On June 9, friends, family, faculty, instructors, supervisors, and supporters of Museology’s graduates gathered at the University of Washington for the Class of 2017’s Graduation Ceremony to celebrate all that this cohort has accomplished during their two years at UW. As Jessica Luke, Program Director, pointed out during the graduation ceremony, the numbers behind this group are impressive. Collectively, this cohort has been active across many domains: 572 courses taken during their two years. 41 different institutions where they completed…
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To Museums, and Beyond – Andrea Arenas (Alumni Spotlight)
Andrea Arenas didn’t realize just how much she would get out of the Museology program before starting graduate school. After graduating from the University of Florida with a double major in Geology and Anthropology, she interned at the Florida Museum of Natural History in registration and collections management. From here, it clicked. She loved being behind the scenes, fell in love with museums, and realized that this was her passion. She applied to graduate programs and decided to attend the…
Museology at AAM Annual Meeting
Museology students and alumni were out in full force at this year’s American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. AAM is a national professional organization for individuals working in museums, and their annual meeting is the largest gathering of museum professionals in the world, with over 4,200 attendees this year. The theme of this year’s conference was around diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in museums, and the passion for this topic was palpable. While the scale…
Museology at Work – Work Study at the Burke Museum and Henry Art Gallery
The University of Washington is fortunate to have a few on-campus museums, which are incredible resources for our students. Not only do The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture and the Henry Art Gallery offer free admission to all UW students, both museums offer a variety of work study positions, which give students paid opportunities to gain further experience working in a museum. Work Study is a Federal Student Aid program that partially funds part-time jobs for students with financial need as way to…
Renae Youngs – Evaluating Organizations’ Impact on Communities (Alumni Spotlight)
Renae decided to pursue a Museology degree at UW because she saw the value in its interdisciplinary nature. When she joined the program in 2009, she was drawn to the program’s interdisciplinary nature and its focus on how museums serve their communities. “It was very explicit in being focused on museums as institutions that play a role in their communities, and are there to serve people and communities. Those were things that were appealing to me and how I viewed…
Conversations with Margaret Middleton and Joe Heimlich
This Spring, Museology has hosted a series of informal conversations with visiting museum professionals. Our faculty invited some friends and colleagues to chat with our students about their current work, as well as their career paths. We’ve been delighted with the conversations we’ve had, as their unscripted responses and personal insights illuminate the paths that they took to get to where they are today, and what inspires them to make a difference in museums. On March 31, we were joined…
(Dis)Connected: A Student-Curated Exhibit at the Kirkland Arts Center
During the orientation day my first year of graduate school, I listened eagerly as each Museology instructor explained the exciting courses and opportunities our program had to offer. What stood out most was when Wilson O’Donnell explained the Emerging Curator Initiative (ECI), where Museology students develop exhibit concepts, and one student is selected to curate a show at the Kirkland Arts Center. As I read the description for ECI, I thought about how great it would be to have an…
Museology Students at Museum of Flight’s First Thursday
On March 2, Museology students facilitated hands-on activities at the Museum of Flight as part of the final project for the Seminar in Museum Education course. In the class, students explored learning theory, program development and implementation, and educational programming for various audiences such as families, teens, and early learners. Throughout the quarter, students researched, planned, and evaluated a variety of informal learning programs, with plenty of practical experience to lay the foundation for working as a museum educator. The…
A Seat at the Table – Miranda Belarde-Lewis (Alumni Spotlight)
Miranda Belarde-Lewis has dedicated her career to telling the stories of Indigenous communities and helping Native artists communicate the layers of meaning in their work to the public. Her work designing exhibits, researching pieces, and working with artists has allowed her to strengthen the interpretative strategies of tribal museums, as well as build relationships between museums and Native communities. Miranda’s career has been a series of breaking through glass ceilings to achieve her goals, from her start as a museum…
American Alliance of Museums Career Lab
On February 11, second-year Museology students had the opportunity to attend a career lab with Greg Stevens, the Assistant Director of Professional Development at the American Alliance of Museums–or, as Greg calls it, “the Mothership.” During this event, Greg worked with students students to build their “career toolkit” by learning best practices for cover letters, job applications, networking, résumés, and interviews. The event was a mix of lecture, discussion, and Q&A format, leading to a collaborative atmosphere that helped students…