Museum Studies
Earlham College’s museum studies program leverages the extensive collections at the college to train students for the museums of the future. An interdisciplinary faculty from the Departments of African and African American Studies, Ancient and Classical Studies, Archaeology, Art, Biology, Earth and Environmental Science, and History guide students to experience the best of a liberal arts education.
Students explore the history, best practices and critical issues of modern museology, and develop a deep disciplinary knowledge within a subject area of their choice.
“As a final for my Curatorial Practicum class, I created my own exhibit using the Earlham permanent collection. It was an excellent opportunity to dive deeper into an idea I had been thinking about for years while strengthening my research and curation skills. My professor picked up on what I was interested in and changed the course as we went along. So I was always learning things that resonated with me and helped me gain experience for my future career.”
Elsa Hoover ’22
Practical training in a liberal arts context
In choosing to pursue museum studies, you’ll benefit from the expert staff and abundant collections at the Joseph Moore Museum of Natural History, the Department of Earth and Environmental Science, the Earlham College Art Collections and the Quaker/College Archives.
Get certified
Earlham’s museum studies program offers all students—regardless of major—the chance to become Certified Interpretive Guides through the National Association for Interpretation. (Just register for MUSE 215!)
Hands-on experience
All students in the museum studies program complete an internship and are encouraged to seek out opportunities that match their interests. Recent students have interned at the American Museum of Natural History, The Smithsonian and the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center.
Our faculty
Drawn from all four divisions of the college, the faculty in museum studies guides students to a deep knowledge of the discipline of their choice and provides training in interpretation, exhibit design and collections care.
Program information
The Joseph Moore Natural History Museum, housed on Earlham’s campus, serves as a classroom for students who want to gain hands-on knowledge and experience about working in museums. Current grants from IMLS fund students to work on digitization projects.
As a liberal arts college, Earlham offers multiple disciplinary and interdisciplinary majors and minors in which students cultivate deep and specific knowledge and experience. Equally important, the College expects every student to develop broad, general skills and proficiencies across the curriculum.
As part of their general education, students complete six credits in each academic division of the College: humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and visual and performing arts. In addition, students meet requirements for first-year courses, analytical reasoning, perspectives on diversity and wellness.
Required Classes
- MUSE 224 Uses and Abuses
- MUSE 242 Collections Care and Management
- MUSE/ENSU 315 Engaging Audiences
- MUSE 317 Exhibition Design (WI)
- MUSE 481 Internship (0-3 credits, minimum of 130 working hours)
- MUSE 488 Senior Capstone
- One object-based research class determined by your track.
- AAAS: MUSE/HIST 239 OR MUSE/ART 402
- ANCS: MUSE/ANCS 270
- ART: MUSE/ART 402
- BIOL: MUSE/BIOL 359 Great Discoveries (R)
- EESC: GEOL 315 (pre req)
- HIST: MUSE/HIST 239 or ANCS 270
Required credits in a discipline of your choice (in addition to your object-based class):
AAAS
AAAS 114 Introduction to African American Studies and two of the following courses:
-
- AAAS 230 History of African American Religious Experiences (D-D)
- AAAS 368 African American History to Emancipation (D-D)
- AAAS 369 African American History Since Emancipation (D-D)
- AAAS 231 African History to 1880 (WI, D-I) (AY)
- AAAS 232 African History Since 1880 (WI, D-I) (AY)
- AAAS 352 Politics of Africa (D-I) (AY)
ANCS
Three of the following courses:
-
- ANCS 241 Ancient Mediterranean History (WI) (D-I)
- ANCS/MUSE 270 That Belongs in a Museum
- ANCS 315 Pompeii: Life & Death (D-I, R)
- ANCS 350 Words and Works in Rome (WI)
- ANCS 351 Words and Works in Ancient Rome
- (WI)
Art History:
- ART 115 OR ART 116 Art Context
- Choose one AND:
-
- ART 210 History of Craft (D-I) (AY)
- ART 211 20th Century Art (AY)
- ART 213 Nineteenth-Century Art (D-I)
- One 300-level art history class
Biology:
-
- BIOL 111 Ecological Biology AND
- BIOL 226 Biological Diversity AND
- Choose 1 required (any additional can be electives):
- BIOL 348 Ornithology
- BIOL 350 Field Botany
- BIOL 362 Biology of Insects
- BIOL 346 Vertebrate Zoology
Earth and Environmental Science:
-
- GEOL 201 Earth and the Environment (AQR, D-I)
- GEOL 314 Interpreting Earth History (AQR, R)
- GEOL 316 Geochemistry and Environmental Change (WI)
History:
-
- Two HIST electives AND one upper-level “research credit” HIST class
Electives
(Choose two; it’s okay to take extra courses in your discipline or an additional object-based class as an elective, but courses can’t count as object-based requirement and elective or track requirement and elective):
-
- Any additional class in your disciplinary track
- Any additional objects-based class
- MUSE 484: Faculty/Student Collaborative Research
- MUSE 485: Independent Study
- MUSE 486: Student Research
- EDUC 120: Foundations of Education
- EDUC 248: Theory and Practice of Education
View a full list of museum studies courses and their descriptions.
