Museum Studies | Fairmont State University

MUSUEM STUDIES CONCENTRATION

Program Purpose:

The Museum Studies Concentration has been developed to provide students an opportunity to complete an associate degree, in combination with the Museum Studies skill set certificate. In collaboration with the Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center and the School of Human Services Folklife Studies program, the Museum Studies concentration provides additional focused liberal studies courses to complete a program of study directed towards museum work, in both private and public settings, in either small or large museums, historical sites, and historical organizations. For more information on Museum Studies certificate and the complete Folklife Studies program, see the School of Human Services.

Student Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of the A.A. in Liberal Studies with a Museum Studies Concentration, students will be able to do the following:

Demonstrate a working knowledge of the operations of differing types of museums: small and large, public and private
Experience hands-on techniques of collections management and archival preservation processes; to include hands-on work with exhibit research, design, construction, and installation of various exhibits and display application
Acquire a working understanding of museum administrative operations including funding processes, volunteer/staff management, curatorial and collections management, and publications.
Create various museum educational activities, programs, and materials.
Perform first-person role play and third-person presentation, discussions, reenactments, lectures, and skills demonstrations

Opportunities

Persons who desire employment in a museum setting as an interpreter, collections manager, educational programming director, exhibit developer, historical reenactment, or other technical museum work will be a potential student in this program. Current area economic trends indicate that heritage tourism, regional travel, historic preservation, and the general promotion of the region's cultural resources are not only a fast growing segment of the economic base, but assist in setting the direction for future regional change and local economic development. Regional state and national parks, museums, historical sites, conference centers, and many others settings are all seeking qualified individuals for the various positions that this current interest in historical preservation, cultural study, and heritage tourism is creating.

BUSN	1141	Business Math	3 hr
ENGL	1104	Written English I	3 hr
ENGL	1108	Written English II	3 hr

Fine Arts Gen Ed Elecive (select one) 3 hr
ART, MUSI, or THEA 1120

FOLK	1150	Folk Arts	3 hr
FOLK	2200	Intro to Folklore	3 hr
FOLK	2201	Lab	1 hr
HIST	1107	US History I	3 hr
HIST	1108	US History II	3 hr
INFO	1100	Computer Concepts & Applications	3 hr
SPCH	100	Intro to Speech Communication	3 hr

Restricted Elective - (Select one) 3 hr

APPD	1116	History of Contemporary Fashion	3 hr
TECH	1100	History of Technology	3 hr

Additional Required Elective Courses 12 hrs
(Instructor approved, may include courses from Gen Ed)

Museum Studies Option 20 hrs

FOLK	1100	Intro to Museum Studies	2 hr
FOLK	2210	Museum Education Programming	3 hr
FOLK	2220	Museum Collections Management	3 hr
FOLK	2230	Museum Exhibit Design & Preparation	3 hr
FOLK	2240	Museum Interpretation	3 hr
FOLK	2290	Musuem Internship	6 hr

TOTAL 66 HRS

The Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center at Fairmont State has become a centering force within the region as both an educational and cultural resource. The Folklife Center works extensively with state and regional level government and private entities (WV Departments of Education, Culture and History, and Travel and Tourism; WV Humanities Council; WV Association of Museums; Prickett's Fort Memorial Foundation; Vandalia Heritage Foundation; Tamarack; Mountain Made; and many other festivals, organizations, and museums) through shared programming, educational experiences, and teh promotion of cultural ideas. Fairmont State Community & Technical College is excited about these new offerings and their final approval in 2006.

New Museum Studies Program Offered
For more information:
Contact Dr. Beth Newcome at (304) 367-4298 or bnewcome@fairmontstate.edu
Pierpont Community & Technical College of Fairmont State University is offering a new program in Museum Studies.

The new program will be offered as both a 21-hour skill set and as an associate degree (two-year) program. The skill set will include seven Museum Studies courses that provide a wide range of background for various types of technical museum work. Pierpont C&TC’s School of Human Services and School of Academic Studies have also collaborated on a concentration option for the Associate of Arts in Liberal Studies that gives the Museum Studies student an opportunity to study a full range of general education courses including “Introduction to Folklore,” “Anthropology,” “U.S. History,” “Art Appreciation,” “Science in the Heart of Appalachia,” “Geologic Heritage in the Field” and other courses. All aspects of museum work will be covered including an introduction to the museum world, collections management, interpretation, exhibit design and construction and museum education programming.

For more information, contact Noel Tenney, Cultural Specialist and Folk Studies Instructor, at Noel.Tenney@pierpont.edu ; Dr. Beth Newcome, Dean of the School of Human Services at Beth,Newcome@pierpont.edu.

Apply online for admission to Pierpont C&TC of FSU at www.fairmontstate.edu. For assistance with the admission process, call (304) 367-4892 or e-mail admit@fairmontstate.edu.