I agree with David/Elizabeth, and would argue that museum graduate  
programs, at worst, are standardizing and commodifying the museum  
field in a way that diminishes creativity and diversity in exhibition  
and program staff.  I don't think they have a clear enough value  
proposition yet for people interested in the front-of-house side of  
museums--there are so many other educational paths, from industrial  
arts to engineering to time spent in guest services, that are at  
least as valuable.  I think we need to be focusing more on  
apprenticeships and on graduate programs that are intended for mid- 
career museum folks rather than creating a "credential required"  
mentality in the field.

But I respect and appreciate the wide variety of views on this  
topic.  There's quite a thriving argument about the value of museum  
grad programs on the Museum 2.0 blog here:
http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2007/04/warning-museum-graduate- 
programs-spawn.html

Nina

Nina Simon
Museum 2.0
www.museumtwo.com

On Jul 26, 2007, at 7:18 AM, David Naumec wrote:

> The following thoughts from Elizabeth is probably the
> most sound advice to anyone hoping to break into this
> competitive field:
>
> "experience combined with interest in the topic of the
> collection seems to be not only what caused me to be
> hired, but also what I try to stress when giving my
> input on other hires."  Everyone needs some level of
> education in something...but true work experience
> seems to hold the most weight in my book.
> Edjumacation is not worth all that much w/out
> experience.
>
>   Intern, intern, intern, volunteer, volunteer,
> volunteer.....and check out Tufts University if you're
> in New England.
>
>   David Naumec
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________ 
> ______________
> Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's  
> updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games.
> http://get.games.yahoo.com/proddesc?gamekey=monopolyherenow
>
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