Museum Studies

Honor your past and imagine your future in museums

The Museum Studies minor takes advantage of Oglethorpe’s location in Atlanta, one of the most dynamic cities in the southern United States. Oglethorpe University Museum of Art (OUMA) is a teaching museum with a collection of 1,300 objects — including works from seven continents and over 700 years of history — and affiliations with the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries (AAMG) and the Southeast Museums Conference (SEMC).

“Museums today are looking for the next generation of innovative, creative and critical thinkers who can work effectively across multiple disciplines. This makes our liberal arts approach the perfect preparation for this dynamic field.”

- Elizabeth Peterson Jennings, OUMA Director and Adjunct Professor

As a Museum Studies student, you will apply the professional skills and abilities needed to understand the basics of visual arts nonprofit management, curatorial strategies, museum communications, arts community organization, exhibition development and programming, and museum and gallery education. You will learn the the purpose, role and methods of museums and museum work. Study the history of museums, financial and ethical ramifications of collections management and educational programming within the context of the museum. You will explore the various aspects of a career in museums, from administration to education, curatorial work to design and implementation.

You’ll also gain skills in:

Grant writing, fundraising and financial management
Art handling and preparator work
Condition reporting and terminology for conservation
Museum board development
Installation and lighting design
Educational programming and audience building
Museum decolonization strategies

“The museum studies courses, internships and continuous hands-on access to the collections have had an invaluable impact on my educational experience. I can confidently say that these enriching opportunities have laid a strong foundation for my future!”

– Sophia Sobrino ’24, Coordinator of Gallery Learning, High Museum of Art

Real-World Experience
Life After Oglethorpe
Degree Requirements & Courses

Oglethorpe is a close-knit community were faculty support students through their academic journey for career readiness. Museum Studies students will have the added bonus of working closely with OUMA staff with access to networking opportunities through their museum connections, as well as through our many alumni already at work in the field.

Explore local museum partners with your faculty, OUMA staff and classmates.
Put theory directly into practice through hands-on development of a curated “cabinet of curiosity,” online exhibitions and on-campus student exhibitions.
Take advantage of opportunities for paid internships focused on education, diversity and curatorial work either in OUMA or with external partner institutions.

Oglethorpe’s Museum Studies program prepares students for work in nonprofits with a specific focus on art museums and is excellent preparation for those planning to pursue graduate or doctoral degrees in art history, public history, museum studies or another related field.

“Taking Museum Studies courses and the support of the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art helped define my career trajectory. As I pursue my master’s degree in Museum and Exhibition Studies, I’m constantly reminded of the strong foundation in collections management my undergraduate courses provided me.”

– Taylor Roberts ’21, Master of Arts ’25, University of Illinois, Chicago

Check out some of our alumni and where they are now:

Abbi Argo ’18, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Y’ALL Atlanta and the Community and Gallery Manager for The Bakery, Atlanta, GA

Nyree Dowdy ’21, Art Bridges Curatorial Fellow, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA

Taylor Roberts ’21, pursuing Master of Arts, Museum and Exhibition Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago, anticipated completion in 2025; Formerly a Mellon Curatorial Undergraduate Fellow, High Museum of Art; Formerly Intern with the Historic Oakland Foundation, Atlanta

Larissa Randall ’18, Curatorial Associate, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR; pursuing Master of Arts, Arts of the Americas, University of Arkansas, anticipated completion in 2025; Former Sara Giles Moore Research Fellow in American Art for the High Museum of Art; Former Gallery and Collections Assistant / Curatorial Assistant for Oglethorpe University Museum of Art (OUMA)

The Minor in Museum Studies is designed for a TU (Traditional Undergraduate) course of study and is 20 credit hours. Courses include:

NPM 235 Museum Studies (4 credit hours)
NPM 220 The Nonprofit Sector (4 credit hours)
Three other NPM-M designated museum studies elective courses from any other discipline (12 credit hours)
- Alternatively, electives may be selected from a variety of courses across various disciplines (e.g. ART 495 Internship). Please confer with the minor program coordinator, Stephen Craft and adjunct professor Elizabeth Peterson Jennings to determine other elective choices for the minor.

Additional requirements to note are a grade of “C-” or better in all courses contributing to the minor. Also note that no upper-level courses taken in completion of the minor can be used towards any other major or minor offered within the Hammack School of Business.