<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>Wanted your opinion on applying to grad school for an MA in Museum Studies or equivalent program. My focus would be on curating contemporary art with the hopes of working at an arts non-profit.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I have no background in Art History, which appears required for every program I'm eyeing. For undergrad, I studied film & television at Syracuse University. I graduated Magna Cum Laude (3.68 GPA) and have been working in the entertainment industry for the past year and a half. I already have credits for major feature films, television shows and commercials. Though this has nothing to do with museum studies, I do think that I've done impressive work in my short time out of undergrad.</p>
<p>Currently, I volunteer with the nonprofit 826 (the LA branch,) and I'm active in the arts community, but I still don't have any work experience in this field. Is it possible to get admitted to an MA program with my background, or would I need to obtain an undergraduate degree in Art History? Would it be worth taking a few classes here and there, or perhaps get an associates degree? I would not have time to enroll in school full-time.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>There are 150+ Museum Studies programs out there, so you are just going to have to research the admissions requirements for all of them if you are serious about this kind of degree. A friend did her Masters in Museum Studies at one of the Oklahoma Universities (can’t remember which), liked the program a great deal, and got a good position right after completing the degree. Good luck!</p>
<p>Here’s the thing, for you and most other people who ask questions like this and might read this: frankly, doctoral programs cannot read your mind and heart and know who’s <em>truly</em> dedicated to or passionate about something. And even if they could, they don’t particularly care. What they DO care about is preparation. They want students who are going to come to them prepared to do the work of a PhD program, prepared to succeed in the field. If you don’t have any experience in art history, you aren’t prepared to succeed in the field. Even if you have done impressive work in other fields, that doesn’t mean you are suited for museum work. That’s like saying that your credentials in political science should allow you entrance to med school.</p>
<p>So you need to do two things:</p>
<p>1) Get experience in the museum field and
2) Take some classes as prerequisites for the museum studies programs.</p>
<p>You probably won’t need a second-bachelor’s, you’ll probably just need some classes (maybe 5-7, give or take).</p>
<p>Julliet - thanks for a realistic and honest response. On a personal level, I don’t think my work ethic is a problem (I work 60 hours a week for something I’m only slightly passionate about; I’d assume it’d be more for the arts!), but I agree that I don’t have the preparation. While taking classes could be an easy, albeit expensive fix, I don’t think I could qualify for a job in the museum field. If volunteering counts as preparation, though, I could manage that.</p>
<p>as a side note, my top choice programs right now are:
Brown - MA in Public Humanities
Columbia - MA in Modern Art: Critical and Curatorial Studies
USC - MA in Art and Curatorial Practices in the Public Sphere</p>
<p>Of course, all of those are long shots, though at least Brown doesn’t require a background in art history.</p>