The only graduate program of its kind in the state, the degree provides students with the theoretical background and practical skills necessary to enter a career in the emerging fields of cultural heritage practice, policy and management.The University of Alabama at Birmingham has announced a new Master of Arts degree in cultural heritage studies, the only graduate program of its kind in the state.
The degree, through the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Art and Art History, provides students with the theoretical background and practical skills necessary to enter a career in the emerging fields of cultural heritage practice, policy and management.
The program is interdisciplinary; in addition to core and elective courses in art history, students will take additional relevant classes in anthropology and public administration. The small size of the program affords graduate students the opportunity to work closely with individual faculty members in seminars and directed research projects.
Graduates will have a broad foundation of knowledge applicable to careers and further study in historic preservation and museum studies; arts management and administration; cultural and public advocacy; art and cultural policy; law and transnational justice; international affairs, diplomacy, government, arts centers, government, museums, private arts agencies, arts councils, community arts programs and foreign service; peace and justice studies; art journalism; and other fields.
Students in the Master of Arts degree in cultural heritage studies program may select one of two study tracks:
- The Cultural Heritage track provides an in-depth understanding and analytical grasp of international cultural heritage, and cultural property protection and response, intersections of cultural heritage and aid; the geopolitics of heritage as diplomacy; the role of international structures on the conservation of world heritage; looting and willful destruction of historic sites and buildings; and related issues.
- The Cultural Heritage Administration track provides an in-depth understanding and analytical grasp of public policy and advocacy, including aspects of museum studies relevant to the administration and management of not-for-profit museums; public arts policy; the management of public cultural activity; commercial and nonprofit sides of the business of culture, including organizational structures and staff roles; the fundamentals and legal features of public administration; and nonprofit management.
The master’s in cultural heritage studies is a 30-hour degree. Students in both tracks enroll in 27 hours of coursework and three credit hours of a practicum or internship. Degree requirements include the completion of a final professional research project. Students may apply for admission for either the fall or spring semester.
For more information, contact Graduate Program Director Cathleen Cummings at cathleen@uab.edu.