Description
Earn professional credentials without costly travel.
- Level I provides you a basic understanding of many different facets of museums.
- Level II provides you in-depth knowledge of one area of museums.
Requirements:
- Complete 10 full courses and two short courses for each certificate.
- Attend one statewide, regional or national multi-day museum conference.
- Complete a final project. This project can be in the form of an exhibition, a paper, a conference presentation, or other format approved by NSCC.
- Attend a final chat session with instructors online to answer specific questions that test knowledge of the museum topics studied.
How it Works:
- $25 annual fee to register for and maintain your place in the program.
- Three years to complete each certificate level. (suggested time to complete)
- Successfully complete 10 full courses and 2 short courses for each certificate level. (One course cannot be used for different certificate levels.)
- Each certificate has some required courses and a number of optional courses.
- Former museumclasses.org students receive credit for courses they successfully completed.
Level I: General Museum Certificate
Provides students with an overview of all areas of museum work. Graduates understand what a museum is, how to register objects, the agents of deterioration and how to use them to prevent damage to a collection, the fundamentals of exhibitions, and a basic overview of museum management. In addition, they will choose courses that will flesh out their interests in the museum field. Students end up with a solid background that should make them a skilled and valuable employee in any museum, small or large.
Required Courses
- MS101: Introduction to Museums
- MS103: The Basics of Museum Registration
- MS104: An Introduction to Collections Preservation
- MS106: Exhibit Fundamentals: Ideas to Installation
- MS109: Museum Management
Recommended Optional Courses (May be part of your 5 optional courses)
- MS107: Introduction to Museum Security
- MS108: Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs
- MS213: Museum Artifacts: How they were made and how they deteriorate
Level II: Specific Expertise Certificates
IIA: Certificate in Collections Management and Care
Required Courses
- MS008: Buy-In: Getting All of the Staff to Support Preservation
- MS103: The Basics of Museum Registration (If level I is skipped)
- MS104: An Introduction to Collections Preservation (If level I is skipped)
- MS201: Storage for Infinity
- MS205/6: Disaster Plan Research and Writing
- MS207: Cataloging Your Collection
- MS211: Preservation Environments
- MS213: Museum Artifacts: How they were made and how they deteriorate
Optional Courses
- MS010: Condition Assessments (short course)
- MS202: Storage Facilities and Furniture
- MS203: Storage Techniques
- MS204: Materials for Storage and Display
- MS208: Applying Numbers to Collection Objects: Materials and Methods of Object Numbering
- MS209: Collections Management Policies for Museums and Related Institutions
- MS210: Integrated Pest Management
- MS212: Care of Textiles
- MS214: Collection Management Databases
- MS215: First Aid for Finds: Archaeological Collections Care
- MS217: Museum Cleaning Basics
- MS218: Collection Inventories
- MS219: Opening and Closing a Seasonal Museum (coming soon)
- MS220: Plastics in Museums (future course)
- MS222: Care of Photographs
- MS223: Care of Metals
- MS224: Care of Leather
- MS225: Care of Baskets
- MS226: Care of Furniture and Wood Artifacts
- MS227: Care of Paintings
- MS228: Care of Paper Artifacts
- MS229: Photography, Digitization, Digital Images and Museums (future course)
- MS233: Matting and Framing Artwork
- MS234: Archives Management
- MS303: Found in the Collection: Orphans, Old Loans and Abandoned Property
IIB: Certificate in Exhibit Practices
Required Courses
- MS106: Exhibit Fundamentals: Ideas to Installation (If level I is skipped)
- MS107: Introduction to Museum Security
- MS110: Exhibit Design (future course)
- MS221: Museum Lighting (future course)
- MS235: Scripting the Exhibition – labels and interpretive panels
- MS236: Education in Museums
- MS237: Formative Evaluations for Exhibits and Public Programs (future course)
- MS238: Design and Construction of Exhibit Mounts
Optional Courses
- MS010: Condition Assessments
- MS011: Gallery Guides
- MS108: Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs
- MS204: Materials for Storage and Display
- MS217: Museum Cleaning Basics
- MS239: Furnishing Plans for Historic Houses (future course)
- MS240: Curatorial Research and Planning for Exhibits (future course)
- MS241: Exhibits and Preservation (future course)
- MS242: Museum Microclimates
- MS014: Education Collections
- MS233: Matting and Framing
- MS243: Making Museum Quality Mannequins
- MS244: Traveling exhibitions
- MS259: The Volunteer Handbook
- MS248: Visitor Studies (future course)
IIC: Certificate in Museum Administration and Management
Required Courses
- MS002: Collection Protection – Are you Prepared?
- MS007: The Mission Statement: Is it really that important?
- MS107: Introduction to Museum Security
- MS109: Museum Management (If level I is skipped)
- MS249: Fiscal Management for Non-Profit Organizations (future course)
- MS250: Museum Governance (future course)
- MS251: Managing People and Projects (future course)
- MS246: Marketing Your Museum (future course)
- MS302: Fundraising and Grant Writing
Optional Courses
- MS008: Buy-In: Getting All of the Staff to Support Preservation and other New Ideas
- MS108: Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs
- MS205/6: Disaster Plan Research and Writing
- MS209: Collections Management Policies for Museums and Related Institutions
- MS210: Integrated Pest Management
- MS211: Preservation Environments
- MS247: Building Community Support for Your Museum – Membership, Advocacy (future course)
- MS248: Visitor Studies (future course)
- MS252: Building New Museums (future course)
IID: Certificate in Museum Facilities Management
Required Courses
- MS107: Introduction to Museum Security
- MS202: Storage Facilities and Furniture
- MS205/6: Disaster Plan Research and Writing
- MS210: Integrated Pest Management
- MS211: Preservation Environments
- MS217: Museum Cleaning Basics
- MS216: Fire Prevention for Museums, Historic Sites, Libraries and Archives (future course)
- MS221: Museum Lighting (future course)
Optional Courses
- MS219: Opening and Closing a Seasonal Museum (coming soon)
- MS239: Furnishing Plans for Historic Houses (future course)
- MS241: Exhibits and Preservation (future course)
- MS242: Museum Microclimates
- MS252: Building New Museums (future course)
- MS265: The Green Museum
