Museum Studies is an interdisciplinary program that serves multiple departments in the Colleges of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Fine and Applied Arts and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. It is housed in the Department of Anthropology. The program offers a graduate minor in museum studies, effective Fall 2009. It also offers an undergraduate curriculum and serves as an informal hub of museum-related research on campus.
Museum Studies courses are offered each fall and spring term. The full range of courses is described below. Please check the university course information pages to see which courses are available for a specific term. If you become aware of other course offerings relevant to museum studies, please contact us at museumstudies@illinois.edu.
Graduate Minor in Museum Studies
Basic information about the graduate minor is available at Program of Study, University of Illinois. A summary of the graduate curriculum is also available as a pdf flyer at GradMinor Flyer
Forms for declaring your intent to pursue the minor, tracking your progress in the minor, and completing your capstone project can be started electronically and then printed for signatures:
Museum Studies Graduate Capstone Form
Museum Studies Graduate Minor Intent Form
Museum Studies Graduate Progress Form
Courses for Graduate Students
- MUSE 500 Core Problems in Museum Theory and Practice (every fall)
- MUSE 420 Collections Management (every other year)
- MUSE 440 Museum Registration (every other year)
- MUSE 589 Special Topics in Museum Studies
- MUSE 590 Museum Studies Capstone (every semester)
- ANTH 460/LA 460 Heritage Management (every fall)
- ANTH 473 Museums and Communities
- ANTH 560/LAW 678 Anthropology and Law
- ARTH 539 Academies of Art
- ARTH 560 Collections, Museums & Patrons
- LIS 490 Museum Informatics (every year)
- LIS590 Library and Museum Exhibitions
- THEA 457 Model Making for the Stage
- ANTH, ARTE, ARTH, LA, LIS graduate seminars specifically about museums
For more information about both graduate and undergraduate curricula, museum studies events and other resources, please direct contact Dr. Susan Frankenberg, Museum Studies Program Coordinator.