Museum Studies

Admissions

 

We enjoy talking with prospective students, and welcome inquiries about the program at any time of year. However, we accept new students only once a year. The application deadline is March 1st, for entry into the program in the fall semester (which starts in late August). We'll tell you whether you were accepted, and offer financial aid, the first or second week of April.


We take a maximum of twelve new students each year, so have to make some difficult choices among a much larger pool of qualified applicants. The people who get chosen are those who have a serious commitment to building a museum career, and who show promise of making significant contributions to the profession. Of course, we're looking for a strong academic record from your undergraduate degree and any other graduate work you've already completed. This is a rigorous, challenging graduate program, and we want to be certain that you can thrive in that environment. Ultimately, though, we're looking for interesting people who will help make the museums they work in more interesting. While a 3.2 undergraduate GPA is normally the minimum acceptable (and the average of those accepted is much higher), we're willing to look at an argument for why we should let you in with a lower GPA.

One of the best ways to demonstrate your commitment to the field is by having done internships, volunteer work or paid jobs in museums. Be sure to tell us about any such experience on the Supplemental Application. (Download the Supplemental Application using the link to the left. You might not get it with the other application materials.)

Please note that acceptance to the regular M.A. program in History does not guarantee admission into the Museum Studies concentration.

To get started with the application process, click on one of the links to the left to get to the detailed instructions. Note that there is a separate link for international applicants.