Dear List,
 I have a question for historical museum professionals.  My name
is Kristy Miller, I am a junior at Marist College.  My major is History
with a concentration in Public History and a minor is American Studies.
This time of the year is course selection and because I am a junior
I have all of my classes that are required for my degree, now I have
elective class to take.  Unfortunatly, Marist does not offer the Museum
Studies major and my advisor has his degrees in American History and
really does not know much about the museum field.  The next semester
is going to be my senior year.  I already have done an internship at
a local museum/historical society.  My intentions are to do another
internship next semester, my idea was to take 9 credits.  There
are two other classes that I have to take American Art and Modern Asia I
.  My question is do you think 9 credits is too much for an internship,
9 credits is three full days and I would be mostly in the archives and
using the computer.  The place that the internship would be at
is a federally funded museum/library/house.  Would 9 credits of this
type of work be worth it?
My other question is what types of classes would help me receive a job
in the museum field?  There are some business classes here and such.
There is a suggested class for students concentrating in Public
History called Public Administration.  The class description is:
This course introduces the student to the administrative aspects of
governmental policy making.  This course covers theoretical approaches
and methods of administration.  The focus is on decision making,
personnel management and budgeting.  Does anyone think this is a good
class? (I would like to become a museum curator some day). I think
I need an all around point of view.
I definatly want to take the internship, but should it be 9 or 6 credits
and what kind of classes should I take for an all around knowledge and
what do you think about the administration class (it is only offered
next semester that is also my problem).
Thank you for your time and help.
Sincerely,
Kristy Miller