Faculty: Christian Adams, Shannon Flaherty, Tom Hamm, Shannon Hayes, Heather Lerner, Ann-Eliza Lewis, Elana Passman & Susan Wise
Our interdisciplinary approach combines a liberal arts education with the practical aspects of museum work. Our aim is to provide a foundation in the history, best practices and critical issues of museology, and to introduce students to a variety of museums and museum activities through experiential education. This program guides students to develop a disciplinary strength while providing opportunities in the museum competencies identified by the International Council of Museum’s Curricula Guidelines: Museology, Public Programming, and Information and Collections Management and Care.
Plan of study:
Required: MUSE 224 Uses and Abuses of Museums
Choose two museology competency classes:
- MUSE 242 Care and Management of Museum Collections
- MUSE/HIST 239 Material Culture Studies
- MUSE/ANCS 270 That Belongs in a Museum
- MUSE/ENSU 315 Engaging Audiences with Outreach and Interpretation
- MUSE 317 Museum Exhibit Design
- MUSE/BIOL 359 Great Discoveries in Natural History
- MUSE 402 Curatorial Practicum
Required Applied Experience (minimum of 130 working hours, 0-3 credits):
- Internship focusing on collections, conservation, research, interpretation, and/or education, ideally at a museum accredited by the American Association of Museums. Internship proposals must be submitted at least two months prior to the experience and require approval by a Museum Studies faculty member.
OR
- Applied group membership at the JMM focusing on collections, outreach, marketing, or exhibit design and construction and equal to 130 hours of work within a single team. (The animal care applied team is not eligible to satisfy this requirement.) Membership in applied teams is competitive. Completing this requirement over two semesters working 4.5 hours/week is highly recommended.
Choose one disciplinary emphasis:
African and African American Studies:
- AAAS 114 Introduction to African American Studies & one of the following:
- AAAS 230 History of African American Religious Experiences
- AAAS 368 African American History to Emancipation
- AAAS 369 African American History since Emancipation
- AAAS 231 History of Africa to 1880
- AAAS 232 History of Africa since 1880
- AAAS 352 Politics of Africa
Ancient and Classical Studies: two of the following courses:
- ANCS 241 Ancient Mediterranean History
- MUSE/ANCS 270 That Belongs in a Museum
- ANCS 315 Pompeii
- ANCS 350 Words and Works of Ancient Rome
- ANCS 351 Words and Works of Ancient Greece
Art
- MUSE/ART 115 or 116 Context and Meaning I or II and one upper-level art class
Biology
- BIOL 226 Biological Diversity & one of the following courses:
- BIOL 346 Vertebrate Zoology
- BIOL 348 Ornithology
- BIOL 350 Field Botany
- BIOL 362 Biology of Insects
- MUSE/BIOL 359 Great Discoveries in Natural History
History
- One elective course of at least three credits
- One upper-level “Research Credit” course
Earth & Environmental Science
- GEOL 314 Interpreting Earth History
- GEOL 315 Earth Materials
View a full list of museum studies courses and their descriptions.
In addition to internships and volunteer opportunities locally at the Joseph Moore Museum, the Wayne County Historical Museum, the Richmond Art Museum and the Levi and Catharine State Historic Site, Earlham students have interned around the world at places like the Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum, the Smithsonian and more.
Learn more about available programs via our Center for Global and Career Education.
Yes! Museum studies students are encouraged to study off-campus if they are able. Earlham offers several off-campus study programs where you can get hands-on experience working in museums, including the semester in London.
Learn more about available programs via our Center for Global and Career Education.
Museum studies students are interested in working in museums, galleries or other cultural institutions after graduation. The museum studies major offers practical, hands-on experience for you to learn the curatorial and public education skills needed to effectively work in these settings.