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On the other hand, there are a hundred variables you should be considering, and there is no one road to get there from here

One of the biggest, of course, is money. Certificate programs tend to take less time and money than full fledged MA programs. If either money or time is tight for you than maybe a certificate now and a content area MA down the road is right for you. Be sure to consult someone in the museum field in your content area, which I assume is anthropology, to get good advice on this. What might work in history museums or art museums might not be appropriate to your field.

Just as an aside, yes MA's are important at some point and many places look for them and even require them (I don't think it is as cut and dry as some people here represent), but that doesn't mean you need one in Museum Studies and it doesn't mean you need one RIGHT NOW. (those saying you need one to be considered for a job should bear in mind that you already have a job, as did Bryan below which should at least show evidence of some nuance in that claim.) I have two MA's neither in a museum specific field and they serve me well and I got a job first. I got them years apart and 15 years later I am now working on a PhD. Lifelong learning isn't just a slogan for Museum Educators it is also a way for your to plan your career.

Another variable is jobs. They are tight. You already have one. Bird in the hand, etc etc, I would advise you to stick with it. As Brian points out there are quality online programs, Hopkins is one, Oklahoma is another. (Look at lists of current students in both programs. Loads of people with museum jobs and no MA, yet. Just sayin'.) You don't have to leave your job to get credentialed. Hopefully your employers will see what they gain by your education and cooperate.

This of course relates to money. I am shocked by how much debt students in Museum Studies put themselves in when the entry level positions pay so little. If you stay at your job and do distance learning or a part time program you can earn a salary (with benefits, hopefully) while in school you will borrow less and might even be able to pay as you go. Someone else on this thread mentioned the Museum Education program at GW. It's an excellent program and as a museum educator in the Baltimore/DC area I worked with a lot of graduates of their 14 month program, (and even hired a couple) but a lot of them had huge debts since the accelerated 14 month program allowed for little outside employment of any kind. (I will admit that it has been some years since I worked with GW grads. Maybe they have assistantships and fellowships I am not aware of now, but back when I worked in the area most graduates didn't and either needed to be independently wealthy or went into debt. If the situation at GW has improved I apologize to that fine institution, but my larger point about considering your possible debt load still stands) and I don't know what the financial assistance is like at the school you are considering, but think about your long-term finances and how much debt you can support with a museum salary.

Quite frankly, you have a job and if you think it is secure I say keep it and pursue whatever professional development you decide on through a distance or part time program. Jobs are more scarce right now than degree programs in the museum field. Cherish what you have and good luck.

PhD Candidate, History of Science

University of Florida

American Philosophical Society Museum

On Sep 06, 2012, at 12:38 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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