Department of Museum Studies

The Department of Museum Studies offers a Masters of Arts degree in museum studies, which combines academic and professional training for students preparing to be the next generation of museum leaders. Students pursuing graduate and undergraduate degrees in other disciplines at Baylor may also take a minor in museum studies. The master's program consists of 36 semester hours. If a student wishes to pursue a minor in Museum Studies, they would complete 9 semester hours. On the undergraduate minor 18 semester hours are required.

Students learn about the history and philosophy of different types of museums, about the different skills that are needed in museum administration, museum education, collections management and care, archival management, and exhibit design, as well as courses on material culture, decorative arts, historic preservation, and museum ethics. Many classes take the learning off-site with field trips to major museums in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio, as well as closer to home.

Students are also given the opportunity to apply (and test out) that knowledge in the real world, through work at the Mayborn Museum Complex and other museums and special collections libraries on the Baylor campus, and in the central Texas area. Students may also undertake formal internships across the country, including the Smithsonian Institution, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and various National Park Service sites. Students may earn the opportunity to attend professional conferences, such as the annual meeting of the Texas Association of Museums.