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Our guiding principles

Our program vision and learning outcomes serve as guides for decision-making and curriculum development. All Museology core and guest faculty are guided by our learning outcomes as they develop their courses. Students are also encouraged to use these outcomes as a tool for reflection throughout their program experience.

Program Vision

  • We believe that museums can make the world a better place.
  • We believe that the power of museums lies in the role they play in learning, wellbeing, and community resilience.
  • We define museums broadly, and we see them as part of a larger community ecosystem.
  • We believe that museum professionals are connectors. They are storytellers, dialogue facilitators, community liaisons, designers, evaluators, researchers, project managers, and more.

Program-Wide Learning Outcomes

What difference should a Museology graduate make in the world?

  1. Think critically about museums and cultural organizations as social institutions. Examine the historical, political, cultural, and ethical dimensions of museums, including issues of power, representation, colonialism, equity, stewardship, and public trust.
  2. Partner with communities to advance meaningful public outcomes. Design and facilitate responsive, collaborative, and inclusive practices that position museums and cultural organizations as participants in larger community ecosystems that support learning, wellbeing, civic engagement, and community resilience.
  3. Use research and evidence to inform professional practice. Apply scholarship, evaluation, and other forms of evidence to understand audiences, improve programs and services, assess organizational impact, and contribute to the advancement of museum practice.
  4. Demonstrate expertise in museum and cultural organization practice. Apply professional methods, standards, and best practices in one or more areas of specialization such as learning and interpretation, evaluation, collections, leadership and management, or related fields.
  5. Lead, collaborate, and adapt in complex professional environments. Communicate effectively, work productively across differences, navigate uncertainty, reflect on personal and professional growth, and contribute to the ethical and sustainable evolution of museums and cultural organizations.