Hi Rosie et al.,

I'll take a leap of faith that folks on Museum-L will read this as
professionals, and will respond likewise.
 
Why go to the UK?
The opportunity to live in a new environment and culture, to interact
with a more diverse student body, to travel around Europe.  Seeing how
the other side of the Atlantic deals with material culture, museology,
education, etc.  A variety of life experience is often favored in the
museum profession, by those doing the hiring.  Right?  Growing up in a
fish bowl is unlikely to be conducive to creative problem-solving and
decision-making, and limits the potential for professional networking.
 
Are there excellent programs in the US?
I'm not questioning the quality of any programs anywhere.  There are
excellent programs in the US and in the UK.  Surely other countries also
have good programs -- Canada, Germany, etc.  But reputations are
subjective.  Faculty and alumni of programs -- as we all know -- are
likely to think their program was excellent (or at least good).  Could I
be the only alumnus of a graduate program disillusioned, capable of
recognizing *and* admitting to the flaws of the program I completed?
LOL!  (I didn't study Museum Studies which, perhaps, might have been a
more satisfying experience.)
 
Why not utilize undergraduate programs that exist?
The main reason, I suggest -- and correct me if I'm wrong -- is that a
Museum Studies graduate degree coupled with volunteer experience will
likely trump an undergraduate degree coupled with volunteer experience.
Even if there's an additional certificate or diploma.  Most students --
at either level -- lack professional experience in museums; however,
almost any work experience will provide and/or bolster important
professional skills.  (For example"customer service" which can bolster
"visitor service" and/or "donor relations," and graphic or display
design in a retail store can lead toward graphic or exhibition design in
a museum.)
 
The big question left unanswered is, why are such questions asked in the
first place?  Why should American students *not* study abroad?  And, the
corollary: Why should international students *not* study in the United
States?  If this is an increasingly 'global village' -- to borrow my
fellow Canadian Marshall McLuhan's oft-cited phrase -- shouldn't future
generations be encouraged to pursue global interests?  Is an
inward-looking chauvinism not the leading cause of intellectual entropy,
the gradual decrease of vitality in fields of discourse that depend upon
global vision and visionaries?
 
These are questions intended for thought and courteous discussion . . .
*not* an invitation for a flame war.  If the desire to flame me exists
develops, please resist the temptation.
 
Best wishes, sincerely,

Jay Heuman, Curator of Education
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art
Utah State University
4020 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT     84322-4020
T 435.797.0165 | F 435.797.3423

Education costs money, but then so does ignorance.
Sir Charles Moser, b. 1922



Rosie DiVernieri wrote:

       Ok Jillian...I know that this doesn't answer your question, but I
have another question to throw out to the group.
       1)  Why are students from the US going to the UK for grad
programs in Museum Studies where there are excellent programs here in
the US?
       and
       2)  Why aren't more people utilizing the undergraduate programs
that exist?
       Just a little thought.
       Rosie DiVernieri


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