Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Museum Studies

Program Requirements: Master’s Degree

The Masters curriculum is evenly divided between required courses and student-selected courses allowing MA candidates to craft a course of study suited to their own goals. The core curriculum provides a foundation in museum theory and practice. Students can choose electives and design internships to focus on a particular specialty (such as interpretation and evaluation, collections care and management, or museums and descendant communities) or they can take a range of courses to develop the kind of generalist knowledge and skills required in a small museum. Most classes incorporate applied learning experiences so that students are building skills and knowledge while working in partnership with community museums.

Core courses (18 credits):
MSTD A503 Introduction to Museum Studies (3 cr.)
MSTD A510 Museum Education (3 cr.)
MSTD A512 Exhibit Planning and Design (3 cr.)
MSTD A516 Collections Care and Management (3 cr.)
MSTD A530 Museum Colloquium (3 cr.)
MSTD A548 Museum Administration (3 cr.)

Internship (6 credits): Proposals must be approved by internship advisor prior to registration.
MSTD A508 Museum Internship (1-6 credits)

Electives (12 credits)
Select 4 courses from the following list of approved courses and from MSTD core courses not being counted for the 12 cr. taken for the core requirement. Electives not included in the list below must be approved by the Museum Studies Director prior to registration. Additional New Media Courses, Anthropology, and Herron Visual Communication and Fine Arts graduate courses will be added as electives as their courses are approved. See the Course Listing and Schedules for current offerings.
MSTD A514 Museums and Technology (3 cr.)
MSTD A518 Museums and Audiences (3 cr.)
MSTD A560 Current Topics in Museum Studies (3 cr.) (when designated as a core course; may be repeated)
MSTD A560 Current Tpcs. in MSTD: Caring for Native Objects (3 cr.)
MSTD A560 Current Tpcs. in MSTD: Curatorial Practices (3 cr.)
MSTD A560 Current Tpcs. in MSTD: Design Studio (3 cr.) 
MSTD A560 Current Tpcs. in MSTD: Indians of North America (3 cr.)
MSTD A560 Current Tpcs. in MSTD: Museum Ethics (3 cr.)
MSTD A560 Current Tpcs. in MSTD: Museum Theatre (3 cr.)
MSTD A560 Current Tpcs. in MSTD: Native Americans and Museums (3 cr.)
MSTD A560 Current Tpcs. in MSTD: Object-based learning (3 cr.)
MSTD A560 Current Tpcs. in MSTD: Eiteljorg projects (3 cr.)
MSTD A595 Indep.. Learning in Museum Studies (1-4 cr.) (may be repeated)

Electives from other departments:
Anthropology
ANTH E509 Modern Material Culture
ANTH A560 Current Tpcs. in ANTH: Cultural Heritage
ANTH A560 Current Tpcs. in ANTH: Public Archaeology


Education
Psychology of Teaching and Learning
EDUC P514 Life Span Development
EDUC P515 Child Development
EDUC P516 Adolescent Development
EDUC P540 Learning and Cognition in Education
EDUC P640 Thinking and Learning in Social Contexts
ACE   D505 Adult Learning through the Lifespan

Theory of Education
EDUC H520 Education and Social Issues
EDUC H530 Philosophy of Education
ACE   D500 Introduction to Adult Education Theory

Curriculum Development
EDUC J500 Instruction in the Context of Curriculum
EDUC T550 Cultural/Community Forces and the Schools
ACE   D506 Adult Education Planning and Development
ACE   D600 Teaching-Learning Transaction in Adult Education

Inquiry and Educational Research (recommended for students interested in visitor studies)
EDUC Y510 Action Research
EDUC Y520 Strategies for Educational Inquiry

Herron
HER R511 Visual Culture
HER Y501 Design I
HER Y502 Design II
HER H610 Art Theory and Criticism

History
HIST H542 Introduction to Public History
HIST H547 Special Topics in Public History: Historic Preservation
HIST H547 Special Topics in Public History: Archival Practices
HIST H547 Special Topics in Public History: Historic Site Interpretation

Philanthropic Studies
PHST P512 Human & Financial Resources for Philanthropy
PHST P521 The Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector
PHST P523 Civil Society & Philanthropy
PHST P542 Ethics and Values of Philanthropy  

SLIS
SLIS S520 Organization and Representation of Knowledge and Information
SLIS S652 Digital Libraries
SLIS S502 Collection Development & Management        

SPEA
SPEA V522 Human Resource Management in Nonprofit Organizations
SPEA V525 Management in the Nonprofit Sector
SPEA V526 Financial Management for Nonprofit Organizations (V525 pre-req recommended)
SPEA V557 Proposal Development and Grant Administration
SPEA V558 Fund Development for Nonprofit Organizations
SPEA V652 Managing Workforce Diversity

Program Requirements: Graduate Certificate

The program is 18 credit hours; 3 hours required course: Introduction to Museum Studies, 6 hours core courses, 6 hours elective courses (one must be MSTD), and one 3 hour internship.

  • Required Course: MSTD A503 Introduction to Museum Studies (3 cr.)
  • Core courses (6 cr.) (see above for course titles)
  • Elective (6 cr.) (one of which must be a Museum Studies course; see above for course titles)
  • One Internship (3 cr.)