M.A. IN MUSEUM STUDIES

Located in Florence, one of the world’s most important museum centers, the M.A. in Museum Studies program, offered by Marist College in collaboration with the LdM Institute, ensures unparalleled learning and internship opportunities.

This is an interdisciplinary advanced degree program which aims to provide students with an understanding of how museums operate within their social and cultural contexts. Drawing on faculty from the U.S., U.K. and continental Europe, courses are taught using a variety of innovative methods, yet they share two fundamental core principles which are embedded in the program’s philosophy: 1) museums’ engagement with the public is paramount and 2) museums vary greatly across the globe and therefore must be studied from an international comparative perspective.

Guest lectures by museum professionals expose students to a wide variety of international perspectives, widening their horizons while visits to museums, historical monuments, archives, libraries, and relevant non-profit institutions essentially use Florence as a classroom, integrating students within the city and offering them hands-on exposure to real world museum research and practices.

An important feature of courses are guest lectures held by a range of museum professionals, which expose students to a wide variety of international perspectives. Visits to museums, monuments, libraries, and other institutions are essential features of all courses. Students are encouraged to use the city of Florence as their 'classroom' to ensure exposure to real-world museum research and practices.

Special emphasis is placed on internship experiences, during which students learn to manage collections, organize exhibitions and events, learn management skills, and/or assist in public outreach programs and marketing campaigns. The lectures, visits and internships offered facilitate the important transition from student to museum professional at the termination of the degree.

The program, which is taught in collaboration with the University of Florence and the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, additionally seeks to position itself as a much-needed forum for reflection and debate on museological issues in the city. All courses are taught in English.

Program Curriculum:
The Master of Arts degree requires the completion of a minimum of 34 credit hours (3 credits = 37.5 instructional hours) and includes the completion of the Master's Thesis. The degree may be completed in one calendar year (Fall, Spring and the following Summer sessions).

Students must pass a Foreign Language Competency Exam before beginning the internship and thesis. Foreign Language Competency must be demonstrated in either French, Italian, German, or in another advisor-approved language. Italian language instruction is highly recommended and available on campus.

Session One (Fall):
Museums and the Public I: People and Ideas
Museums, Galleries, and the History of Collecting
Museum Development, Management, and Leadership
Art and Objects in Museums and in Context
Research Methods I: Methodology and Resources

Session Two (Spring):
Museums and the Public II: Objects and Audience
Pick Three courses from the following:
Transcultural Aesthetics, Ethnography and Cultural Bias
Museum Spaces and Technologies
Museum Education
Conservation and Historic Preservation
Museum Ethics and the Law
Research Methods II: Thesis Proposal

Session Three (Summer):
Internship
Thesis

For more information or to apply to the M.A. in Museum Studies, contact info@lorenzodemedici.it.