University of San Francisco - College of Arts & Sciences
MA in Museum StudiesSan Francisco, USA
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
USD 26,560 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for living on campus and living in off-campus housing
Key Summary
Introduction
The University of San Francisco offers a unique master’s degree in museum studies. Our program prepares students for leadership positions in artistic, cultural, and heritage organizations that operate in a constantly changing social dynamic.
The 32-unit Master in Museum Studies program emphasizes social justice and curatorial practice; education and new technologies; collections management and heritage preservation; non-profit and museum management; financial and project management; and museums and the law.
Students integrate and apply knowledge from a variety of disciplines to analyze critical issues facing museums today—from creating more equitable and diverse museum spaces to promoting and advocating for access and human rights.
Students complete the 32-unit, full-time, on-campus program in 16 months, including three semesters of coursework and a required internship. In the fall semester of their second year, students harness the knowledge, experience, and skills they have acquired during their first year and channel them into a four-unit museum capstone paper or project on a relevant museum studies topic of their choosing.
Admissions
Curriculum
Core Courses (24 units)
- MUSE 600 - Museum Studies: History/Theory
Note: USF alumni who have completed ART 200 may substitute that course for MUSE 600. - MUSE 601 - Museum Management
- MUSE 603 - Collections Management/Preservation
- MUSE 620 - Graduate Internship
- MUSE 621 - Grant Writing
- MUSE 630 - Museum Studies Capstone
Elective Practica (12 units)
Choose from the following:
- MUSE 602 - Museums and Social Justice
- MUSE 605 - Curatorial Studies Practicum
- MUSE 606 - Exhibition Design Practicum
- MUSE 607 - Museums and the Law Practicum
- MUSE 608 - Museums and Technology Practicum
- MUSE 609 - Museum Education Practicum
- MUSE 611 - Cultural Heritage and Social Justice
- MUSE 690 - Special Topics
- MUSE 698 - Directed Study/Research
Program Outcome
Students will:
- Articulate a critical understanding of the histories, challenges, and methodologies related to museums as complex public service organizations
- Analyze institutional practices in light of USF's mission of social justice
- Apply skills and knowledge essential for successful professional patterns of behavior and practice in all types of museums and organizations.
Scholarships and Funding
The MSCS program offers a limited number of merit-based scholarships to incoming and current graduate students, both domestic and international, on a competitive basis.
MSCS Admission Scholarship
Awarded to incoming MSCS applicants with outstanding applications from all backgrounds. Approximate awards range up to $5k over the first year of study.
MSCS Merit Scholarship
Awarded to incoming MSCS applicants with outstanding applications from all backgrounds, or current MSCS graduate students who demonstrate outstanding skills and leadership. Approximate awards range from $5–10k over one to two semesters.
The Dean's Scholarship
An award of up to $15,000 to use toward tuition, research, and conference travel. Connect with other Dean's Scholarship recipients and leaders across the College of Arts & Sciences. Serve as a program representative to USF donor initiatives to help transform the lives of other USF students. For more information please see the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Scholarships website.
Double Dons Scholarship
USF Alumni and current students can be awarded the USF Double Dons Scholarship upon admission. The scholarship covers 20% of the program tuition, and may not be stacked with other USF scholarship awards. Exceptions may apply.
Career Opportunities
Our Alumni
Through interdisciplinary coursework, professional training, and internships, our students graduate with the skills necessary to advance museums at a time of great social and technological change.
Employers
A select list:
- Aquarium of the Bay
- Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive
- Berkeley Botanical Garden
- California Academy of Sciences
- Contemporary Jewish Museum
- Faena Art
- Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
- Foster Youth Museum
- Gallatin History Museum
- Gleeson Library
- Guidekick
- Haggin Museum
- Harvard University School of Education
- Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
- Maritime Museum
- Mexican and Latino Art Museum
- Museum of Latin American Art
- National Japanese-American Historical Society
- National Museum of African-American History
- National Women's Hall of Fame
- Nelson Atkins Museum of Art
- Neville Public Museum
- Oakland Museum of California
- Pacific Science Center
- Palo Alto Art Center
- Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo
- Pasadena Museum of History
- Peterson Automotive Museum
- Rise Against Hunger
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
- Sartle.com
- Thacher Gallery
- Treasure Island Museum
- Walt Disney Family Museum
- Wind River Indian Reservation Museum