Dear Dr. Crawford,
Thank you for your speedy reply to my request. I will check out the Texas
Tech. website. In the meantime, would you mind sending me general
information about the program (i.e. degree requirements, descriptions of
courses, sample syllabi, etc.)? These would be very helpful as we embark
on developing our own program.
Mail to:
Dr. Catherine M. Lewis
Dept. of Humanities
Brenau University
One Centennial Circle
Gainesville, GA 30501
I can be reached at: (770) 534-6117.
Many thanks in advance for your assistance.
Catherine
>>Dear List:
>>
>>I am looking for a source that discusses museum studies programs and their
>>programs of study. Can anyone recommend a directory, book, article that
>>might be appropriate? I seem to remember a recent publication on this very
>>subject but can't find it! Is anyone out there involved in a museum
>>studies program? Would you mind sharing some information?
>
>
>Dr. Lewis,
>
>The Center for Museum Studies is a good place to start. They are located
>at the Smithsonian, Washington, DC. 202/357-3101.
>
>For the record, our museu7m studies program here at Texas Tech is an
>internationally respected program.
>
>The Museum of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX, offers a Masters degree
>program in Museum Science (aka museology, the science of museums). Our
>program is a two-year comprehensive curriculum followed by a professional
>internship or thesis. Students gain practical experience working
>(work-study) in various departments within the museum during the coursework
>portion of their tenure. The museum has a two-fold mission. It is a
>teaching facility, with academic department status, with members of the
>professional staff as faculty, and grants it's own Master of Arts degree.
>It is also a working museum, with permanent collections, professional
>staff, regular hours, research and exhibit programs, educational outreach,
>and all those other things that AAM says a museum should be. Upon
>completion of their coursework, students do a professional internship in
>another museum facility to gain more practical hands-on experience in a
>different working environment.
>
>The Museum of Texas Tech University itself consists of the main museum
>building which houses exhibits, administrative and curatorial offices, labs
>and workspaces, and storage. Three other components of the museum complex
>are the Ranching Heritage Center, Lubbock Lake Landmark, and the Natural
>Science Research Laboratory.
>
>The Ranching Heritage Center is a collection of 33 historic structures, the
>oldest of which dates to the 1840s. The Center offers a laboratory for
>students to apply principles of historic preservation, interpretation, and
>other opportunities for living history public programming.
>
>Another component is the Lubbock Lake Landmark, a state archeological site
>which documents Paleo-indian occupation as far as 12,000 years ago. Museum
>archeologists conduct research in a state of the art on-site laboratory,
>and educational programs are conducted in the interpretive center. The
>interpretve center is co-administered with the Texas Parks and Wildlife
>Department.
>
>The Natural Science Research Laboratory (NSRL) is a facility which houses a
>vast and significant mammal and tissue collection. The NSRL has figured
>prominently in ongoing research into environmental dilemmas, including New
>Mexico's Hanta virus (aka Four Corners Disease) and the Chernobyl disaster.
>Scientists in the NSRL are working with the Russian government in an
>effort to study the effects of nuclear accidents on the natural
>environment.
>
>Students in the Museum Science program can select any of the following
>areas: History, Clothing/Textiles, Education, Art, Ethnology, Archeology,
>Natural Sciences (incl. vertibrate zoology), and Exhibit development. The
>diversity of collections reflect the research mission of the University, as
>well as a recognition of the need to give students as comprehensive an
>experience as possible during the course of their program. Students are
>exposed to a variety of collections and learn to work with their particular
>needs and problems.
>
>Other courses offered on campus, such as Museum Law, Marketing and
>Development, Public Administration, Historic Preservation, Historic Textile
>Conservation, and Interpretation compliment the students program. Students
>may also enroll in traditional academic courses in areas like History,
>Anthropology, Biology, etc., to further augment their museum course of
>study.
>
>We are one of the top five degree-granting programs in the USA with a
>placement rate in the range of 90-95 percent. Our graduates are working in
>institutions nationwide, as well as in foreign countries. Since the
>program's creation in the mid-1970s, many of our alumni have become
>directors, administrators, and museum trustees.
>
>The Museum Science Students Association sponsors museum oriented activities
>such as trips to area museums, historic, and natural sites, etc, as well as
>guest speakers, and special fundraisers. The Association also provides
>partial funding for student participation in state, regional, and national
>museum conferences. Our students have played a central role in a
>successful effort to create a museum training affinity group within the
>Texas Association of Museums structure. Named the Museum Training Affinity
>Group, official status was granted at the June 1997 council meeting of the
>Texas Association of Museums.
>
>For more information on the museum, its staff, and programs, visit the TTU
>Museum web site at:
>
>http://www.ttu.edu/~museum
>
>The site contains pages on the Museum Science program as well as the Museum
>Science Students Association.
>
>I hope this helps.
>
>Cheers,
>HBC
>
>*****************************************
>Henry B. Crawford Curator of History
>[log in to unmask] Museum of Texas Tech University
>806/742-2442 Box 43191
>FAX 742-1136 Lubbock, TX 79409-3191
> WEBSITE: http://www.ttu.edu/~museum
>********** "Living History Rocks!!" **********
Catherine M. Lewis
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