Melanie,

Is there a reason why you wouldn't be able to work full time while attending classes? I am currently enrolled in NYU's Museum Studies MA program, and I am interning part time, working nights and weekends, and attending classes. Other classmates are in a similar situation as well, or are working full time. From my understanding, many programs are designed to accommodate working professionals.

But as others have said, I do not think it is worthwhile to get a Certificate and then get a full MA later on. Might as well go for the MA right away, especially since you've already been admitted to the program. Plus, the whole reason why I chose to get a MA, at least, is because it seems to me that more and more places are looking for Master's degrees + experience in most job postings.

On Thu, Sep 6, 2012 at 3:38 PM, Brian Rayca <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Melanie,

Why go for a certificate? Why not look into a full fledged MA in
Museum Studies? i just graduated this May from the Johns Hopkins
Museum Studies Program. I was working fulltime at the West Point
Museum while I did my studies. The program is designed to so that a
working museum professional can continue to work and earn thier
degree.

Brian

On Thu, Sep 6, 2012 at 12:55 PM, Melanie C Deer
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hello everyone,
>
> I'm stuck in a sticky situation and I was hoping some of you had some
> advice. I volunteered/internship/did independent studies at the
> undergraduate level at the Arizona State Museum (ASM) in Tucson, AZ (as
> Southwest archaeological museum) for about two to three years and then
> managed to get a student position in the Repository and held that for a
> year, graduated with a BA in Anthropology and Creative Writing and I am
> currently employed full time at ASM working on a major repatriation project
> as well as working on finishing an article on a research project I did with
> Southwestern Prehistoric pottery that I hope to get published. Before I got
> the full-time position I had applied to Arizona State University's Museum
> Studies Master program and was accepted. I am scheduled to start classes
> Fall 2013 (I've already postponed enrollment the max amount of time, due to
> a different situation). My employers already knew about my plan to attend
> graduate school in a year before they hired me, so that is not a factor.
>
> I am wondering whether it would be better to stay at my full-time position
> and pursue a Masters later (in other words tell ASU I will not be attending
> classes in Fall 2013, potentially closing that door permanently) or if I
> should leave my full-time position to attend classes as originally intended
> risking not having a job when I graduate.
>
> An idea I had was to get an online Museum Studies Certificate while still
> working full-time at ASM and possibly do night classes to get an
> Anthropology MA. But I'm not sure how highly or lowly Museum Studies
> Certificates are viewed in the museum world.
>
> Any advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Thank you,
> Melanie Deer
>
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