Admission: Applications for admission to the Master of Arts program are accepted from those who have received a bachelor’s degree from an American college or university or those with international credentials that are equivalent to an American bachelor’s degree.

Applications for admission to the advanced certificate program are accepted from those who already have a master’s or doctoral degree in hand or who are currently applying to, have been accepted into, or are enrolled in a graduate program at New York University or another highly reputed university.

All applicants must provide a report from the general test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). In addition, international applicants who are not native English speakers must achieve a score of at least 600 on the paper-based test, 250 on the computer-based test, or 100 on the Internet-based test of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Special arrangements and collaborations accommodate visiting museum professionals, special students, and foreign scholars.

A strong academic record, a desire to communicate, and evidence of commitment to museums and related institutions are important factors in obtaining admission.

Admission to the program is granted independently of admission to another graduate department, and applicants are notified separately. Acceptances are made in the fall semester to the Program in Museum Studies. Spring applications are considered if space remains available in the program. Please contact the program before applying.

Applicants are encouraged to obtain further information and to arrange an interview by contacting the Program in Museum Studies, 212-998-8080, fax: 212-995-4185, e-mail: museum.studies@nyu.edu or by writing to the Program in Museum Studies, New York University, 240 Greene Street, Suite 400, New York, NY 10003-6675.

INTERNSHIPS

One of the unique opportunities open to students in the program is the individualized and project-oriented personal internship placement for one semester or more (approximately 300 hours). As the artistic, financial, and cultural center of the country, New York City has the largest concentration of museums anywhere in the world. Thus, students may work at one of the more than 90 museums in the metropolitan area or elsewhere in the United States and abroad. Placements are based on the student’s museum career and long-range goals, academic specialization, experience, and skills. In choosing an internship, the student and the internship coordinator give primacy to matching the goals set by the student to the experience offered at the museum.

The program considers the internship a catalyst in the workplace for synthesizing academic studies and practical skills and in preparing students for placement and advancement as museum professionals.

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Students may participate in special projects and exhibitions, colloquia, and symposia organized by the program and/or by other institutes and academic units at NYU.

Students participated in the Annual Graduate Student Symposium “Visible Players in Civic Life: On Civic Engagement in Museums” (December 2003-2006), co-organized with the CCNY Graduate Program in Art History and Museum Studies and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.

Students assisted with installation of an exhibit for the public conference “Art and Optics: An Evaluation of David Hockney’s New Theories Regarding Opticality in Western Painting of the Past 600 Years” (December 1-2, 2001), organized by the New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU.

Other past activities have included student work on program contracts for the collection, registration, and storage of historical collections at the Statue of Liberty National Monument/Ellis Island (National Park Service) and on the educational programming development for and staffing at the New York Transit Museum (Metropolitan Transit Authority).

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