Museum Skills and Professional Practice provides students with the opportunity to develop their understanding of the museum and wider heritage landscape, focusing especially on skills and knowledge essential to contemporary museum practice. Taught by academic staff and invited practitioners via Blended Learning, the course introduces students to the varied professional pathways and specialisms that exist within museums today and explores key issues facing the sector and its workforce.

2 hours per week for 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus. Teaching is via Blended Learning and may include online lectures, on campus seminars, workshops and fieldtrips

ARTMED5043 - Research & Professional Skills

INFOSTUD5036 - Museum Skills and Professional Practice

None

An individual written assignment based on independent research, such as an object analysis report (2000 words, 60% of final grade).

A portfolio presenting the results of a creative group project, such as a proposal for a museum display/exhibit (1500-2000 words in total, 40% of final grade).

This course aims to:

■ Enrich their understanding of career pathways and job profiles within the museum sector;

■ Enhance their understanding of present-day policies and strategic priorities that inform museum operations;

■ Develop skills in professionally handling museum objects, including identifying and assessing risks, and knowledge required to analyse and interpret museum objects;

■ Foster relationships with cultural heritage professionals through talks from invited speakers;

■ Strengthen academic and professional writing skills, including referencing and plagiarism;

■ Improve communication, interpersonal and teamwork skills.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Research, analyse, interrogate and interpret museum and gallery objects;

■ Tailor their writing to different formats and contexts;

■ Evaluate their own work and offer constructive criticism on the work of their peers;

■ Apply sound communication and negotiation skills to group-work and team-based tasks;

■ Identify and formulate personal development goals.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.