Completion Requirements

  1. Must be a student in good standing in a graduate degree program with a minimum 3.00 grade–point average.
  2. Must submit a completed application form, a recent resume and a short statement (two pages) that outlines the significance of this portfolio for their graduate program and/or career goals. The statement should include a general discussion of the content of their proposed work for the portfolio. (Students should also include a list of possible courses.)
  3. Must submit a letter from the Graduate Adviser in the student's home department approving the application.

Completion Requirements

  1. 12 credit hours of graduate–level work (four courses), with an overall GPA of 3.5 in these courses.
  2. Participation in one Museum Studies symposium, to be held yearly in the spring semester.
  3. ARH 394 “Issues in Museum Studies” for 3 credits. (This counts as one of the four courses.)

ARH 394 Issues in Museum Studies – This required course is a three–hour graduate seminar taught once each academic year. Janice Leoshko, the portfolio director, will teach it in the spring semester 2009.

Course description: Museum studies may be one of the newer kids in the culture wars but it has resulted already in a prodigious amount of writing, a testament to the high stakes surrounding the activities of museums. Despite such attention, however, it is often difficult to understand the factors shaping what museums actually do. This course surveys the histories and practices of museums. It also considers collections and archives and the ways in which these have led to the development of museums. Students will be able to consider and critique various types of museums and museum practices.

Students construct their own portfolio in order to develop their particular interests, but the specific combination of course work for their portfolio must be approved by the Museum Studies supervising committee. Students must maintain a 3.00 grade point average.

At least six hours should be outside the student's home department, and no more than one course can be taken as an individual studies/conference course. An approved internship may take the place of one course. Students should discuss this option with the portfolio director.

Upon completion of the portfolio requirements, the portfolio certification will be added to the student's transcript.