Well said Vanessa. I have but a small quibble. Twenty (in my case, 35 years)
ago, undergraduate programs weren't doing anything more to prepare people
for employment than they are now!

Harry

Harry Needham
Special Advisor - Programme Development
Canadian War Museum
330 Sussex Drive,
Ottawa, Canada
K1A 0M8
Voice: (819) 776-8612  Fax (819) 776-8623
Email: [log in to unmask]

> ----------
> From:         Die Valkure[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Reply To:     Museum discussion list
> Sent:         Wednesday, November 18, 1998 3:47 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Advanced Degrees
>
> Hi all, as a student currently obtaining my advanced degree, I have been
> watching the advanced degrees string with some interest, and I have been
> finally motivated to throw in my two cents.  My point is simple: Times
> have
> changed.  20 years ago I think someone who emerged from the higher
> education system with only a B.A. was better prepared for a career.  In
> some ways, esp. in the business school or computer science, this is still
> the case.  However, things have changed a bit in other ways.  I have a
> B.A.
> in history with a concentration in classical civ.  All of that stuff about
> a well-rounded, liberal-arts education preparing you for a variety of
> careers aside, I was in no way prepared to do what I wanted to do, namely
> work in a museum, without a professional (advanced) degree.  I spent my
> undergrad years taking classes all over campus and really taking some time
> to investigate my interests.  Someone pointed out that undergrads make
> fabulous interns... well, they do.  I worked in my first museum job as an
> undergrad and I know from my rec letters that they thought I did a good
> job, but they weren't prepared to hire me.  Those of us who emerge with
> undergrad degrees in liberal arts, or even a focused studio arts degree
> really need to go pursue a professional degree to really focus our
> education so we are more fully qualified to pursue our passions.  (becuase
> face it, you shouldnt be going into the arts for money, but that's another
> 2 cents)
>
> That being said, I would also advocate advanced degree programs because,
> when structured well, they can provide limitless opportunities for
> experiential learning that I dont think can be found with equivalent ease
> in the undergraduate setting.  I myself have worked extensively with the
> UOregon Museum of Art in registration.  I have also put in time at the
> UOregon Museum of Nat. History.  In the spring I have plans to augment my
> knowledge about bedgets and financial planning with practica with
> developments offices in local non-profit organizations.  In addition to
> that, I am volunteering as archivist at the Hallie Ford M.A. at Willamette
> Univerisity.  (AND writing my thesis, thank you) These experiential
> learning opportunities are invaluable, and the graduate level is the best
> forum for them becuase the ability to immediately apply recently learned
> knowledge with sometimes result in a finer understanding of the processes
> involved.  With just a little diligence, no grad student will emerge
> over-educated and under-experienced.  I know I won't.
>
> So maybe, just maybe, when employers today are using an advanced degree as
> a cutoff tool, it doesnt mean that they are looking just for a bunch of
> education, but rather for this unique mix of education and hands-on
> experience that those vetrans of the advanced degree system have had
> access
> too.
>
> Them's my cents :)
>
> Vanessa
>
>
>
>
> ********************************************************************
> Vanessa L. Ward
> Laurel Intern
> The University of Oregon Museum of Art (UOMA)
> [log in to unmask]
> http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~valkyri
> ********************************************************************
>