Museums and Archives Certificate

Can you see yourself practicing hands-on history in a museum or at a historical site? Or do you enjoy spending your days surrounded by books and historical manuscripts in a library or archive? A career in public and applied history might be the path for you! The Department of History has partnered with the Cummings Center for the History of Psychology to design an undergraduate Museums and Archives Certificate that works for our majors. Read on to learn how you can add this cutting-edge training program to your History major!

Requirements

To complete the Museum & Archives Certificate, students are required to take two sequential 3-credit, 300-level core courses, followed by a Capstone Experience, plus electives totaling in 18 credits.

Foundational Core Courses (Take in sequence)

1900:301 (3 credits) Foundations of Museums & Archives I

1900:302 (3 credits) Foundations of Museums & Archives II

A minimum of 9 elective credits (above the 100-level)

See the list of electives here»

Capstone Experience

Students will complete a capstone experience with a local museum or archives. The capstone will require students to apply the knowledge and skills learned in the certificate while assisting local collecting institutions with tasks and projects that are mutually beneficial. The capstone experience course will be selected from the student’s area of focus. As a special topics course, the capstone consists of 45 contact hours on location, plus additional time spent on readings and a report.

Certificate instructors and coordinators will help partner students with local capstone sites, which could include University of Akron collection; community parks and education centers; local government collections; art museums; botanical and farm gardens; art, object, theme, and other museums; historical societies; archives; libraries; and local clubs, businesses, and organizations.