Certificate in Digital Curation
advanced.jhu.edu/digitalcuration
Digital curation is an emerging field that encompasses the planning and management of digital assets over their full lifetime, from conceptualization through active use and presentation to long-term preservation in a repository for future reuse.
Museums and cultural heritage collections worldwide are now routinely digitizing all collection objects as they are acquired and loaned, not only for access but as documentation in the event of loss, damage, or theft, and to support research on collections and objects. They are also digitizing significant portions or even all of their holdings in order to create the robust websites that the public now expects. In addition, they are acquiring and creating born-digital content, such as digital media art, documentation of heritage sites, historical data in digital formats, administrative records, and scientific research data. The creation and acquisition of valuable digital assets continues at a rapid pace, and cultural heritage institutions now have a critical need for professionals in the field to manage and preserve all types of digital assets to ensure their long-term availability for researchers, educators, internal users, and the public, and to participate in the development and promotion of standards and best practices for digital curation in the scientific and cultural heritage sector.
The Johns Hopkins University Certificate in Digital Curation, offered through the graduate program in museum studies, advances the education and training of museum and other cultural heritage professionals worldwide in this emerging field. The certificate program offers a specialized curriculum that prepares current and aspiring professionals to work with digital collections, exhibitions, and research data to ensure the effective stewardship of our global cultural heritage in all types of museums, from art museums to zoos, and related scientific and cultural heritage organizations. Students in this program will also contribute to the critically needed professional literature in the field.