Museum Studies (MA) People & Stories
Graduates of the program hold exciting jobs in the highly competitive museum field, recently taking on such roles as director of public engagement at Christ Church Preservation Trust, (Hannah Wallace MA ’18); marketing and public relations coordinator at the Zhejiang University Museum of Art and Archaeology in Hangzhou, China (Xinyi Fang MA ’18); public programming coordinator at the Barnes Foundation (Bailey Gamberg MA ’19); communications coordinator at the National Portrait Gallery (Gabriela Samá Fernández MA ’19); associate curator at The African American Museum in Philadelphia (Zindzi Harley MA ’20).
Museums and institutions in Philadelphia that have hired UArts alumni include
- Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University,
- The African American Museum in Philadelphia,
- The Barnes Foundation,
- Fleisher Art Memorial,
- The Franklin Institute,
- Philadelphia Magic Gardens,
- Museum of the American Revolution,
- Mütter Museum at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia,
- Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Penn Museum.
Alumni Spotlights
![Zindzi Harley, UArts Museum Studies MA graduate, seated at an outdoor stage and speaking into a microphone. she is wearing black glasses and is looking to her right, and is wearing a brown lacey dress.](/sites/default/files/styles/square_500x500/public/YEE_6121-20210812.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=MU1Wj56V)
MA '20 (Museum Studies)
MA '20 (Museum Studies)
![headshot of Nhi Nguyen. She is standing against a blurry background of a grey brick wall and is smiling at the camera. she has long dark hair and is wearing a chartreuse turtleneck sweater](/sites/default/files/styles/square_500x500/public/Nhi%20Ngyuyen.png?h=1af84db1&itok=yhqpioLS)
MA '19 (Museum Studies)
Faculty Spotlights
Our faculty are all working professionals who are well-known in their respective fields ranging from exhibition design to public program curation and have extensive networks with prominent professionals and institutions.
Contact Museum Studies Program Director Daniel Tucker at datucker@uarts.edu.
Featured Faculty
![Mike Adams in a blue jacket and tie with a lighter blue shirt and standing in front of a blurred background that displays a series of flags](/sites/default/files/styles/square_500x500/public/m._adams_headshot.jpg?itok=RQQ-_5Hn)
![James Britt in in black and white wearing a button down shirt against a light colored backdrop](/sites/default/files/styles/square_500x500/public/tilt-headshots_183_cropped.jpg?h=66026134&itok=tMwvmlUa)
![Lauren Burnham standing in front of a blurred outdoor landscape and wearing a green sweater over a green shirt](/sites/default/files/styles/square_500x500/public/img_6425.jpg?itok=be33L8qS)
![Richard Cress](/sites/default/files/styles/square_500x500/public/Richard%20Cress.jpg?h=1b8956df&itok=i2Z8EHpC)
![Jessica Drass headshot](/sites/default/files/styles/square_500x500/public/DrassJessica%20Photo%20%281%29.jpg?h=3a135a63&itok=r6tUasjO)
![Stacey Mann](/sites/default/files/styles/square_500x500/public/Mann_Stacey_Headshot_0.jpg?h=82bb9bb1&itok=29bp9zzz)
![Monica Montgomery dressed in a yellow and white blouse with her arms folded](/sites/default/files/styles/square_500x500/public/monica_headshot_yellow_arms_folded_0.jpg?itok=K8IiNo7-)
![Heather Moqtaderi standing in a studio space in front of yellow and blue and other works on a white table](/sites/default/files/styles/square_500x500/public/heather_in_leo_tecosky_studio.jpg?itok=bOKgsjo3)
Student Spotlights
Stories
Field Trips
Embedded in various Museum Studies courses are field trips to local museums in Philadelphia and museums along the east coast. Students make connections with working professionals and gain a behind the scenes perspective.
Every spring semester, the first-year cohort takes a field trip as part of their Collaborative Exhibition Project to a group of museums and historic sites relating to the special collection of their exhibition development experience.
Every fall semester, the Museum Studies Department leads a field trip to renowned institutions in New York or Washington, DC to provide further connections to professionals working in the field and gain a behind-the-scenes perspective.
There are additional weekly field trips embedded in certain core courses. During Museum Studies Research, students take weekly field trips to some of Philadelphia’s iconic museums and hidden cultural and historic gems. This encounter during the first semester of the program introduces students to future mentors, internship supervisors, and/or future employers in the museum field.
