Museum Cultures with Curating,MA

Birkbeck, University of London

United Kingdom, London

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Birkbeck, University of London

United Kingdom , London

Key Facts

Program Level

Master by Course Work

Study Type

Full Time

Delivery

On Campus

Campuses

Central London

Program Language

English

Start & Deadlines

Next Intake DeadlinesOctober-2026

Apply to this program

Go to the official application for the university

Duration 1 year(s)

Tuition Fee

GBP 22,980 / year

Next Intake October-2026

Museum Cultures with Curating,MA

About

Course Overview

Museums establish powerful narratives of progress and primitivism, knowledge and ignorance, inclusion and exclusion. Our MA Museum Cultures with Curating offers you the chance to combine study of the history and cultural significance of museums with opportunities for professional museum experience.

Why choose this course?

You will develop professional skills in curatorial practice, including how to design and pitch your own exhibition proposal and how to write text for diverse audiences.
This course provides you with close personal tuition, mentoring and supervision from leading scholars in the field.
You will have the opportunity to take a ten-week supervised work placement in a museum, gallery or archive.
You will visit leading London museums and galleries and meet a range of curatorial experts to discuss their work.

What you will learn

On this course you will learn about the role and impact of the museum and the curator, thus preparing you for a wide range of careers in the sector. You will benefit from an intensive week of daytime classes studying current curating issues and practices. You will also master the wide range of methods and sources, including archives, collections, historical and contemporary texts, needed to understand how museums operate and how their role - and the role of the curator - is shifting in the twenty-first century.

You will draw upon curatorial theory to design and pitch your own exhibition proposal and will have the opportunity to attend optional training on digital design platforms such as ThingLink. This will give you advanced skills, much desired by many employers, in analysis, argument and communication.

How you will learn

You can study this course either full- or part-time. Regular classes are held in the evenings and these consist of short lectures, seminars and small-group discussions.

The curating module is taught intensively in the daytime over a one-week period during the spring term. It combines classroom learning complemented by organised visits to museums, galleries, archives and heritage sites in London. You will have the opportunity to meet experts in the field and engage in hands-on activities relating to exhibition development, object interpretation and public engagement.

You will be introduced to many critical issues facing the museum today and can tailor this course to suit your interests by choosing from a range of option modules allowing you to explore a subject in depth. Subject-specific training in research skills is also provided. In your final year, you will devise your own research project for the dissertation, supervised by one of our specialists.

As well as regular gallery and museum visits, we also offer an exciting study trip abroad every spring with cities previously visited including Moscow, Berlin, Paris, Vienna and Florence.

Discover the career opportunities available by taking Museum Cultures with Curating (MA).

Requirements

Entry Requirements

Our standard postgraduate entry requirement is a second-class honours degree (2:2 or above).

For students with a degree in a subject outside the arts and humanities, the one-year part-time Graduate Certificate in Art History can be used as a conversion course. Students who successfully complete the Graduate Certificate with Merit will normally be guaranteed a place on this course.

Applications are reviewed on their individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.

On your application form, please list all your relevant qualifications and experience, including those you expect to achieve.

Apply now to secure your place. The earlier you apply, the sooner your application can be considered and you can enrol. You do not need to have completed your current qualification to start your application.

English Program Requirements

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.

If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses and foundation programmes to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.

Visit the International section of our website to find out more about our English language entry requirements and relevant requirements by country.

Career

On successfully graduating from this MA Museum Cultures with Curating, you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including:

a sophisticated use of written and spoken English
an advanced critical ability in understanding and applying complex theories
facility and precision in the use of analytical tools
strong skills and initiative in collecting and organising complex materials and writing up clear, well-presented assignments and fluent critical arguments.

Graduates can pursue career paths in the museums and heritage sector; arts management, conservation and policy; education, marketing and publishing; and research and academia. Possible professions include:

museum/gallery curator
museum registrar or collections manager
arts administrator
researcher
advertising account executive
lecturer in higher education.

Jobs gained by some of our BA and MA graduates include:

Head of Learning, Design Museum
Curator, Schools Programmes, Tate Modern
Curatorial Assistant, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Curatorial Officer, National Army Museum
Collections Systems Lead, Victoria & Albert Museum
Head of Campaign Management, Science Museum
Curator, Handel House Museum
Head Curator, National Maritime Museum
Director, Foundling Museum
Curator, British Art 1850-1915, Tate Britain
Courses and Events Programmer, National Gallery.

Read blogs by former students Danny Birchall, the Wellcome Collection's Digital Manager, and Carla Valentine, author and mortician.

We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.