UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 3, Page 1
September 14, 1995
Museum studies certificate available to MALS students

     What do students enrolled in the MALS (Master of Arts in Liberal
Studies) Program and Museum Studies Program have in common?
     A great deal, according to Bryant Tolles, museum studies
director, and Ray Callahan,  MALS director, including a scholarly
interest in liberal and fine arts and in cultural institutions, such
as museums and libraries.
     Because of this connection, a museum studies certificate is now
an option for MALS students. It's a natural linkage, Tolles said. Many
MALS students are involved already with area museums as paid or
volunteer docents, curators or trustees, and the Museum Studies
Program offers them the foundation and credentials to be more
effective in these roles.
     According to Callahan there are 120 full- and part-time students
registered in the MALS Program statewide, ranging in age from the late
20s to 80, with a median age in the 50s. Many of the students are
exploring the possibilities for a second paid or volunteer career.
There is an overlapping of interests between the programs, and the
certification program offers an unusual and important option for MALS
students, he said.
     The Museum Studies Program, established in 1972, is one of the
few such programs and the oldest of its kind, according to Tolles. The
program also is affiliated with graduate degree programs in history,
art history and art.
     The Brandywine Valley is a treasure-trove of museums of all
types, Tolles said. The Museum Studies Program has ongoing,
cooperative relationships with many of them, including Winterthur
Museum, Garden and Library, Hagley Museum and Library, Longwood
Gardens, Historical Society of Delaware, Brandywine River Museum,
Delaware Art Museum, Rockwood Museum, Delaware Museum of Natural
History and the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs.
     Graduate students enrolled in the Museum Studies Program must
take 12 credit hours for museum studies certification.
     Six of these credit hours will be accepted as MALS electives,
with the other six taken through the Division of Continuing Education
or as an overload in the MALS Program.
     The required core course is "The Leadership and Management of
Museums," and then students may chose another course, such as "Museum
Curatorship-Collections Management," "Historical Properties,"
"Temporary and Economical Exhibits" or "Museum Education and
Interpretation."
     For certification, students complete a 10-week, three-credit,
full-time internship, which is usually taken in the summer between
classroom courses. An additional three-hour course in museum studies,
or from a department cross-listed with the program, completes the
requirements. The museum studies certificate is awarded when a student
receives his or her graduate degree.
     In addition to classroom instruction, students in the program
have opportunities for hands-on projects in the University Gallery at
Old College and area museums, hear lectures from guest speakers and go
on field trips to major museums.
     The program has an average enrollment of from 85 to 100, Tolles
said.
     In addition to its graduate certification program, museum studies
offers a seminar, opportunities for independent study and an
internship for undergraduates.
     For further information, contact Tolles at 831-1251 or by e-mail
at Bryant.Tolles@mvs.udel.edu or Callahan at 831-6075 or by e-mail at
Raymond.Callahan@mvs.udel.edu.