Museum Studies Program
Director: Linda Ellis
San Francisco State University
Humanities 515
1600 Holloway Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94132
(415) 405-0599
museumst@sfsu.edu
Hours: M-Th, 10-4

Quick Facts About our Program

Introduction

In 1974, San Francisco State University was the first educational institution in the San Francisco Bay area to offer museology courses, and in 1987, officially inaugurated its Master of Arts degree in Museum Studies.

SFSU Museum Studies is an interdisciplinary, professional program that builds upon a student’s previous undergraduate or graduate degree. We offer six area emphases: curation, exhibition design, museum education, museum fundraising, museum management, and registration/collections management. The core curriculum provides the student with a firm foundation and knowledge in all of the museum’s functions. The elective courses, internship, and master’s project focus upon the student’s specialized area of museum work.

The graduate courses and overall program design are continually reviewed and revised when necessary to reflect current museum employment trends. The Program also explores alternatives to museum employment in a variety of professional contexts such as: private galleries, city/state arts commissions, historical associations, auction houses, libraries with exhibition programs, corporate galleries and museums, private art collections, archives, civic art centers, science centers, planetaria, natural history/environmental education centers, and living collections.

Facility and Public Programming

Our Program operates a specially designed facility in the College of Humanities building. The Museum Studies complex includes: the Museum of Ancient Civilizations, our multiple exhibit gallery, exhibition preparation workshop, and collections storage; the Sutro Egyptian Collection, over 700 objects including jewelry, pottery, funerary artifacts, mummies, and a rare, triple-nesting sarcophagus; a conservation laboratory and archaeometry center for analytic microscopy and photomicrography; a documentation center for drafting and photography; and a resource library of program & collections literature, student master’s projects, and employment resources.

The Program also offers an exhibition and outreach program via the M S 730 course, Museum Exhibition Design and Curation, and the M S 710 course, Museum Education and Schools Outreach. Students in M S 730 curate and design our bi-annual exhibitions (Fall focus, anthropological theme; Spring focus, the Sutro Egyptian Collection), for which students in M S 710 develop the curriculum guide for elementary and middle school teachers; write children’s and family guides; and create art activities for children. Moreover, students in both courses host over 1,000 children from local schools grades 3-8, and the general public, who visit our exhibitions every year.

Students

Our students include mid-career museum professionals, people from other professional career fields, and recent B.A. graduates. We’re proud of our 300+ alumni and continuing students, many of whom have found employment at all career levels throughout the U.S., from the Getty to the Smithsonian. Students participate in activities such as administering our Museum Studies Student Association (MSSA), joining professional organizations (including the American Association of Museums), and participating in conferences and specialized workshops and seminars. Alumni take an active role in the Museum Studies Program by speaking at seminars; maintaining connections through the Museum Studies Alumni Association; and lecturing in some of our courses.

Internship Program

As part of their program of study, students are required to complete an internship within their desired area of emphasis at a local, regional, or in some cases, international museum or related institution. The internship consists of 144 hours pre-professional, unsalaried training during a 16-week semester, or during the summer by prior arrangement.

Although only one internship is required, students are encouraged to undertake a second internship at a later point, which may count as an elective. This is especially useful to those students who wish to obtain twice the experience in a specific area of work, but in two different museums.

Students have completed their internships in many of the 120 museums and historic houses in the SF Bay area, as well as museums out of state and overseas. In addition, other related organizations and institutions with whom museums conduct business have hosted our interns: arts commissions, auction houses, public school systems, and government agencies.

Partnership Program & Placement Service

We are proud of our collaborations with many of the museums located within a 50-mile radius of SFSU. Our Partnership Program consists of the following cooperative activities: employment of MS students and alumni in professional, salaried positions; placement of MS students in internships with museum professionals who assign projects developing professional skills or enhancing academic expertise; placement of MS students enrolled in the Museum Collections Management & Registration course in 60-hour practica (5 hours per week) in museums for on-site learning of collections management; acceptance of students to relevant museums for thesis research and documentation, or curation/design of exhibitions for creative work projects; class visits to museums, including: conservation labs, exhibition design teams, and exhibit openings; invitation of museum professionals to give lectures and presentations in MS courses; regular receipt of museum publications, announcements, and job/internship listings.

Some of our partners include: California Academy of Sciences; Cartoon Art Museum; de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara University; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), NPS; History San José; Magnes Museum, Berkeley; Hearst Museum of Anthropology; Museum of Art & History, Santa Cruz; Oakland Museum of California; Point Reyes Station, Marin Co., GGNRA; SF MOMA; SF PALM; San Mateo County Historical Museum; Scotty’s Castle, Death Valley National Park, NPS; San Francisco Airport Museums; The Tech Museum of Innovation, San José; and numerous others in California, out-of-state, and overseas.

If you are a museum or related institution, and would like to register your site as potential partner, contact us! We look forward to working with you!