Overview
Program of Study
The Department of Art, Music and Design offers a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Museum Professions degree program to those interested in pursuing careers in museums and related cultural institutions. Balancing structure and flexibility, this cutting-edge program comprises a small number of core courses (including a mandatory internship), a choice of concentrations or tracks (in museum education, museum management, museum registration, or exhibition development), and four elective courses (for example, yearly seminars abroad in Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, or Rome). Courses such as Exhibitions A-Z, Museums and Community, Museum Fundraising Fundamentals, Museum Technologies, and Object Care are offered on a rolling schedule.
The program takes advantage of Seton Hall's own rich resources as well as the University's proximity to New York City, which boasts some of the finest museums in the world. Courses are taught by museum professionals from New York and New Jersey, and classes feature regular fieldtrips to museums as diverse as the Museum of Modern Art in midtown Manhattan, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Newark Museum, and museums in Philadelphia, which are less than a two-hour drive away. Visiting lecturers from such institutions further enrich the curriculum. Museums have become complex, multipurpose organizations in the modern world; this program has been designed to meet the need for professionally trained employees.
The 39-credit program (thirteen courses) may be followed on a full-time (three courses per semester) or part-time basis. The program can be completed in twenty months; however, many students take longer, depending on family and employment obligations. Courses are offered in the evenings and sometimes on weekends to accommodate those with full- or part-time jobs.
Further details are available at http://www.shu.edu/academics/artsci/ma-museum-professions/index.cfm.
Research Facilities
The 155,000-square-foot Walsh Library has an excellent collection of the latest books and journals in museum studies, and it offers a variety of facilities, including carrels, group-study rooms, computer labs, and scholars' studies. Students have access to libraries and museums of the greater metropolitan area and their state-of-the-art resources. Library services include research support, bibliographic instruction, and interlibrary borrowing. Available technology includes CD-ROM databases, multimedia PC and Macintosh labs, electronic visual aids, and the Setoncat, an online catalog of the Walsh Library holdings that is accessible both on site and via the campus network.
The Walsh Library Gallery offers a year-round program of art and history exhibitions. Students in the M.A. in Museum Professions program frequently are involved in the planning, implementation, and educational aspects of these exhibitions, especially when they enroll in the course entitled Producing an Exhibition.
Financial Aid
Graduate assistantships, which provide tuition benefits and a stipend, are offered on a competitive basis. Resident assistant positions, which offer housing only, are available as well. Students can apply for two types of federal student loans.
To qualify for financial aid, students must take at least 6 credits per term. Additional information on financial aid and graduate assistantships is available at http://www.shu.edu/applying/graduate/grad-finaid.cfm.
Cost of Study
In 2009-10, tuition is $901 per credit. Full-time students pay $305 per semester in University and technology fees; part-time students pay $185.
Living and Housing Costs
Housing and living costs in South Orange and surrounding towns are comparable to most suburban cities, with studio and one-bedroom apartments renting for $750 to $1000 per month.
Student Group
Each year, about 20 students enter the program. The student body is diverse in age, ethnicity, and geographic origins, as students come from many states and countries. Some recently completed their undergraduate education; others are career changers who wish to prepare for new positions in museum environments. This diversity helps the program, as museums of today seek employees of diverse backgrounds. The students have strong collegial ties and are in close touch with faculty members. Indeed, the program fosters a sense of community.
