How Do You Become A Museum Curator

How To Get A Job As A Curator

Im not exaggerating when I tell you that most days, someone, somewhere sends me an email asking how to get a job as a curator. So here are my suggestions for what to do

1. Do a relevant undergraduate degree either in the subject in which you hope to specialise, like the history of technology, or ceramics, or natural history, or choose something broad like a general history degree which will allow you to go off in different directions later.

2. Today lots of people do a Masters qualification either in the area in which he or she hopes to specialise, or more generally in museum studies. The course at Leicester is the gold standard.

3. And then, lots of candidates for curatorial jobs now have a PhD as well. Its not essential, but it helps. At Historic Royal Palaces, about half of us do, and half dont. If youre planning an art history PhD, make sure youll be studying objects and artefacts as well as just documents.

4. This one is essential. You need to volunteer in a museum. Youll find it very hard to get paid employment without the experience and contacts you get through voluntary work. Heres how to seek voluntary positions at Historic Royal Palaces.

6. Once youve got some experience, you should look out for adverts for paid positions. The places to look are: The Guardian, the Leicester University Jobs Desk, and the Museums Association.

Duties & Tasks Of A Museum Curator

Museum curators:

• Acquire items for the collections in their care
• Examine items to determine condition and authenticity
• Identify and classify specimens, and arrange conservation and restoration work
• Maintain records about all items in the collection
• Organise and participate in display teams, which may involve travelling or arranging for loan exhibitions, or overseeing the organisation of in-house temporary exhibitions or displays
• Initiate and maintain research and publication programs
• Establish networks and assist other professionals on request
• Lecture and write about collections and answer public enquiries
• Supervise support staff and organise administrative duties associated with the use and care of collections.

Getting The Right Education

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Average Museum Curator Salary

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the median salary for archivists, curators, and museum workers in 2020 as $52,000 per year, or around $25 per hour. While this isnt particularly lucrative, remember that this is the median: theres also the potential to earn more when youre experienced. This also includes staff who work in museums, such as in the ticket office. Not all museum workers are specialist curators.

The BLS also notes that theres much faster than average growth in this career, meaning that well-trained and skilled curators will likely have good job security in the next decade.

• What degree do you need to be a curator?

To become a museum or art gallery curator you generally need an arts or science degree at university with a major in a relevant area, such as anthropology, archaeology, fine arts, history, or cultural studies. To get into degree courses you usually need to gain your senior secondary school certificate or equivalent.

Do You Need A Masters Degree For A Museum Career

After earning your bachelors degree, the next step in the process of becoming a museum curator is to earn your masters degree. Although some curators may find a position at a small institution with just a bachelors degree, its standard for these professionals to have a graduate degree. This is particularly true for curators who plan to pursue careers at larger institutions and those who aspire to higher-level positions.

If you earned a general history degree as an undergraduate, then you may wish to choose a narrower focus for your masters degree. For instance, you might wish to earn a masters degree in museum studies, archival studies or history with a concentration in a specific geographical region or time period.

Like undergraduate degrees in the humanities and social sciences, its entirely possible to complete your masters degree 100% online for your convenience. While pursuing your masters, you can generally expect to take classes that focus more narrowly on your chosen specialization, in contrast to undergraduate courses, which typically have a broader scope. It is also customary to complete a masters thesis, which is a lengthy research paper.

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Should Aspiring Museum Workers Join A Professional Organization

Joining a professional organization for museum workers is most definitely recommended, both for graduates and current students. These professional organizations typically offer many resources for their members, including career resources, job and internship boards, resource libraries, continuing education programs and access to professional conferences. The largest organization is the American Alliance of Museums, which offers student memberships. You may also wish to explore the following, depending on your particular interests:

• International Council of Museums
• American Association for State and Local History
• Association of Childrens Museums
• National Association for Interpretation
• American Association of Museum Directors
• Visitor Studies Association
• Association of Art Museum Curators

What Does A Curator Do

Most curator careers feature diverse job descriptions, with duties that range from administrative work to exhibit building. For example, curators are usually responsible for collecting, maintaining and protecting valuable items on behalf of their museums. They may also direct marketing campaigns, plan fundraising events or take the lead on grant writing projects.

