Departments, Programs and Centers
Programs
Museum Studies
- Director Associate Professor Elizabeth Kryder-Reid, Museum Studies, Anthropology
- Professors Debra Mesch, SPEA; Paul Mullins, Anthropology; Jean Robertson, Art History; Philip Scarpino, History;; Larry Zimmerman (Public Scholar of Native American Representation) Museum Studies, Anthropology
- Associate Professors Jeanette Dickerson-Putman, Anthropology; Owen Dwyer, Geography; Matt Groshek (Public Scholar of Exhibit Planning and Design), Museum Studies, Visual Communication; Youngbok Hong, Visual Communication; Jennifer Lee, Fine Arts; Elizabeth Brand Monroe, History;; Kevin Robbins, History; Elizabeth Wood (Public Scholar of Museums, Families, and Learning), Museum Studies, Education
- Assistant Professors Modupe Labode (Public Scholar of African American History and Museums), Museum Studies, History; Rebecca Shrum, History;
- Academic Advising Cavanaugh Hall 419, (317) 274-1406
- Department E-mail museum@iupui.edu
- Department Web site http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/mstd/
The Museum Studies Program provides an integration of museum history and theory with hands-on instruction in museum techniques and practices. It encompasses the scholarly exploration of museums, including their history, operations, ethics, and role in society, from interdisciplinary perspectives while also training students in the technical aspects of museum work such as collections care and management, administration, education, exhibit planning and design, curatorial practices, visitor studies, and technology.
As an urban university, IUPUI is part of a community with a rich heritage of museums and cultural arts. Faculty appointed as Public Scholars of Civic Engagement craft relationships and sustainable partnerships with area museums and cultural institutions and involve undergraduate and graduate students in meaningful ways in those collaborations. The program also offers extensive opportunities for student learning through the resources of the museum community, with experiences such as internships, involvement in exhibit development and design, exhibition, and collections focused courses, access to collections, collaboration with faculty on museum research projects, and participation in museum-sponsored seminars, lectures, and professional meetings. The integral role of Indianapolis museums in the museum studies curriculum fosters a critical, reflective, and scholarly discourse on museums that is applied to current practices and issues in the field.
The program offers a master’s degree and both an undergraduate and a graduate certificate. Undergraduate students considering application to the certificate are welcome in the classes. Up to nine credits earned as a graduate non-degree student may be applied toward the graduate certificate or degree upon admission to the program. Please see the Web site for admissions deadlines and current course offerings.