Museum Studies (MST)
MST 379 MUSEUM AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
3, 3/0
Exploration of how museums and cultural agencies define community identity. Internal operations of museums and cultural agencies. Minimum 20 hours in-service (fieldwork) activity required, with 15 percent of the grade dependent upon the resulting learning from that service. Offered occasionally.
Equivalent Course: HIS 379
MST 380 INTRODUCTION TO THE MUSEUM
3, 3/0
History, theory, and practices of American museums. Extensive reading, illustrated lectures, and exercises in museum operations. Field trips to area museums. Offered fall semester.
Equivalent Course: HIS 380
MST 381 THE ROLE OF THE HISTORY MUSEUM
3, 3/0
Theory and practice of historical investigation and publication. Uses and procedures of research in historical museums and agencies. Evaluation of source materials. Preparation of historical essays and exhibits. Offered occasionally.
Equivalent Course: HIS 381
MST 419 CURATORSHIP
3, 3/0
Principles and techniques of collecting and exhibiting of museum collections; includes use of audiovisual materials, archives at art museums and historic sites; development of professional expertise in curatorship. Offered fall semester.
Equivalent Course: HIS 419
MST 420 ADMINISTRATION OF THE HISTORICAL AGENCY OR ART MUSEUM
3, 3/0
Principles and practice of administration of museums. Problems of organization, collection, exhibition, public services, finance, special public relations, and trustee relations. Experience in the area of interpretation. Offered occasionally.
Equivalent Course: HIS 420
MST 425 MUSEUM PRESERVATION AND PRACTICE
3, 3/0
Acquaints students who are non-conservation specialists with conservation principles of museum collections. Environmental, handling, and procedural issues; lecture, demonstrations, and practical work; examine exhibition and storage facilities at local institutions. Offered fall semester.
Equivalent Course: HIS 425
MST 450 MUSEUM INTERNSHIP
3-6, 0/0
Prerequisites: Upper-division status and permission of instructor. For students interested in gaining practical experience in museum work. Assignment to a particular museum is based on a student's major-related disciplines. Students in areas such as history, anthropology, art history, education, and the natural sciences are eligible. Offered occasionally.
Equivalent Course: HIS 450
MST 480 DIGITAL MSEUM COLLECTIONS
3, 3/0
Digital technology enables museums to make their collections more accessible. Students investigate what is involved in digitizing museum objects through classroom instruction and a class project. To balance theory with practice, students work as a group to develop their own digital collection. Course is taught at Buffalo State College and a local cultural institution. Offered every semester.
Equivalent Course: HIS 480
MST 488 INTERNSHIP
3-15, 3/0
Prerequisite: Approval of the faculty supervisor. Supervised field experience in a variety of settings to supplement classroom instruction. Offered occasionally.
MST 495 SPEICAL PROJECT
1-3, 0/0
Prerequisite: Faculty supervisor permission. Research conducted under the supervision of a faculty member. Offered occasionally.
MST 498 HONORS RESEARCH
3, 0/0
Offered occasionally.
MST 499 INDEPENDENT STUDY
3-12, 0/0
Prerequisite: Faculty adviser permission. Offered occasionally.
MST 587 TOPICS COURSE
1-4, 1/0
A particular topic or issue, planned by the instructor.
MST 588 TOPICS COURSE
3, 3/0
MST 590 INDEPENDENT STUDY
1-3, 0/0
Prerequisite: Instructor permission. Independent inquiry into a specific topical area of U.S., European, or third-world history.
Equivalent Course: HIS 590
MST 601 THEORY AND METHOD IN MUSEUM STUDIES
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: Museum Studies graduate student status or instructor permission. Origin of museums and the discipline of museum studies; theoretical, practical and legal aspects of museum collections. Collections care, responsibilities of museums as public institutions, object meaning, and case studies in collections repatriation. Required for Museum Studies.
MST 621 MUSEUM REGISTRATION METHODS
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: Museum Studies graduate student status or instructor permission. Daily challenges and excitement of working with priceless art, history, and natural history collections. Wide scope of museum registration practices, including policy development, legal aspects, technologies, and how registrars must accommodate the sometimes conflicting museum mandates of collection access and accountability.
MST 622 RESEARCHING AND PRESENTING MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: Museum Studies graduate student status or instructor permission. Methodologies utilized in museum acquisitions, collections management, multi-disciplinary interpretation, exhibition design, and textual production. Theoretical and practical methods of exhibiting objects and publishing information about museum collections. Research methodologies, digital database models, conservation and collections care, alternative approaches to interpreting and contextualizing objects, and exhibition techniques. Elective course for Museum Studies collections management and curatorial practice specialization.
