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

This MA gives you the chance to acquire key foundational skills in curating and a solid grasp of the related issues. You will benefit from an intensive week studying current issues and practices in curating. You will meet the experts in London museums and galleries and engage in hands-on activities relating to exhibition development, object interpretation and public engagement.

You will also have the opportunity to apply for a 10-week supervised work placement in a museum, gallery or archive. Previous work placements have been offered at the Tate, British Museum, Whitechapel Gallery and Horniman Museum. Past students have documented collections that were previously uncatalogued, helped design and run schools programmes, conducted visitor research and assisted curators in producing exhibitions.

As well as regular gallery and museum visits, we also offer an exciting study trip abroad every spring.

CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY

Graduates can pursue careers in the heritage and museums sector, arts, media and education. Possible professions include museum/gallery registrar, curator, or arts administrator. This degree may also be useful in becoming a community arts worker, multimedia specialist, or higher education lecturer.

Read blogs by Danny Birchall, the Wellcome Collection's Digital Manager and Birkbeck student, author and mortician Carla Valentine, who describes how she came to her unusual career and the impact on her work of the MA Museum Cultures.