One of the most important aspects of what a curator does is inspiring an emotional connection with the past. They do this through themed presentation of artifacts, artwork and visual storytelling. Curators may also create exhibit descriptions, promotional resources and audio tracks for self-guided tours. The primary daily tasks of a museum curator may include:

• Acquiring, storing and exhibiting historical collections.
• Assessing the authenticity of obtained artifacts.
• Designing, organizing, and conducting tours and workshops.
• Managing personnel.
• Planning and directing special research projects.

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Who Is A Museum Curator

Museum Curators are responsible for collecting, cataloguing, managing and presenting or displaying artistic, historical and cultural collections in galleries or museums.

Part of their job is to regularly visit artists studios to check their latest works and subsequently select relevant art pieces for exhibitions. If visiting museums or art exhibitions make your heart buzz with excitement, then you should consider becoming a Museum Curator! With this career, you will be able to hop from one exhibition to another, appreciating both historical and modern art. You will also be meeting people from different backgrounds as you meet with them to build re

How Do I Become A Museum Curator

Landing his current job was not exactly part of a masterplan for Julien Parsons, head curator and senior collections officer at Exeter’s award-winning Royal Albert Memorial Museum . “Like a lot of people, I stumbled into it,” Parsons says. He studied archaeology at the University of York, but graduated wondering what to do next. After taking part in archaeological digs and some fieldwork, he began to look into a career in museums: “I’ve always been interested in the past, and displaying the past to people, so that was my starting route.”

Parsons soon found a job as a cataloguer at Birmingham museum, and at the same time completed a post-graduate correspondence course in museum studies. Over the next few years, he moved from Birmingham to a curator’s position in Sheffield, then got a job at Cheltenham museum: “I was starting to build up a portfolio of different jobs and tasks.”

His broad experience led him to his current role at RAMM: “I started here in 2004 as curator of antiquities, which sounds like an appropriately antiquated title. I looked after the archaeological collection, then in 2005 I became the senior curator, so I now manage all the other curators. My role now is removed from directly dealing with managing the collections day-to-day it’s more at the strategic level, planning exhibitions and redevelopment work and things like that.”

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How To Become A Curator In The Us

• To become a Curator in the US, one should first have a bachelor’s or Master’s degree in History, Archeology which will help to cultivate the skills like project management competencies, technical skills, and soft skills like communication and organization.
• Get experience through internship or training in some art galleries or museums to develop analytical skills and to get networks of industries.
• Different places like the Smithsonian in Washington DC or the National Gallery in London are some of the places where a Curator can get a decent job.
• Some of the courses like Degree in Curatorial Studies, History are useful to become a Curator.

Top Colleges in the US

Get An Undergraduate Degree

To become a museum curator, you need to have an undergraduate degree in a related field. The degree that you choose may differ according to what you want to specialise in. For example, a degree in fine art is good if you plan to work in an art setting as it gives you practical skills and an understanding of art history. Some universities offer internships or placement opportunities for students wanting to develop their creative assets. These opportunities offer you the chance to connect with professionals in the field who could assist you with advice or graduate jobs.

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How To Become A Curator Of An Art Gallery

• What degree do you need to be a curator?

To become a museum or art gallery curator you generally need an arts or science degree at university with a major in a relevant area, such as anthropology, archaeology, fine arts, history, or cultural studies. To get into degree courses you usually need to gain your senior secondary school certificate or equivalent.

What Is A Museum Curator What They Do Job Requirements And Where They Work

The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed’s data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.

Museum curators play an integral role in how a museum or art gallery is set up and the experience visitors have while at the museum or gallery. These curators often have many responsibilities, including managing collections, developing and planning exhibitions and overseeing educational programs within the museum. Here we explore what a museum curator is, what they do, the requirements needed to become a museum curator and the common locations where curators work.

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Earn An Advanced Degree

Curators must have extensive knowledge of history and art, but The Princeton Review notes that many also possess an understanding of restoration techniques, business administration, and even public relations. While nearly all curators have a masters degree, national museums and some other sites require curators to have a PhD.

Museum Curator Education Requirements And Degrees

The education needed to be a Museum Curator is normally a Bachelors Degree. Museum Curators usually study History, Fine Arts or Anthropology. 68% of Museum Curators hold a Bachelors Degree and 16% hold a Masters Degree. We found these by analyzing 225 Museum Curator resumes to investigate the topic of Museum Curator education more precisely.

