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Birkbeck, University of London: Museum Cultures with Collections Management

Institution Birkbeck, University of London View institution profile
Department School of Historical Studies
Web http://www.bbk.ac.uk/
Telephone 0203 907 0700
Study type Taught

Summary

Our MA Museum Cultures with Collections Management combines study of the history and cultural significance of museums with opportunities for you to gain professional museum experience. You will explore the processes that lie at the heart of collections management by which museums ascribe value and meaning to objects, and the ideas, values and ethics which underpin these.

Why choose this course?

  • This MA gives you the chance to acquire key foundational skills in collections management and a solid grasp of the related issues, learning from leading scholars in the field.

  • It offers you the chance to undertake a work placement in a museum, gallery or archive.

  • You will visit leading London museums and galleries and meet collections management experts to discuss their work, as well as engaging in hands-on activities relating to documentation, object handling and care.

  • The course benefits from our close links with museums, galleries, archives and heritage organisations across London and beyond.

What you will learn

You will master methods and sources, including archives, collections, historical and contemporary texts, needed to understand how museums operate and how their role - and the role of the collections manager - is shifting in the twenty-first century. You will also draw upon museum theory and sector guidelines to document a bequest to museum accreditation standard and critically reflect on this process. This will give you advanced skills in analysis, argument and communication.

You will be introduced to critical issues facing the museum today and take specialist option modules allowing you to explore a subject in depth. Subject-specific training in research skills is also provided.

How you will learn

This course is available to study full- or part-time. Classes, consisting of short lectures, seminars and small-group discussions and activities, are held in the evenings. The collections management module is taught during the day and intensively over a one-week period during the spring term. You can then choose from option modules that may include organised visits to museums, exhibitions and cultural sites of interest. We also offer an exciting study trip abroad every spring, with cities we have visited previously including Paris, Venice, Rome, Florence, Berlin and Moscow.

You will devise your own research project, supervised by one of our specialists.

Highlights

  • On this course we encourage vibrant debate which is enlivened by the diverse perspectives and experiences of our students, some of whom already work in the museum and gallery sector.

  • You will have the opportunity to apply for a ten-week supervised work placement.

  • We offer a number of bursaries for postgraduate students. Funds are also available to support research expenses for your coursework on this MA.

  • We host a range of events including information evenings for prospective students; the annual Murray Lecture; and exhibitions and displays at Birkbeck's Peltz Gallery and events at the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities.

  • Birkbeck was ranked as one of the top four universities in the UK for its Art and Design research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

Careers and employability

On successfully graduating from this course you will have gained an array of transferable skills, including:

  • a sophisticated use of written and spoken English

  • an advanced critical ability in understanding and applying theories

  • facility and precision in the use of analytical tools.

Graduates can pursue career paths in the museums and heritage sector; arts management, conservation and policy; education, marketing and publishing; and research and academia. Possible professions include:

  • museum or gallery curator

  • museum registrar or collections manager

  • arts administrator

  • researcher

  • advertising account executive

  • lecturer in higher education.

MA

Located in Bloomsbury, in the heart of London, everything the UK’s Capital city has to offer is on our doorstep.

We offer over 250 taught and research postgraduate programmes across the humanities and social sciences, business, law; and science and we’re a part of the prestigious University of London, one of the world’s best known and most highly regarded universities.

Birkbeck, University of London is built for the busy. We have over 200 years’ experience of providing exceptional learning experiences designed to fit in with students’ schedules. Our range of different study options allow our students to choose …

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