Museum Studies MA Program

Last Updated: March 2, 2022

2130 Fulton Street

San Francisco, California 94117

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Director(s)

Academic Director: Paula Birnbaum, [email protected]

Program Manager: Javier Plasencia, [email protected]

Program Introduction

Established in 2014, the Museum Studies MA Program at the University of San Francisco matriculates 22-25 students each year. Approximately 170 students have graduated from the program and have gone on to pursue careers in archives, collections management, education and interpretation, amongst others.

Degrees Offered

  • Museum Studies Degree, Certificate, or Minor

Program Strengths

  • Archival Practices
  • Material Culture
  • Museum Studies

Financial Aid Available

Merit Scholarships

Deadline To Apply

Priority Admission: February 1; Regular Admission: April 1

Internship Requirements

The internship places students in a museum setting, where they spend at least 150 hours over a 12-week period completing a major project under the guidance of an on-site supervisor and a faculty advisor. An online component of the course allows completion of the internship in a location of the student's choice.

Places Where Students Have Interned During the Past 3 Years

  • SF MOMA
  • Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
  • GLBT Historical Society
  • Chicago History Museum
  • Asian Art Museum
  • Historic New England
  • The Badé Museum
  • San Mateo County History Museum
  • Bay Area Discovery Museum
  • California Historical Society
  • Walt Disney Family Museum
  • The Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society
  • San Francisco Historical Society

Employers Who Have Hired Graduates from this Program within the Past Five Years

  • Asian Art Museum
  • Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
  • Gap Inc.
  • Monterey Bay Aquarium
  • New Children’s Museum
  • Folger Shakespeare Library
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • CA State Parks
  • Asia Society’s India Center
  • Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
  • San Diego History Center
  • SFO Museum
  • Museum of Latin American Art
  • National Women’s History Museum
  • Walt Disney Family Museum
  • Oakland Museum of California
  • Museum of Arts and Design