![Faculty member Mickey Maley talks to students in front of a piece of art in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_gallery_project_image/public/gallery/2020-05/Philadelphia%20Museum%20of%20Art%202019.jpg?h=3a0c34ca&itok=J-zToyvt)
![A student sits in Eastern State Penitentiary listening to an audio tour.](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_gallery_project_image/public/gallery/2020-05/Eastern%20State%20Penitentiary%202019.jpg?h=3a0c34ca&itok=-fnvhkeK)
![Faculty member Stephanie Reyer and a student look at an interactive exhibit at the International Spy Museum.](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_gallery_project_image/public/gallery/2020-05/International%20Spy%20Museum%202019.jpg?h=3a0c34ca&itok=Begqb_H8)
![Students walk through the gardens at Longwood Gardens.](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_gallery_project_image/public/gallery/2020-05/Longwood%20Gardens%202019.jpg?h=3a0c34ca&itok=TAmC6nJH)
![Students explore the archives at the Mercer Museum.](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_gallery_project_image/public/gallery/2020-05/Mercer%20Museum%202019%20%281%29.jpg?h=3a0c34ca&itok=0ToN9yzW)
![Two students look at an artifact at the Penn Museum while listening to a tour guide.](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_gallery_project_image/public/gallery/2020-05/Penn%20Museum%202019%20%282%29.jpg?h=3a0c34ca&itok=3QHAmQPg)
![Students gather around a tour guide at the Science History Institute.](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_gallery_project_image/public/gallery/2020-05/Science%20History%20Institute%202020%20%282%29.jpg?h=3a0c34ca&itok=ejKmMOLQ)
![Students gather around a tour guide in the fossil exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_gallery_project_image/public/gallery/2020-05/Smithsonian%20National%20Museum%20of%20Natural%20History%202019.jpg?h=3a0c34ca&itok=HmO6r_oB)
![Students listen to a tour guide at the The Franklin Institute.](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_gallery_project_image/public/gallery/2020-05/The%20Franklin%20Institute%202020%20%281%29.jpg?h=3a0c34ca&itok=Fie-igsF)
![Students look at the exhibit "Burying the Dead" with a tour guide at the Mutter Museum.](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_gallery_project_image/public/gallery/2020-05/The%20Mu%CC%88tter%20Museum%20at%20The%20College%20of%20Physicians%20of%20Philadelphia%202020.jpg?h=3a0c34ca&itok=mt6L3r7S)
![Students explore an exhibit at The Rosenbach with a tour guide.](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_gallery_project_image/public/gallery/2020-05/The%20Rosenbach%202020.jpg?h=3a0c34ca&itok=qKUJUZnd)
![Students sit around a dinner table with virtual reality headgear at Wonderspaces Philadelphia.](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_gallery_project_image/public/gallery/2020-05/Wonderspaces%20Philadelphia%202020%20%283%29.jpg?h=3a0c34ca&itok=8zi8bdzq)
![Faculty member Mickey Maley talks to students in front of a piece of art in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_300x300/public/gallery/2020-05/Philadelphia%20Museum%20of%20Art%202019.jpg?h=b97fea6b&itok=dxM4QOH8)
![A student sits in Eastern State Penitentiary listening to an audio tour.](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_300x300/public/gallery/2020-05/Eastern%20State%20Penitentiary%202019.jpg?h=5c1b599b&itok=zdFPA0l2)
![Faculty member Stephanie Reyer and a student look at an interactive exhibit at the International Spy Museum.](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_300x300/public/gallery/2020-05/International%20Spy%20Museum%202019.jpg?h=5c1b599b&itok=thb18_Ky)
![Students walk through the gardens at Longwood Gardens.](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_300x300/public/gallery/2020-05/Longwood%20Gardens%202019.jpg?h=5c1b599b&itok=DjYtOZdT)
![Students explore the archives at the Mercer Museum.](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_300x300/public/gallery/2020-05/Mercer%20Museum%202019%20%281%29.jpg?h=5c1b599b&itok=Q4BttIHd)
![Two students look at an artifact at the Penn Museum while listening to a tour guide.](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_300x300/public/gallery/2020-05/Penn%20Museum%202019%20%282%29.jpg?h=c60f72a5&itok=8wbfaqlW)
![Students gather around a tour guide at the Science History Institute.](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_300x300/public/gallery/2020-05/Science%20History%20Institute%202020%20%282%29.jpg?h=5c1b599b&itok=wmfzi9__)
![Students gather around a tour guide in the fossil exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_300x300/public/gallery/2020-05/Smithsonian%20National%20Museum%20of%20Natural%20History%202019.jpg?h=f6a37bbf&itok=N7K_5z_a)
![Students listen to a tour guide at the The Franklin Institute.](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_300x300/public/gallery/2020-05/The%20Franklin%20Institute%202020%20%281%29.jpg?h=6cab78db&itok=eTIlOn_N)
![Students look at the exhibit "Burying the Dead" with a tour guide at the Mutter Museum.](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_300x300/public/gallery/2020-05/The%20Mu%CC%88tter%20Museum%20at%20The%20College%20of%20Physicians%20of%20Philadelphia%202020.jpg?h=f11cf1f2&itok=OHp3iJHH)
![Students explore an exhibit at The Rosenbach with a tour guide.](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_300x300/public/gallery/2020-05/The%20Rosenbach%202020.jpg?h=5c1b599b&itok=aVT11Xiv)
![Students sit around a dinner table with virtual reality headgear at Wonderspaces Philadelphia.](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_300x300/public/gallery/2020-05/Wonderspaces%20Philadelphia%202020%20%283%29.jpg?h=5c1b599b&itok=EKaOLr0a)
![Card](/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_right_left_side_750x525/public/museum-studies-2023.jpeg?h=dd4d9ff6&itok=ebYhCYhf)