The most common colleges for students to pursue their goal of becoming a Museum Curator are Virginia Commonwealth University and University of California, Berkeley. We also broke down what colleges provide the best overall education for a Museum Curator. Students have a great path to earning their Museum Curator qualifications at the following schools:

If youre interested in getting a college degree in an affordable college for Museum Curators University of Florida is an excellent option for you. If your SAT or ACT score arent as high as youd like, you can look at Notre Dame de Namur University, as the admission requirements arent too selective. On the other end of that spectrum are the Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University and Brown University.

For those who would rather stay in your pajamas during the day, we prepared some online courses that can help in Museum Curator education paths.

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What Do Museum Curators Do

Skillshare Instructor Eva Key at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

What does a museum curator do? Turns out, theres no single museum curator job description, and the everyday duties of a museum curator vary significantly depending on the size of the museum or gallery where they work.

A large, well-known, and well-funded museum like New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Museum of Modern Art will have many curators, each working on specific collections. Smaller museums and galleries, on the other hand, may only have one curator who oversees the running of the whole institution. These folks may also work with guest curators for traveling exhibits.

Generally speaking, some of the museum curator job requirements are:

• Taking care of items in the museum or gallerys permanent collection
• Planning special exhibits of items in the permanent collection
• Liaising with other museums and institutions for traveling exhibits
• Acquiring new artworks and artifacts
• Recording and documenting the items in the collection
• Writing or editing textual displays
• Writing and planning outreach and promotional materials for the museum
• Planning community events and fundraisers
• Managing the finances of the museum or department

How Can One Become A Museum Curator In India

To begin with, one should have passed their 10+2 with science and mathematics from a reputed institution with good marks in the concerned examination.The next step would be to obtain the Bachelor of Arts degree in Archeology and Museology from a recognized university. One also needs a Master of Arts degree in Museology or Postgraduate Diploma in Museology or a Masters degree in Zoology/ Botany/ Geology/ Geography / Earth Sciences/Anthropology/ Agriculture/ Environmental Science/ Marine Science.Post graduates can apply for any internship or training or can join as volunteers in museums while pursuing their graduation. This increases the chance to easily get into employment. Some employers may also require candidates who possess a doctorate degree in related field. On completing the Masters degree, students can apply for the concerned doctorate degree programmes which is through entrance exams.

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What Is A Museum Curator

Otherwise known as a gallery curator, a museum curator is a creative professional who manages historical collections and artefacts. They are responsible for the care of historical items, and it’s their duty to display them in a pleasing manner for guests and visitors. They manage several types of items, including works of art, scientific documents and manuscripts. Some museum curators now oversee digital collections, too, and it’s their job to develop and establish digital assets for other scholars and scientists to advance knowledge. A museum creator’s ultimate priority is to educate the public through programmes, fundraising and successful marketing.

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What Kind Of Jobs Are There In A Museum

The 16 Must-Have Museum Jobs on the MarketArchivist. Archivists are responsible for collections of items and records kept in the museum. Conservator. Conservators work in the archives as well to preserve historical items. Curator. Director. Docent. Exhibit Designer. Graphic Designer. Historian.More items

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Earn A Bachelors Degree

For those wondering how to become a museum curator, the first step is to acquire the proper education. The BLS states that most curator positions require a bachelors and masters degree in a related field, such as art history, history, archaeology, or museum studies. Bachelors degrees like the online Maryville University Bachelor of Arts in History help students cultivate the skills considered fundamental to the position, including project management competencies, technical skills, and soft competencies such as organizational and communication skills.

Through the study of social and cultural history, curators are able to assign meaning and connection between historical events and put them in context with todays culture. Curators must develop strong research, writing, verbal communication, critical analysis, and digital literacy skills to succeed in this highly competitive field.

How To Become A Curator

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Curators are responsible for managing a museum, botanical garden, historic site or nature center. They are responsible for educating the public about history, science, art, or any number of fascinating topics. It can be an extremely rewarding career, but the road can be long. There are a few things you can do to make sure you have the best application possible for a curator job.

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