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