MA in Art Gallery and Museum Studies

at University of Manchester

Coursework and assessment
 

Different units have different methods of assessment.
 

Introduction to Museum Studies (Semester 1 core unit, 30 credits)

• a 5,000-word essay (80% of the overall course mark);

• an oral presentation and associated blog (20%).
   

Managing Collections and Exhibitions (Semester 1 core unit, 30 credits)

• a 4,000-word individual Fieldwork Portfolio (60%);

• a Group Fieldwork Portfolio (40%).
   

Optional units (Semester 2, 15 or 30 credits)

These are assessed by a combination of essays and project portfolios.

Dissertation (Semester 2 and Summer)

• a 12,000 to 15,000-word standard dissertation; or

• a practice-based dissertation (8,000-10,000 words and appropriate evidence/outputs of the practice).
   

Examples of past dissertation titles include:

• University museums and social inclusion

• Communicating Cultures: an assessment of the use of artist interventions in non-art museums

• Evaluating the educative potential of textile collections within the museum

• Missing audiences: the relationship between ethnicity and museum visiting in and around Southall

• Restitution in the regions: The Lindisfarne Gospels and the Lewis Chessmen

• Making the penal past relevant: the interpretation of history and execution in prison museums

• Revitalising musical instruments: Museum display, access and adaptation

• Histories and Her-stories: narrative and gender in museum display

• The development of Caribbean museums and the formation of national and cultural identities

• Natural history collections: Archiving the natural world

• Locating Scotland's identity within the Museum of Scotland.

• The presentation and interpretation of archaeological heritage in on-site museums.

• Representing the past: archaeology in the museum

• Recognising remains: the displays of Egyptian mummies in museums

• Photography, community and the E-volving museum

• Social Media and the reinterpretation of digital heritage

• Museum audience development in a Digital Age: Using social networking sites to engage new audiences
   

Course unit details

This MA is a modular degree made up of 180 credits.
 

You will take 120 credits of core and optional course units plus a dissertation worth 60 credits.
 

Semester 1

Full-time students take two core course units: 'Introduction to Museum Studies' and 'Managing Collections and Exhibitions' (each 30 credits).
 

Part-time students take 'Introduction to Museum Studies' in Year 1 and 'Managing Collections and Exhibitions' in Year 2.
 

These core units are designed to introduce you to key issues and ideas in museum practice, and also to different approaches to the study and analysis of museums.
 

All elements in Semester 1 are compulsory.
 

Semester 2
 

Optional units build on the knowledge and understanding you have gained in Semester 1, and enable you to develop expertise in a particular disciplinary area of curating (eg art or ethnography) or sphere of museum practice (eg museum learning, digital engagement or exhibition development).
 

Full-time students take 60 credits of optional course units (which are offered as 15 or 30 credits).
 

Part-time students take 30 credits of optional course units each year.
 

You may choose to take one optional course unit in a related subject area, eg Archaeology, History, or Social Anthropology.
 

Note that not all optional course units may be available every year.
 

Dissertation (Semester 2 and summer)

• On successful completion of the coursework, you proceed to write a dissertation (60 credits) on a topic of your choice, agreed in conjunction with your dissertation supervisor.
• Dissertations, like articles (depending on the journal), may be strongly based on original primary source research. They might aim to re-interpret an already well-trawled area of the subject, or they might take up an approach somewhere between these two extremes.
• In all cases, however, the authors will have chosen and elaborated a body of relevant material which they bring to bear on a clearly defined issue.
• Dissertation planning and supervision takes place in Semester 2 (February-end of June) and you continue with your independent writing in July and August.
• You can either undertake a standard dissertation or a practice-based dissertation.
   
• Standard : 12,000-15,000 words.
• Practice-based A : Exhibition. An exhibition, show or plan thereof. Outcome - exhibition and/or plan plus 8-10,000 words reflection.
• Practice-based B : Policy. Develop a piece of museum policy. Outcome - policy or report plus max 8,000-10,000 words reflection.
• Practice-based C : Digital/online (building on skills developed in Digital Curating). Outcome - digital media application plus max 8,000-10,000 words reflection.
   

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
 

Title

• Dissertation
• Managing Collections and Exhibitions
• Introduction to Museum Studies
• Heritage, Museums & Conflict
• Creative Learning
• Business Strategies for Arts, Culture and Creative Industries
• Intangible Cultural Heritage
• Global, Cultural and Creative Industries
• Creative Learning
• Business Strategies for Arts, Culture and Creative Industries

Academic entry qualification overview

• We normally expect students to have a First or Upper Second class honours degree or its overseas equivalent in a humanities-based subject area.
   

English language

• An overall grade of IELTS 7.0 with 7.0 in writing and no skill below 6.5 is required or 100+ in the TOEFL iBT with a minimum writing score of 25 and no skill below 22.

• MA (full-time)
  
  UK students (per annum): £11,500
  
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £23,000

• This course offers an important entry-level qualification for anyone seeking to pursue a career in museums or galleries.
• It is also a valuable resource for continuing professional development for mid-career professionals.
• In addition, the MA provides a thorough training in the skills needed to do further postgraduate research.
• These skills in research design and planning are transferable to jobs in the museum sector, as well as being a vital first step to PhD research.
• Job destinations vary according to the interests, ambitions and skills of each individual, but most of our students are successful in obtaining professional posts in collections, exhibitions, education, interpretation, or some aspect of museum/arts management soon after completing the MA.
• You will benefit from lots of CV building opportunities on the course, and your supervisor provides you with personal and career development support.
• You'll also have access to the award-winning Careers Service of the University, which provides support and advice in career development.