With regard to certificates in museum studies and their current meaning,
here is a UK perspective.

They are best understood in terms of credits. An MA or MSc in Museum
Studies is achieved in the UK through the accumulation of 180 credits. A
Graduate or Postgraduate Diploma is 120 credits. The diploma is in effect
the masters minus the dissertation - so the 120 credits account for the
taught component.

From the 1960s to the 1980s, the few courses that were around in the UK did
not award diplomas but Graduate Certificates. This is because the UK
professional association - the Museums Association - then awarded a
professional diploma to which this certificate in large part contributed.
To all intents and purposes the Graduate Certificate of that time is
equivalent to the university Diploma in Museum Studies awarded now. It is
this diploma which is now seen as the professional qualification, though it
does not rank as a university degree(so not like an MA, of course).

However, just to confuse things, many universities in the UK are currently
introducing new certificate courses in museum studies - these are 60 credit
courses which are intended to introduce museum workers back into training.
Unlike the diploma/MA/MSc these are not comprehensive training courses in
museum studies. The suggestion came from the Museums Association as a new
route to acquire associateship. I am not sure this really helps resolve the
initial question but it is important to distinguish between certificates of
old and the new ones.

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