Course Descriptions

The interview will be hold on 8-9/ October 2018

Course Descriptions

1^st Semester

MS 101- History and Philosophy of Museums

This module aims to survey museum history and philosophy from a global perspective to examine how the museum's function has developed over time and across boundaries. It focuses on the formation of a variety of museums from a diversity of disciplinary perspectives, and examines the intellectual life of museums beginning with concepts of collecting and cultural property in the medieval period. It examines current issues in the philosophy of museums; museum missions, representation of the past, interpretation of cultural objects and the role of museums in society. The module will conclude by discussing how museums are redefining themselves today as educational, social, and cultural institutions.

MS 111- Museum management and Operation

Museums are stewards of cultural heritage, vortices of knowledge and arbiters of taste. They are community icons, places of respite and public education adjuncts. Museums do not necessarily deal in products for profit, yet they compete in an entertainment ecology. They must cultivate members and donors, while they rely on programs, gifts, grants, sponsorships, and retail operations to survive. Students will explore the range, fundamentals, and subtleties of the museum business including mission, governance, programming, management, finance, fundraising, facilities, legal and ethical issues, technologies, and audiences.

MS 112- Curatorship: Principles and Practices

Whether the museum is large or small, public or private, has several curatorial departments or a single director/curator, it must have a way to fulfill its curatorial obligations. Everyone in the museum should understand the institution curatorial responsibilities, and every museum should have a curatorial strategy suited to its collection and/or its exhibitions. In this course, students will study a broad knowledge of the principles and practices related to core curatorial functions, and learn about the relationship of curatorship to the museum mission, ethical and other challenges facing museums, and how technology is changing the ways museums fulfill their curatorial responsibilities.

MS 113- Museum marketing and Communication

The module presents the scientific approach of marketing and the way of applying the marketing mix in relation to Museums. This course explores the core responsibilities and the expanding roles of museum marketing and communications in an era of increasing competition for people’s time, attention, and resources. Topics range from market research and branding to crisis communications and social media. The module will help the students to acquire skills used to acknowledge the public about the museums' offerings and experiences. Through the different mix of marketing the students will be able to carry out market segmentation and identify the target customer of museums. The module will qualify the student to establish the marketing plan of museums. This is followed by developing marketing material as brochures, print advertisements, etc.

MS 114- Preventive Conservation Concepts and Techniques

Preventive conservation is the mitigation of deterioration and damage to cultural property through the formulation and implementation of policies and procedures for the following: appropriate environmental conditions; handling and maintenance procedures for storage, exhibition, packing, transport, and use; integrated pest management; emergency preparedness and response; and reformatting/duplication. The module aims to provide a comprehensive and challenging introduction to preventive conservation and to teach students how to evaluate and monitor collections, and to develop and implement policies and procedures to facilitate collections care.

2^nd Semester

MS 201- Museum Types and Architecture

This module serves as an introduction to museum architecture including the history of museum buildings, as well as current case studies of renovations, expansions, and new facilities. There will be discussions on relevant topics in creating a physical museum space such developing a museum program, planning the visitor experience, developing wayfinding systems , building a green museum, and incorporating technology in the initial plan of museum. The course will include an analysis of museum buildings for multiple perspectives including visitors, staff, and collections. Students will learn how to evaluate an existing museum building and will be guided through a mini-POE (post-occupancy evaluation) of a museum in their community.

MS 202- History of Art

This module presents the history of art from the ancient to modern times. It will help the students to acquire skills used to acknowledge all style of art and for the purposes for which works of art were created. Through that, the students will be able to identify, describe, and analyze works of art from a range of historical periods and geographical locations. The module will qualify the student to relate works of art to their proper cultural and historical origins.

MS 211- Museum Exhibitions

This course examines the entire exhibition planning sequence. It will address the foundation of planning, the planning process itself, designing, writing exhibition labels, fabricating, and installing interpretive exhibitions that encourage museum visitors’ understanding, participation, and emotional engagement. Students will have the opportunity to evaluate exhibitions and the personal experience at the museum and to establish scientific principles of visitor behavior.

MS 212- Legal Issues in Museum Administration

Legal issues and concepts are a fundamental part of the day-to-day management of museums and the policies that shape the nature of museums. This course introduces students to the ways in which museums are affected by the law and different legal concepts. Discussions and assignments will address practical concerns as well as policy and conceptual matters incorporated cases, mock negotiations, and group discussions. Students will be able to identify issues from hypotheticals, identify relevant legal concerns and resources- the course will help students understand legal matters in museum practice in an applied manner. Legal and policy discussions will include current issues in copyright, freedom of speech and censorship matters, collections issues including cultural heritage developments.

MS 213- Collection Information Management Systems

Collections Management Systems, the workhorses of museum information technology, long ago evolved into Collection Information Systems, are able to provide staff members and the public with access to collections information for myriad purposes. As information about the objects in our collections has become a valuable and widely accessible asset, it is used more widely and intensively than ever before. Yet in many institutions, the effort to produce this information is duplicated among multiple departments, drawing on multiple data management technologies and unsynchronized sets of data. In this course, we examine the purposes for which collection information is used, who takes responsibility for it, and how it is managed. Students will learn to evaluate the object information regardless of where and how it is stored. Practical exercises in requirements identification, “corralling” legacy data into consistent formats for import to standards-based systems, selecting appropriate standards, and developing criteria for selecting not only the right system but the right kind of system (or systems) will prepare students for the real world of messy, inconsistent, and often “solid” information.

