Museum Studies Degree Requirements

• MUSE 100 Introduction to Museum Studies
• MUSE 102 Proseminar: Intro to Graduate Research in Museum Studies
• Five museum studies electives from any of the following areas:
  • Business of museums
  • Collections care
  • Exhibition design
  • Museum education
  • Technology
• Applied active learning elective (see on-campus experience)
• Optional internship or additional museum studies elective

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You enroll in the following precapstone and capstone courses in back-to-back semesters and in your final academic year:

• MUSE 598 Museum Studies Precapstone Tutorial (noncredit)
• MUSE 599 Capstone Projects in Museum Studies

Capstone experience. Your capstone project will focus on one of the five concentrations:

• Business of museums
• Collections care
  Exhibition design
• Museum education
• Technology

Whatever focus you choose, you complete at least 2 courses in that concentration before you propose your capstone idea.

First, in the precapstone course, you design the independent research project with your assigned research advisor. Then, in the capstone course, you execute the research while receiving guidance and support from your instructor and fellow degree candidates.

Capstone sequencing. You enroll in the precapstone and capstone courses in back-to-back semesters and in your final academic year. The capstone must be taken alone as your sole remaining degree requirement.

Recent Capstone Topics:

• Dance in Museums: Engaging Visitors, Interpreting Art and Indigenous Identity, and Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage
• Pennies and Predicaments: Grant Funding Equity for Small Museums in the United States
• Safe Havens of the Past and Present: Redefining museums in safeguarding collections of cultural heritage through ethical ownership in times of post-colonial peace and contemporary war
• The Traveling Museum: A Mobile STEM Proposal for Rural Appalachia

You can choose to concentrate your degree studies in a specific area to earn a graduate certificate along the way.

• Digital Storytelling
• Learning Design and Technology
• Nonprofit Management
• Microcertificate: Project Management Methodologies

To meet the on-campus requirement, you choose the Standard on-campus option and study with us in the summer. You can easily request an I-20 for the F-1 student visa for a Harvard Summer School 3-week session. For more information, see International Student Study Options page.

Come to Cambridge for Convocation (fall) to celebrate your hard-earned admission, Harvard career fairs offered throughout the year, HES alumni networking events (here at Harvard and around the world), and, of course, Harvard University Commencement (May).

• Prior to enrolling in any degree-applicable courses, you must possess a 4-year regionally accredited US bachelor’s degree or its foreign equivalent. Foreign bachelor’s degrees must be evaluated for equivalency.
• If English is your second language, you’ll need to prove English proficiency before registering for a course. We have multiple proficiency options.

To begin the admission process, you simply register — no application required — for the following two, four-credit, graduate-level degree courses (available online).

These prerequisite courses count toward your degree once you’re admitted; they are not additional courses. They are investments in your studies and help ensure success in the program.

• MUSE 100 Introduction to Museum Studies
• MUSE 102 Proseminar: Introduction to Graduate Research in Museum Studies
  • Before registering, you’ll need to pass our online test of critical reading and writing skills or earn a B or higher in the EXPO 42a Writing in the Humanities (counts as an elective).
  • You have two attempts to earn the minimum grade of B in the proseminar (a withdrawal grade counts as an attempt). The proseminar cannot be more than 2 years old at the time of application.

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While the two courses don’t need to be taken in a particular order or in the same semester, we recommend that you start with MUSE 100 Introduction to Museum Studies. Each course must be completed with a grade of B or higher, without letting your overall Harvard cumulative GPA dip below 3.0.

During the semester of your second degree course, submit the official application to the program.

Don’t delay! You must prioritize the two degree courses for admission and apply before completing subsequent courses. By doing so, you’ll:

• Avoid the loss of credit due to expired course work or changes to admission and degree requirements.
• Ensure your enrollment in critical and timely degree-candidate-only courses.
• Avoid the delayed application fee.
• Gain access to exclusive benefits.

Eligible students who submit a complete and timely application will have eight more courses after admission to earn the degree. Applicants can register for courses in the upcoming semester before they receive their grades and while they await their admission decision.

Prospective ALM students can expect acceptance into the program by meeting all the eligibility and academic requirements detailed on this page, submitting a complete application, and having no academic standing or conduct concerns.

GPA. You need to earn a B or higher in each of the two degree courses required for admission and a B– or higher in each of the subsequent courses. In addition, your cumulative GPA cannot dip below 3.0.

Withdrawal Grades. You are allowed to receive two withdrawal (WD) grades without them affecting your GPA. Any additional WD grades count as zero in your cumulative GPA. See Academic Standing.

Repeat Courses. We advise you to review the ALM program’s strict policies about repeating courses. Generally speaking, you may not repeat a course to improve your GPA or to fulfill a degree requirement (if the minimum grade was not initially achieved). Nor can you repeat a course for graduate credit that you’ve previously completed at Harvard Extension School or Harvard Summer School at the undergraduate level.

You can complete an 4-credit internship in a museum here in Cambridge (e.g., in a Harvard University or Boston-area museum) or in a museum near your home in the United States. In lieu of the internship, you complete an additional 4-credit elective.

Courses over five years old at the point of admission will not count toward the degree. As stated above, the proseminar cannot be more than two years old at the time of application.

Further, you have five years to complete your degree requirements. The five-year timeline begins at the end of the term in which you complete any two degree-applicable courses, regardless of whether or not you have been admitted to a degree program.

Potential degree candidates must plan accordingly and submit their applications to comply with the five-year course expiration policy or they risk losing degree credit for completed course work. Additionally, admission eligibility will be jeopardized if, at the point of application to the program, the five-year degree completion policy cannot be satisfied (i.e., too many courses to complete in the time remaining).

When you have fulfilled all degree requirements, you will earn your Harvard University degree: Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) in Extension Studies, Field: Museum Studies. Degrees are awarded in November, February, and May, with the annual Harvard Commencement ceremony in May.

When you become an officially admitted degree candidate, you have access to a rich variety of exclusive benefits to support your academic journey. To learn more, visit degree candidate academic opportunities and privileges.