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
- MS007: The Mission Statement: Is it really that important?
- 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)
- MS008: Buy-In: Getting All of the Staff to Support Preservation
- MS107: Introduction to Museum Security (MS304 Security I: Certified Institutional Protection Specialist (CIPS) is an appropriate substitute)
- MS108: Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs
- MS210: Integrated Pest Management for Museums, Libraries and Archives
- MS213: Museum Artifacts: How they were made and how they deteriorate
- MS218: Collection Inventories
- MS234: Archives Management
- MS236: Education in Museums
- MS267: Museum Ethics
- MS266: Legal Issues in Collection Management
Level II: Specific Expertise Certificates
IIA: Certificate in Collections Management and Care
Level IIA Track One: Collections Management Certificate
Required Courses
- MS103: The Basics of Museum Registration (If level I is skipped)
- MS104: An Introduction to Collections Preservation (If level I is skipped)
- MS209: Collections Management Policies for Museums and Related Institutions
- MS211: Preservation Environments
- MS267: Museum Ethics
Optional Courses
- MS002: Collection Protection – Are you Prepared?
- MS008: Buy-In: Getting All of the Staff to Support Preservation
- MS010: Condition Assessments (short course)
- MS107: Introduction to Museum Security (MS304 Security I: Certified Institutional Protection Specialist (CIPS) or MS305 Security II: Certified Institutional Protection Manager (CIPM can be substituted)
- MS202: Storage Facilities and Furniture
- MS203: Museum Storage Techniques
- MS204: Materials for Storage and Display
- MS205: Disaster Plan Research and Writing
- MS207: Cataloging Your Collection
- MS208: Applying Numbers to Collection Objects: Materials and Methods of Object Numbering
- MS210: Integrated Pest Management for Museums, Archives and Libraries
- MS213: Museum Artifacts: How they were made and how they deteriorate
- MS214: Collection Management Databases
- MS217: Museum Cleaning Basics
- MS218: Collection Inventories
- MS219: Opening and Closing a Seasonal Museum
- MS234: Archives Management
- MS303: Found in the Collection: Orphans, Old Loans and Abandoned Property
- MS255: Dangerous Materials: Chemical Poisons in Collections
- MS262: Moving Collections
- MS266: Legal Issues in Collection Management
- MS253: Disaster Preparation & Recovery
Level IIA Track Two: Collections Care Certificate
Required Courses:
- MS010: Condition Assessments (short course)
- MS104: An Introduction to Collections Preservation (If level I is skipped)
- MS202: Storage Facilities and Furniture
- MS210: Integrated Pest Management for Museums, Libraries and Archives
- MS211: Preservation Environments
- MS213: Museum Artifacts: How they were made and how they deteriorate
Optional Courses:
- MS001: The Problem with Plastics
- MS008: Buy-In: Getting All of the Staff to Support Preservation
- MS203: Museum Storage Techniques
- MS204: Materials for Storage and Display
- MS205: Disaster Plan Research and Writing
- MS208: Applying Numbers to Collection Objects: Materials and Methods of Object Numbering
- MS212: Care of Textiles
- MS215: Care of Archaeological Artifacts from the Field to the Lab
- MS217: Museum Cleaning Basics
- 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
- MS233: Matting and Framing
- MS234: Archives Management
- MS242: Museum Microclimates
- MS243: Making Museum Quality Mannequins
- MS303: Found in the Collection: Orphans, Old Loans and Abandoned Property
- MS262: Moving Collection
- MS253: Disaster Preparation & Recovery
IIB: Certificate in Exhibit Practices
Required Courses
- MS104: Introduction to Collections Preservation
- MS106: Exhibit Fundamentals: Ideas to Installation (If level I is skipped)
- MS235: Scripting the Exhibition
- MS236: Education in Museums
- MS237: Formative Evaluation for Exhibits and Public Programs
- MS238: Design and Construction of Exhibit Mounts
- MS275: Heritage Economics for Interpreters, Planners, Site Managers and Educators
Optional Courses
- MS010: Condition Assessments
- MS011: Gallery Guides
- MS014: Education Collection
- MS107: Introduction to Museum Security* (MS304 Security I: Certified Institutional Protection Specialist (CIPS) or MS305 Security II: Certified Institutional Protection Manager (CIPM can be substituted)
- MS108: Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs
- MS204: Materials for Storage and Display
- MS217: Museum Cleaning Basics
- MS233: Matting and Framing*
- MS242: Museum Microclimates
- MS243: Making Museum Quality Mannequins
- MS244: Traveling Exhibitions*
- MS259: The Volunteer Handbook
- MS268: Creating Interpretive Gallery Tours
- MS269: Marketing for Interpretation
- MS270: Planning and Designing Interpretive Panels for Cultural Properties
- MS271: Training for Interpretive Trainers
- MS272: Exhibit rehab – breathing new life into old exhibits
- MS273: Advanced Interpretive Techniques –Interpretive Storytelling
IIC: Certificate in Museum Administration and Management
Required Courses
- MS002: Collection Protection – Are you Prepared?
- MS007: The Mission Statement: Is it really that important?
- MS101: Introduction to Museums or MS109: Museum Management
- MS108: Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs
- MS209: Collections Management Policies for Museums and Related Institutions
- MS211: Preservation Environments
- MS267: Ethics in Museums and Related Institutions
- MS266: Legal Issues in Collections Management
- MS302: Fundraising and Grant Writing
- MS305: Security II – Certified Institutional Protection Manager (substitute for MS107: Introduction to Museum Security*)
Optional Courses
- MS008: Buy-In: Getting All of the Staff to Support
- MS104: Introduction to Collections Preservation
- MS106: Exhibit Fundamentals: Ideas to Installation
- MS205: Disaster Plan Research and Writing
- MS210: Integrated Pest Management for Museums, Archives and Libraries
- MS217: Museum Cleaning Basics
- MS219: Opening and Closing Seasonal Museums
- MS237: Formative Evaluations for Exhibits and Public Programs
- MS253: Disaster Preparation & Recovery
- MS254: Retail Store Management for Small Museums
- MS259: The Volunteer Handbook
- MS274: Social Media with an Educational Purpose
- MS 275: Heritage Economics for Interpreters, Planners, Site Managers and Educators
IID: Certificate in Museum Facilities Management
Required Courses
- MS002: Collection Protection–Are You Prepared?
- MS104: Introduction to Collections Preservation
- MS107: Introduction to Museum Security (MS304 Security I: Certified Institutional Protection Specialist (CIPS) or MS305 Security II: Certified Institutional Protection Manager (CIPM) can be substituted)
- MS205: Disaster Plan Research and Writing
- MS211: Preservation Environments
- MS217: Museum Cleaning Basics
Optional Courses
- MS007: The Mission Statement: Is It Really That Important?
- MS202: Storage Facilities and Furniture
- MS210: Integrated Pest Management for Museums, Libraries and Archives
- MS219: Opening and Closing a Seasonal Museum
- MS242: Museum Microclimates
- MS253: Disaster Preparation & Recovery
- MS262: Moving Collections
- MS267: Museum Ethics
- MS213: Museum Artifacts: How they were made and how they deteriorate
- MS255: Dangerous Materials: Chemical Poisons in Collections