Student Outcomes
Graduates and current students have held and are holding positions in such institutions as Children's Museum of Manhattan, New York City; Christie's Auction House, New York City; Citibank Art Advisory Service; Dallas Museum of Art, Texas; Edison National Historic Site, West Orange, New Jersey; El Museo del Barrio, New York City; Frick Collection, New York City; Guggenheim Museum, New York City; Hermitage Historic House, Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey; Historical Society of Princeton, New Jersey; International Center for Photography, New York City; JP Morgan Chase, Philanthropic Division, New York City; Jersey City Museum, New Jersey; Maritime Museum of San Diego, California; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey; Morris County Historical Society, Morristown, New Jersey; Museum of Arts and Design, New York City; Museum of Early Trades and Crafts, Madison, New Jersey; Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York City; Museum of Modern Art, New York City; Museum of the City of New York, New York City; National Air & Space Museum, Washington, D.C.; National Canal Museum, Easton, Pennsylvania; Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey; Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, New York; Princeton Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey; Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida; Riverfront Center for the Arts, Millville, New Jersey; Ross Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Rubin Museum of Art, New York City; Studio Museum in Harlem, New York City; Taft Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio; The Pew Charitable Trusts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Vietnam Era Educational Center, Holmdel, New Jersey; Waterloo Village, New Jersey; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City.
Location
Set in a suburban village, Seton Hall is a 5-minute drive from a 2,000-acre recreational reservation and a 30-minute bus or train ride to New York City with its wealth of museums and other cultural institutions. The campus buildings range from a nineteenth-century Victorian carriage house to a world-class fitness center. SOPAC, the South Orange Performing Arts Center, opened in November 2006 and features a five-screen Cineplex and a 415-seat theater center.
The University and The Program
Seton Hall University, founded in 1856, is the largest and oldest diocesan university in the country. It welcomes and educates men and women of all races, creeds, and ethnic origins. The Graduate Program in Museum Professions was founded in 1994 in order to prepare students for the challenges facing museums of the next century, which are to make museums relevant to a public of diverse backgrounds and traditions. At the graduate level, Seton Hall has more than sixty degree programs. The University is large enough to provide adequate facilities and resources, yet small enough to give individual attention to students.
Applying
Admission to the program is open to those with a baccalaureate degree in archaeology, anthropology, art history, or history or a degree in another field with a minimum of 12 undergraduate credits in one of those disciplines (these credits may be completed after conditional admission to the program). The program seeks students with a good academic record (preferable 3.0 or higher) and a strong desire to become a part of the museum world. An interview is necessary, as are two letters of recommendation, GRE scores (waived for applicants who have graduated more than five years ago), and a personal essay. Application forms are sent upon request or can be found online at http://www.shu.edu/academics/artsci/apply.cfm.
The Faculty
Director
Petra ten-Doesschate Chu, Ph.D., Columbia.
Full-Time Faculty
Petra ten-Doesschate Chu, Ph.D., Columbia.
Jürgen Heinrichs, Ph.D., Yale.
Susan Leshnoff, Ed.D., Columbia.
Janet Marstine, Ph.D., Pittsburgh.
Charlotte Nichols, Ph.D., NYU.
Adjunct Faculty
Jeanne Brasile, M.A., Seton Hall; Director, Walsh Library Gallery, Seton Hall.
Nicholas Holmes, LL.D., Michigan; In-House Legal Counsel, Whitney Museum of American Art
Lisa Mantone, M.A., William Patterson; Director of Development, The Museum of Modern Art.
Steven Miller, B.A., Bard; Director, The Morris Museum.
Antonia Moser, M.A., Seton Hall; Associate Registrar, Newark Museum.
Claudia Ocello, M.S., Bank Street College of Education; President and CEO of Museum Partners Consulting, LLC.
John Warren, M.S., Bank Street College of Education; Educational Specialist, National Parks of New York Harbor Education Center.
Katherine Witzig, M.A., Seton Hall; Collections Manager, Vietnam Era Educational Center.
Graduate faculty members of the Center for Public Service and the School of Education also participate in this program.
Correspondence and Information
Seton Hall University
Dr. Petra Chu, Director of Graduate Studies
M.A. in Museum Professions
Department of Art and Music
Art Center
400 South Orange Avenue
South Orange, New Jersey 07079
Telephone: 973-761-9430 or 9459
Fax: 973-275-2368
Email: museumgrad@shu.edu