MST 623 DIGITAL MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: Museum Studies graduate student status or instructor permission. Survey and practice of how museums utilize new technologies to transform internal practices and communication with varied audiences through access to collections, exhibitions, and public programs. Benefits, risks, and case studies of presenting museum collections; what the future holds for the digital museum.
MST 624 MUSEUM ARCHIVES
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: Museum Studies graduate student status or instructor permission. Study and evaluation of record-keeping systems employed by museums and the reasoning behind them. Analysis of the intellectual and physical environments that lead to optimum records management; documentation of individual objects and collections; acquisition, preservation, interpretation, and history of the museum's artifacts, records, collections, and the institution overall.
MST 625 EXHIBIT DESIGN AND INTERPRETATION
3, 3/0
Prerequisites: Museum Studies Graduate Student status or instructor permission. Experiential, hands-on course. Develop exhibitions at a local museum. Prepares students for exhibition-related positions in museums. Guest speakers and field trips to museum service companies. Emphasis on current practices and trends in exhibit design. Repeatable up to 6 credits.
MST 630 VISTOR EXPERIENCE IN MUSEUMS
3, 3/0
Prerequisites: Museum Studies graduate student status or instructor permission. Current trends in visitor experience for museums. Making informed decisions on improving every aspect of visitor contact; fostering customer service; creating memorable exhibits that highlight authenticity, i.e., real environments and artifacts. Theoretical perspectives on free-choice learning and creating third-place environments.
MST 632 TEACHING WITH HISTORIC PLACES
3, 3/0
Prerequisites: Graduate status. Provides a foundation for those seeking to develop and implement educational materials related to historic places. Service-learning at the sites that famous people lived in, where historical events took place, and their teaching potential. Using one historic site as a case study; touring and meeting representatives to find out more about the historic place; determining the educational needs of the facility; creating curricular materials appropriate for the site.
MST 640 MUSEUM ADMINISTRATION
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: Museum Studies graduate student status or instructor permission. Organizational behavior and leadership skills needed for effective management of a not-for-profit institution. Overview for emerging museum professionals; definition of the responsibilities, characteristics, ethical and legal guidelines for the museum administrator, from board and executive director to administrative roles at various levels within the organization.
MST 641 REVENUE GENERATION FOR MUSEUMS
3, 3/0
Prerequisites: Museum Studies graduate student status or instructor permission. Basics of fundraising for a not-for-profit institution; overview of fundraising strategies, board responsibilities, development staff, and volunteers in garnering financial support. Fundraising strategies including prospect development, grant writing, annual fund drives, corporate campaigns, capital campaigns. Diverse methods of fundraising examined through role-playing and other activities.
MST 642 MUSEUM PLANNING
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: Museum Studies graduate student status or instructor permission. Core procedures and principles of strategic planning for museums. Forming a planning committee, information gathering, writing documents, and fulfilling action plans. Role of museum trustees, staff, and community stakeholders. Methods for generating creative ideas for implementation; benchmarking success and rethinking mission. Application of principles to create effective institutional plans.
MST 643 MUSEUM MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: Museum studies graduate student status or instructor permission. Core components and principles of museum marketing and communication techniques including positioning, branding, and e-marketing. Methods for reaching old and new audiences through new media and creative partnerships. Resourcefulness in changing economies and aligning marketing goals to museums mission; application of principles to create effective marketing plans.
MST 660 MUSEUMS AND SOCIETY
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: Graduate status. Museum theory and practice for history and education students and those in such disciplines as anthropology, art, art history, biology, and home economics. Extensive reading; illustrated lectures; exercises in museum and historical agency-related problems.
MST 688 INTERNSHIP
1-12, 0/0
Prerequisites: Graduate status; minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0; background of courses or experience within the area of interest; permission of adviser and department chair. Guided and supervised field experiences to complement the student's academic program.
Equivalent Course: HIS 688
MST 690 MASTER'S PROJECT
3, 3/0
Research or investigation of a particular historical topic or issue, planned and carried out by the student in consultation with the instructor.
Equivalent Course: HIS 690
MST 695 MASTER'S THESIS
1-6, 0/0
Individual investigation of an original problem submitted in acceptable form according to directions given by the Graduate School.
MST 704 RESEARCH SEMINAR IN HISTORY
3, 3/0
Prerequisite: Graduate status. Preparation of individual research papers on some undeveloped aspect of American, European, or third world history; guidance in the location and use of source materials, bibliographical tools, and writing technique. Topics vary each session. May be taken up to three times.
MST 721 THESIS/PROJECT CONTINUATION
0, 0/0
MST 722 THESIS/PROJECT EXTENDED
0, 0/0
MST 795 MASTER'S THESIS
1-6, 0/0
Individual investigation of an original problem submitted in acceptable form according to directions given by the Graduate School.
Equivalent Course: HIS 795