Education Scholarships in Museum Studies

Get a Prestigious Career in Museology

“Those who don’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Surely we’ve all heard this quote before, in some form or fashion. To help people remember past events that have profoundly impacted our society museums are constructed to provide knowledge on everything from the discovery of fossils, ancient wars, and inventions. They also display past civilizations, languages, arts, and technologies used. All of these things are of great importance in today’s world.

As more and more artifacts and information about the past is gathered, there is a growing need for more Museology and Museum Studies majors. Curators, researchers, administrators, and professors are just a few of the professions that need more of these majors. If you are interested in pursuing a career in the field of Museum Studies or Museology, be sure to look for scholarships to help pay for your education.

Scholarship Programs

The University of Wisconsin– Milwaukee offers a unique program specifically for Museum Studies majors. As a joint venture between UWM and the Milwaukee Public Museum, The Museum Studies Certificate Program aims to provide basic scholarship and functional training to equip students with the right expertise to take on a role in an entry-level museum position. As part of the Art History Department, there are a few scholarships available to those in the Museum Studies Certificate Program.

• Nadine Walter Memorial Scholarship- this scholarship is awarded based on academic merit to first year, female graduate students. It provides around $3,000 in funding.
• Lawrence R. Hoey Memorial Prize- this award is given annually to the graduate student who can write the best essay in the Art History Department.
• Chancellor’s Awards- this scholarship is solely for graduate students based on academic achievement. Up to $8,000 can be awarded.

San Francisco State University’s Museum Studies Program takes all the museum-related courses that students have previously taken in their undergraduate classes- Anthropology, Art History, Classics & Classical Archaeology, History, the Sciences, etc. – and accentuates practical experience, professionalism, and important events occurring in the Museum Studies field. This graduate program covers all aspects of museum activities and enables students with the ability to take on full-time roles after earning their degree. SFSU offers scholarships specifically for students in a graduate program in the Humanities Department-which is the department Museum Studies falls under.

The Museology Department at the University of Washington encourages its students to be innovators, think creatively and become leaders. It is designed so that students can contribute to the work of museums and other valuable cultural institutions, and one day become key players in museums themselves. UW offers scholarships and work study programs to help graduate students in this field.

Colorado University’s graduate program in Museum & Field Studies combines both academic courses with hands on experience through internships. This allows students to customize their learning experience. Here are a few different options that graduate students can choose from:

• Volunteer as a guide at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History
  
• Mentor middle school girls through Girls At the Museum Exploring Science (GAMES)
• Collaborate with other Colorado University museums, galleries, and libraries
• Conduct research in science or museum studies
• Take related courses in any university department

CU offers a few scholarships for its students. The Museum Awards Program is set up reward students who have shown great academic achievement in museum-related studies. Up to $1,200 may be awarded. The Clark Scholarship Fund supports Native American students who are enrolled in museum studies. The maximum amount of $2,500 per person is awarded annually

The Association of Moving Image Archivists is an international organization committed to preserving and using moving image media. Although this isn’t exactly what you’d think of if you hear the term “museum,” they play an important role in remembering history. Their Archivist work to preserve, restore and make historical films accessible for the public to view. AMIA even offers a highly competitive fellowship in cooperation with the Eastman Kodak Company- the Kodak Fellowship. This fellowship aims at giving students financial aid for education, experience through a highly involved internship, and introducing students to the film archive community. One student per year is accepted for this award. The winning recipient gets a $4,000 scholarship for the upcoming academic year, free registration to the AMIA Conference along with travel and living expenses, and a four-week internship at Kodak- they will also pay for your transportation and housing, AND pay you an hourly wage!

Georgetown University has a highly respected Art & Museum Studies M.A. Program. They work together with Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London and New York. This 12-month course combines classroom courses in museology and art history with internships at prestigious art institutions. For the first semester, student take classes on Georgetown’s campus then participate in an internship at a museum in the area. The next semester students will engage in intensive study in their selected field- decorative or contemporary arts, etc. – at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in either London or New York.

All aspects of this program encourage hands-on study of the arts. Being one of the oldest Universities in America- first classes held in 1792- they are more than able to give their graduate students plenty of financial aid through scholarships and grants.