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  3. Majors & Areas of Study
  4. Art and Visual Studies
  5. Museum Studies

Museum Studies

Why minor in museum studies at Coe College?

Coe graduates in museum studies are visually literate and understand how to navigate the multimedia world of the 21st century. Museum studies students at Coe College have significant advantages.

  • Class sizes are small, allowing for individual attention and learning. Classrooms are highly interactive, promoting opportunities for critical thinking.
  • Coe has the #22 Most Accessible Professors in the nation, according to The Princeton Review.
  • Cedar Rapids is home for many museums, including the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, the History Center, the Masonic Library and Museum, Brucemore and the African American Museum of Iowa. 
  • The museum studies minor pairs well with art history and art, as well as other academic disciplines such as education, history, international studies, writing and business administration.

Careers for museum studies students

A minor in museum studies prepares you for a wide range of rewarding careers in the vast world of museum studies and arts administration. Nearly 100% of reporting Coe graduates are employed or in grad school within nine months of graduation. Museum studies can open doors to a variety of roles, including:

  • Museum careers, such as:
    • Director
    • Curator
    • Educator
    • Registrar
    • Conservator
    • Restorer
    • Public Relations
    • Donor Development
    • Preparator and Art Handler
    • Visitor Services
  • Programs coordinator
  • Gallery manager
  • Researcher
  • Archivist
  • Historian
  • Librarian

Course requirements

  1. MS 101 Introduction to Museum Studies
  2. MS 115 History of Museums
  3. MU/MS/THE 283 Arts Administration
  4. One credit from the following:
    1. MS 201 Curating a College Collection (.5 credit)
    2. MS 203 Collection Management and Registration (.5 credit)
    3. ART/MS 205 Exhibition Planning and Museum Audiences (.5 credit)
    4. MS 210 Museum and Gallery Audiences (.5 credit)
    5. ART/MS 215 Exhibition Installation and Lighting (.5 credit)
    6. ART/MS 235 Arts Advocacy (.5)
    7. MS 220 Marketing the Museum (advertising, PR, and donor relations) (.5 credit)
    8. MS 225 Archives: Care, Management, and Best Practices (.5 credit)
    9. MS 395 Topics in Museum Studies (.5 or 1 credit)
  5. One of the following:
    1. AAM 107 Introduction to African American Studies
    2. ANT 109 Introduction to Archaeology: Method and Theory
    3. ANT 116 Cultural Anthropology
    4. ANT 125 Art and Archaeology of the Classical World
    5. Any ART 1XX course
    6. ARH 106 World Art
    7. ARH 128 Introduction to Art History
    8. ARH 307 Modern and Contemporary Art
    9. BUS 125 Computers in Business
    10. BUS 275 Principles of Management
    11. BUS 285 Computer Applications-Advanced Topics
    12. BUS 355 Principles of Marketing
    13. BUS 460 Advertising
    14. BUS 461 Marketing Decision-Making & Strategy
    15. COM 151 Introduction to New Media Studies
    16. COM 161 Visual Rhetoric
    17. DS 100 Introduction to Data Science
    18. DS 230 Data-Centric Computing
    19. Any HIS course
    20. IS 116 Introduction to International Studies
    21. PR 205 Public Relations
    22. RHE 265 Professional Writing
    23. RHE 377 Cultural Studies
  6. MS 494 Museum Studies Internship or ANT 205 Archaeological Field Methods