The IU Indianapolis Museum Studies program offers three options for study: a graduate degree (Master of Arts in Museum Studies), a graduate certificate, and an undergraduate certificate. In each option, our curriculum integrates the theory and practice of museum work. When you study with us, you’ll explore your potential as a creative innovator in a rapidly changing field through electives within and outside the program, partnerships with Indianapolis museums, and public scholarship opportunities. Learn more:
As part of an urban university, civic engagement is the heart of our Museum Studies Program. Indianapolis is an affordable city rich with museums, cultural arts agencies, grassroots community groups, neighborhood organizations, healthcare facilities, social service agencies, and many other potential partners with whom we work.
As a student, you will experience a range of learning opportunities — from volunteer work to exhibit design courses; from collaboration with faculty on innovative projects to participation in seminars, lectures, and professional meetings. Indianapolis museums play an integral role in the Museum Studies curriculum, and foster a critical, reflective, and scholarly discourse about museums that is applied daily to current practices and issues in the field.
Phyllis Boyd, Executive Director of Groundwork Indy, leads students in the Climates of Inequality research seminar on a tour of the Riverside neighborhood.
Our internships are a cornerstone of your Museum Studies Program experience, thanks to generous opportunities from partner institutions. As a student, you will apply your skills, creativity, and passions in real museum settings, which is a critical way to integrate and apply what you’ve learned, test your vocational interests, develop professional connections, and gain valuable experience for your resume. You can intern in any museum in the world that meets the requirements of the learning experience. Start early and let us help you develop the unique experience that meets your goals.
Once you graduate, the relationships you’ve built in the program go and grow with you. Not only will you and your cohort join an extensive alumni network, your faculty and internship mentors will stay invested in your continued success. After all, we want you to become mentors and role-models for the next students! If you care about making museums accessible to and meaningful for their diverse communities, the Museum Studies program is for you.
