MA in Museums, History & Culture

New Degree Program

This degree will be available starting in fall 2025.

Two students in the foreground of a classroom image, both working with laptops at desks

George Washington University’s MA in Museums, History and Culture is a unique joint degree program, drawing on the expertise of faculty in History, American Studies and Museum Studies. The program offers a range of courses emphasizing both historical scholarship and practical application, preparing graduates for careers in museums, historic sites and a range of other public-facing historical programs.

Students can choose an area focus — either U.S. culture or specific aspects of global or world history. The curriculum provides a firm grounding in historical training and interdisciplinary American Studies methods, as well as museum fundamentals such as exhibition development, public engagement, collections management, museum administration and ethics. 

Please contact [email protected] with any questions.

 


Mark Your Calendar: Upcoming Info Sessions

Join the Graduate Programs Open House: Oct. 21–Nov. 1

The college will host a virtual information session for prospective Museums, History & Culture graduate students on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 3 p.m. EDT. Attendees will receive an application fee waiver.

Registration and Details

Museums, History & Culture Info Session: Dec. 4

Join us for an online info session discussing the museum studies, history and culture fields and the GW Master of Arts in Museums, History and Culture program.

Register for the Session


Program Benefits

  

Professional Training

Unlike public history programs, this is a history-based MA that is organized specifically around museum-based skills, practice and ethics.

  

Faculty Expertise

Students benefit from the expertise of faculty in Museum Studies, History and American Studies—a multi-disciplinary learning experience steeped in theory and practice.

  

Unique Access

GW’s location and the access it affords provides students a host of opportunities for on-site education, internships, and networking in Washington DC. 


Capstone

The program culminates with a capstone project, which all students are required to complete. This will be a public-facing project — exhibition prototype, program, web-based or other media — that incorporates original scholarship in the form of independent study. 


Course Requirements

This program will begin in the fall 2025 semester. Applications are currently being accepted.

The following requirements must be fulfilled:

The general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Graduate Programs.

36 credits, including 6 credits in required methodology courses, 6 credits in selected museum skills courses, 3 credits in applied work, a 3-credit capstone project, and 18 credits in elective courses.

Required
Methodology courses
AMST 6100Scope and Methods in American Studies
or HIST 6005 Introduction to Historiography
CMST 6107Museum Ethics and Values
Museum skills selected courses
Two courses (6 credits) selected from the following:
CMST 6101Museum Management
CMST 6201Introduction to Museum Collections
CMST 6301Museum Exhibition Curatorial Research and Planning
Applied work
CMST 6501Museum Studies Internship
or CMST 6304 Exhibition Development and Scriptwriting
Capstone project
One 3 credit semester course approved by the director in which the student produces a capstone project. *
Electives
18 credits (six courses) in a combination of Museum Studies (CMST), History (HIST), and American Studies (AMST) courses selected in consultation with the program director.

*The capstone course usually will be AMST 6195 Research Seminar in American Studies or a History (HIST) course designated as a research seminar. Students can arrange to use an independent study to fulfill the capstone requirement with the approval of the program director and a specific professor. The final project completed in a course listed above also could be used to fulfill the requirement for a capstone with the approval of the program director; in such cases the student must take an additional elective course within one of the participating departments.