MS 221- Museums and Digital Technology

This module aims to offer the student a survey about the role of technology in museums and how they communicate and interact with their audiences through digital means. It focuses on the growth of technology in the museum industry and its evolving role. It examines the new broadcasting methods of museums. The module will qualify the student to relate the role of social media web sites and evaluate museum web sites.

MS 231- Introduction to Museum Education

Museum education is about how well a visit inspires and stimulates people into wanting to know more, as well as changing how to see themselves as a part of a community. This module aims to offer the student an overview of the role of the educational role of the museum; the types of museum education, as well as the examination of the various theories and practices of museum education. Students will have the opportunity to discuss several topics with other specialists in the field of museology. They will explore the process to creating significant educational programs in museums. The course will emphasize the different categories of audiences and the necessary skills that educators need to possess and /or acquire. The course will also shed light on the current trends in digital technologies and its impact on educational services and learning programs: within the museum and outside the museum. As well as focusing on the deference between Pedagogy and Museum Education and how to create educational programs for diverse audiences.

MS 232- Museums and Community Engagement

This module aims to offer the student the theory and skills of museums and community engagement, drawing on research and practice for examples. It introduces participants to essential arrangements in creating successful community and civic engagement practices. It explores the ways in which museums can most effectively represent, engage, collaborate with and serve diverse communities through museum programs. It discusses procedures of investigating community needs, assets and interests through a variety of collaborative and inclusive formats that consistently insure museum programs work in congruence to meet changing community needs. Emphasis will be on how museum programs can be designed to build social capital through bonding and bridging individuals, groups and communities in co-created programming which in turn engenders healthy, active and connected communities.

3^rd Semester

MS 301- World History

This module will introduce students to the Modern History of the World through surveying the major events, developments and personalities that have shaped it. It also offers cross-cultural grounding necessary to bridge the gaps between people of different cultural backgrounds. It is designed to develop greater understanding of the evolution of global processes and patterns in different types of human societies. The module also highlights the nature of changes in global frameworks and their causes and consequences, as well as comparisons among major societies.

MS 231- Introduction to Museum Education

MS 312- Human Resources Management in Museums

This module will focus on key aspects of the human resource management process in museums that support productive, efficient, and effective employees. Emphasis will be on how managers select, hire, develop, and retain employees. These areas include recruitment and selection, orientation and training, development, retention and turnover. Participants will be involved in role plays in order to gain added insight into these common management functions.

MS 313- Museum Economics and Fundraising

This module examines museums from the economic point of view. It starts with handling the demand and supply for museums, and proceeds with exploring the possibilities of both public and private funding of museums. It aims to offer the student a survey about the types of museums demand, the museum displays, exhibitions, special activities and visitor services and facilities. The strategies to get the needed economic support from foundations, private corporations and even individuals are also discussed. Factors affecting fundraising such as income tax law for individuals and corporations are discussed too. Furthermore, the course covers the issue of the influence of donors on the policy and behavior of the museum management.

MS 314- Conservation of Museum Objects

This course examines the role of conservation in museums by introducing materials commonly found in collections, the causes of their deterioration and the resources available to identify and mitigate collection risks. Students will learn how to handle objects, how to record object conditions in written and photographic formats, how to choose a conservator and to understand the ethics that govern conservation.

MS 321- Museum Publishing, Libraries and Archives

This course will emphasis on issues that relate specifically to collecting institutions. Class work will involve the history of collecting and the development of the three communities (archives, libraries, and museums) in the United States in the late 19^th century/early 20^th century before delving more deeply into ideas and ideals, missions, professional training, conversation, ethics, and services that are shared among the three communities. In the final weeks we will focus on how technology can help in shaping ongoing dialogues. Students will have the opportunity to learn basics for documentation and archiving and the how to create effective museum archive. The difference s between museum library and archives will be taught together with the importance of museum publication as a tool for marketing to the museum.

MS 331- Interpreting Material Culture

This course explores the ways in which material culture has been represented and interpreted by historians and cultural theorists, and the methodologies behind interpretation. It is designed to provide a broad grounding in the fields of artefact and material culture studies. The module will prepare participants at both a theoretical and practical level in the field of specialist artefactual analysis as well as the demands of the museum sector with regard to material culture.

MS 332- Museum Accessibility and Visitor Management

Making museums and their information and collection accessible to people with disabilities concerns more than ramps and restrooms. People with disabilities can encounter barriers to every aspect of the museum experience, from finding out about exhibitions and educational offering before a visit through advertising or the museum website; to getting to, into and around the museum galleries and other public spaces; to hearing tours and lectures, reading labels and signs, and using gallery interactives; to participating in educational programs. This course will introduce students to the key concepts and issues associated with making museums accessible to and inclusive of people with disabilities.

4^th Semester

MS 401- Master Thesis

Registration for the Master Thesis is possible for the student after finishing 90 credit points. Thesis should be accomplished in four months, yet in exceptional cases duration for the thesis could be extended for another month. Oral examination will be carried out in five weeks after submitting the thesis. Master Thesis is equal to 24 credit points.

MS 402- Museum Internship

To fulfil the internship requirements, a student must complete 80 hours of work onsite and a ten- to fifteen-page research paper on an approved topic related to his/her experience, due at the end of the semester. Before registering for the internship option, the student should contact the internship coordinator for approval. At least four to six weeks before the beginning of the semester in which the internship will take place, the student must submit: 1) a description of the intended project including activities and/or responsibilities; 2) learning objectives and goals; 3)why this experience should be part of the Museum Studies degree, and 4) a signed letter of commitment from the internship supervisor.