The Master of Arts in Museology requires that students complete a thesis. They may choose either a research or project thesis. We’re talking with some of our second-year students who are deep in thesis work right now to get their perspectives on what they are learning. Museology Communications and Marketing Assistant Xavier Lucas-Cooper (’27) spoke with Annie Hicks (’26) about their thesis work with Northwest Railway Museum.
What attracted you to your project and how do you think it capitalizes on what your coursework has taught you?
I chose my thesis project from a list of project proposals submitted by local museums who had opportunities that they were looking for a Museology student to address over the course of a year. I had previously interned at a history museum, where I designed and installed an exhibit about model railroading. Through that project, I built relationships with train enthusiasts and rail fans all over the Seattle area, and while their enthusiasm was sometimes intimidating, I found myself really enjoying our conversations. When I saw that a railroad history exhibition design project was open at the Northwest Railway Museum, I thought it would be a good opportunity to expand upon the existing knowledge and relationships that I developed through my internship. My project is centered around exhibit design for intergenerational visitor groups, the topic for which I had finalized by the end of my first year in the Museology program. That allowed me to choose courses for my second year that would strongly align with my thesis work, like MUS 588 Exhibit Design for the Visitor Experience and MUS 522 Museum Interpretation. While taking these courses, I have been able to ask specific questions and take notes directly related to my thesis project, which has helped improve the quality of both my project deliverables and my time spent in classes.
In what ways has your project felt different from an internship?
In the past, I have designed exhibits for internships, but this project relies more heavily on an established research base. It’s a requirement for all Museology theses to include an empirical research study, whether that is through a visitor experience survey, written observations about visitor behavior, or interviews with specific folks. I ended up surveying over 150 visitors at the Railway Museum, which I will combine with a literature review to back up my recommendations for interpretation and exhibit design at the museum moving forward. I am planning on testing out these recommendations through the exhibit I am designing, whereas previous internships relied more on internal staff conversations as the basis for design.
What has kept you motivated when things got tough? What fear did you outgrow?
Honestly, I haven’t gotten to a point of my thesis yet where I feel like things are too tough. At the beginning of the year, I worked with my thesis committee chair to develop an extensive project timeline, which I have been using to divide my workload over each of the three terms. Frequent communication with my thesis committee members, especially those who are staff at the Northwest Railway Museum, has helped me stay on top of everything thus far. I have had to coordinate with my teachers and internship supervisors to make sure my workload is flexible, based on how frequently I need to travel to and from the museum for research. Being transparent about how much time I’m able to commit to each facet of my academic and professional life has been crucial for time management and keeping my professional relationships strong.
At what moment did it start to feel like your project? How supportive have your project sponsors been of your ideas?
My supervisors and thesis committee members have been relatively hands-off throughout this project, which meant that everything relied on me to move forward from the get-go. Over the summer between writing my thesis proposal and the fall when I started doing my research, my contact at the museum left her position, so I needed to rebuild my relationships with museum staff completely outside of the school year. However, I think this really began to feel like my project when I began my visitor experience surveys. I was given a museum name tag and was on my own to initiate conversations with strangers, which was intimidating but also very rewarding when I was finally done!
What did your project teach you about the kind of professional you want to be?
I am trained in history education, so prior to this project I was already comfortable with interpretation and public programming responsibilities. However, this project has forced me to hone more of my exhibit evaluation and graphic design skills. It’s helped me realize that I love a variety of tasks in my day-to-day job. I love being able to talk to people from different museum departments and walks of life. And while I love to draw and design, I can’t spend all of my time in the basement! I hope that the rest of this experience is as beneficial as the first half!