re Jennifer Schansberg's helpful summary on PhD's in Museum studies -
 
Jennifer, sorry I was not subscribing at the time of your original
query, but I'm delighted you did note that here at Manchester
University in the UK we do have research degree students in museum
studies now.  Our traditional emphasis has been in the art gallery
end of things (we are in the History of Art dept.), but for research
degrees there is expertise in many other departments on hand.  We
offer both PhD's and M.Phil's.  Quite commonly people register for an
M.Phil first, then if appropriate transfer to PhD later.
 
I would say the first question for anyone thinking of higher degrees
for a museum career is "what kind of job do I want?"  For anyone
aspiring to work with collections in a major museum, no question, a
museum studies Masters is fine, but then forget museum studies and go
for a research degree in the speciality you want to curate, not in a
technical area of museum studies.  (You can do short courses later
if you want to acquire management qualifications, but to get that
job you will need an object-based higher degree - just starting work
on it begins to give you contacts and get you known in your field).
For anyone happy to work in smaller museums, or in larger ones on
outreach or community projects, marketing etc. etc., then a research
degree in a museum studies department, such as ours or Leicester's
here in the UK, would be worth looking into.  The important thing
then, of course, is to go for the supervisor rather than the
department, looking for one who has the strongest background and the
best contacts in the field you are aiming at.
 
We will be delighted to talk over possibilities (including ideas
about other departments besides our own whom potential students might
approach) with anyone thinking of a research degree in museum studies.
 
David Phillips
Art Gallery and Museum Studies
History of Art Department
University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
fax (0)61 275 3331