | Community Planning Workshop | 5 |
| PS 618 | American Political Institutions | 5 |
| WGS 511 | Feminist Praxis | 4 |