mind-half-open Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 (edited) Hey, new to this forum and my naivete on the topic is going to come across really quickly. I'm in the very early stages of considering a masters after working for several years in journalism and now, due to lack of job stability and progress, needing to get out. (Not that I think grad school is an answer to the job stability thing, but I want a new direction.) Through my work I've written about several museum exhibits, talking to curators and other professionals in the field, and I've always been very intrigued by this world. Recently I was in touch with a fascinating woman who had been an editor and writer for various Smithsonian museums over the years. I've also helped a good friend work on a few projects for her Museum Studies grad program, including a "digital museum," and really enjoyed myself. I've asked this friend and others how I could go about breaking into the business of museum-related writing and editing work. No one has a pat answer but several have suggested that a masters would be helpful. It seems like an Art History or Museum Studies degree would be most relevant. I'm just now starting to look into programs. Initial Questions: 1) I'm specifically interested in writing/editing/publishing work for museums. Are there any programs out there that cater toward this? 2) Is a masters degree necessarily the way for me to go, given these career aspirations? Would I be just as well off doing a couple of internships to try to break into the field, rather than spending the time and money on a masters? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks. Edited January 10, 2012 by mind-half-open mind-half-open 1
mind-half-open Posted January 11, 2012 Author Posted January 11, 2012 Aww, no replies here? Anyone? Keep in mind I'm just looking for BROAD advice right now as I get started.
tightlywound Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 This is difficult to answer, especially because it's not entirely clear to me what kind of writing you want to do. I suspect that both a master's degree in art history (not museum studies) with an internship or two along the way would be useful for you, possibly even necessary. You might also think about editorial work for arts-related publications that are not necessarily affiliated with a specific museum. I personally can't think of any programs that cater specifically to your career aspirations. You could seek out departments that are known to have particularly close ties to a local museum, a strong gallery of their own, and/or a strong mfa program whose students may let you write for their shows/publications. You could also look for faculty that are actively writing in such a capacity.
mind-half-open Posted January 13, 2012 Author Posted January 13, 2012 Thanks for replying. I realize my inquiry is vague and not yet well-formed. The writer/editor I met had worked with curators to create museum exhibits -- researching, writing and editing the wall text, essentially. She said she had also sometimes worked in more of a marketing capacity, helping create brochures, etc. for certain museums. Later in her career she had started working on books that museums published. Occasionally during job searches I've come across editing jobs at a museum, working in publications departments. So that general "line" of work is what I'm interested in, though I'm not sure how to begin.
contiguous Posted January 15, 2012 Posted January 15, 2012 2) Is a masters degree necessarily the way for me to go, given these career aspirations? Would I be just as well off doing a couple of internships to try to break into the field, rather than spending the time and money on a masters? Also new here, but I'll chime in that at the mid-sized museum where I work (East Coast), none of the employees in in the publishing dept. have master's degrees, to my knowledge. However, I'm not sure what the situation is like at, say, MOMA-level institutions.
mind-half-open Posted January 16, 2012 Author Posted January 16, 2012 Also new here, but I'll chime in that at the mid-sized museum where I work (East Coast), none of the employees in in the publishing dept. have master's degrees, to my knowledge. However, I'm not sure what the situation is like at, say, MOMA-level institutions. For jobs like these that I've seen in the past, sometimes they do want a masters (usually art history); sometimes they don't. I've applied to these types of jobs before with no luck. I'm wondering what the best way would be to break into the field... maybe I should volunteer for free somewhere, or seek an internship. A tough prospect as a 30-year-old who's been working full-time for seven years. Right now based solely on the advice in this thread I'm thinking maybe the time/effort of a masters is probably not worth it, given my goals.
GreenePony Posted January 21, 2012 Posted January 21, 2012 An MST MA would teach what is needed for the separation within a museum, not necessarily exhibit design. What you might find interesting would be a certificate program in exhibit design, I believe GWU has an online one but it may require a preexisting MA. Also, be aware that ANY job in the museum field is very difficult right now. I was told by my advisers and supervisors to go right into an MA program to try to weather out the economic downturn. So many budgets have been cut that finding openings is difficult, finding one that doesn't have at least a dozen applicants is even harder. There are so many applicants that it will take time to find a job, especially one as specialized as you are looking for.
Starlajane Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 This isn't my area of expertise but I certainly considered it, so I found out some interesting things, namely, that it can be very, very difficult to get a job at a museum and that a lot of people have to volunteer/intern for several years before being employed full-time. I definitely would not get an MA in museum studies or art history. Rather, I would go a completely different route. It actually sounds like you are being a bit too specific about what kind of work you wish to do, which is, essentially, public relations. I remember that a PR major was offered in the School of Communications @ my alma mater, UT Austin. I think an MA in Public Relations with an emphasis/specialty in art or museum work would be your best bet. In fact, UT's program (called "Advertising and Public Relations") offers an internship opportunity w/ the Austin Children's Museum that sounds like what you might like to do. From the ad, it seems that most museums are going on-line in terms of their PR work, so fluency w/ computers and web design programs would probably help you more than a degree in art history or museum studies; in fact, the aforementioned announcement states that graphic design and photography experience is a plus.
CoffeeMug Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 Don't worry, what you want does in fact exist. You want this: http://www.saic.edu/degrees_resources/gr_degrees/manaj/index.html#overview Starlajane 1
jlk88 Posted February 7, 2012 Posted February 7, 2012 I'm not sure what kind of museum you're looking to work in, whether art or history, etc. However, I'm currently in a History MA program at Youngstown State University in Ohio. In our program you are able to focus on Museum/Curation -- but the best part of our program is that we are the one of the only (perhaps the only) history departments in the United States that runs a museum.
GreenePony Posted February 10, 2012 Posted February 10, 2012 Something that may help is a list put together in 08 of museum programs. I know Baylor has changed a bit (more staff, 3 full time and 3 part time as of this year, no longer offers the BS/BA only minor available, same awesome wing of the Mayborn Museum Complex). I think acceptance rates are about the same for the programs listed and seems fairly accurate about all the programs which are held in or near a museum. http://perceval.bio.nau.edu/downloads/acumg/museumstudiesprograms.pdf
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