Director of Museum Studies:
Nan Rothschild - 954A Schermerhorn Extension; 212-854-4977; roth@columbia.edu
The M.A. in Museum Anthropology, offered jointly by the Columbia Department of Anthropology and the American Museum of Natural History, is a professional degree for those already employed in or interested in moving into the museum field. This program combines the strengths of a premier academic department of anthropology and an innovative department of museum anthropology whose collections and archives span the history and geographic range of the discipline. Students learn the practical skills entailed in working in museums and develop the strong theoretical perspective essential to those who are using material culture to express ideas through visual display. The program prepares students to interpret ethnographic and archaeological collections to the general public, work in registration or collections management, and become scientific, educational or research staff for a range of museums, from small local museums with historical or scientific orientations that require generalists, to larger institutions where staff hold more specialized museums.
Museums have increasingly become contested places in today’s global world. New approaches to practice in existing museums are being explored, and there are many ramifications pertaining to the formation of new museums in post-colonial settings. The study of museums connects to issues of heritage and repatriation and adds additional depth and complexity to the significance of objects. Students who complete the program will have had a unique opportunity to engage these issues within the frame of an intellectually stimulating anthropology program and in dialogue with museum professionals who have been exploring these questions in the creation of innovative public exhibits.
Our graduates have obtained positions in a range of museums-- the American Museum of Natural History, the Bennington Museum, the Chester County Historical Society, the Denver Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of the City of New York – and related institutions, Exhibit A, and the Philadelphia Zoo.
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Requirements
The program consists of 30 points of course work, two intensive internships, and a thesis project. Twenty one of the thirty credits must be taken in Anthropology but each student works out a unique program suited to his/her interests, in consultation with the student’s advisors. Related courses in other departments (such as Art History and Archaeology or Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology) are also encouraged.
Core Courses
- ANTH G6352 Museum Anthropology: History and Theory and ANTH G6353 Exhibiting Culture: Politics and Practices of Museum Exhibitions (6 points)
- Intensive internship. Among the museums at which internships may be conducted (depending on interests and availability) are: the American Museum of Natural History, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Museo del Barrio, the Museum for African Art, the Museum of Chinese in America, the Museum of the City of New York, the National Museum of the American Indian, New-York Historical Society and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. (6 points: 6 at one museum or two 3-point internships at different museums or related facilities)
- ANTH G4201: Principles and Applications of Sociocultural Anthropology for most students.
- Two area or topical courses in anthropology, either sociocultural or archeaological.
- M.A. thesis.
Electives
In addition to Anthropology courses, students make take electives in related disciplines, such as Art History, History, Urban Studies, Arts Administration, Area Studies, Womens' Studies, and others.
Sample Program
The following sample program is for a full-time student over three semesters (including summer):
Semester 1:
- ANTH G4201
- ANTH G6352
- Area/topical course
- Supplemental course
Semester 2:
- ANTH G6353
- Area/topical course
- Internship
- MA thesis (or project/exhibit)
Summer:
- Internship
- MA thesis
Length of Program
Full time: 1 year (2 Residence Units). An optimal full-time program would include two semesters of coursework and a summer internship and M.A. thesis project.
Part time: 2-3 years (four years maximum)
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Core Faculty
Terence D'Altroy, Zoe Crossland, and Nan Rothschild (Columbia), Severin Fowles (Barnard); and Laurel Kendall, Peter Whiteley (AMNH) and Enid Schildkrout (Museum for African Art)
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Applications and Admissions
The program accepts only a small number of qualified students each year. We look for a diverse group; an undergraduate anthropology or archaeology major is not required, but we prefer candidates who have had some museum experience. Admission standards and selection procedures are identical to those followed by the GSAS and require a writing sample, letters of recommendation, and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. Applications for each year will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
See the general Graduate Applications and Admissions page for the Department of Anthropology, as well as the GSAS website, for more information.
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Fees and Financial Support
Information on cost of Attendance and financial Aid are available from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
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