Certificate in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies

Earning a Certificate in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies prepares students for entry-level careers in museums, cultural heritage sites, and similar venues that promote public outreach and education, and provides a solid foundation for students who wish to pursue advanced studies in the field of museum studies. Core courses introduce students to the history of museum and cultural heritage management, administration, curation, artifact handling, collections management, interpretive planning, exhibitions, education, ethics, and working with indigenous communities.

To declare this minor, please email department Academic Success Coordinator Keri Canada: Keri.Canada@colostate.edu.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion, students will be able to:

1. Describe the historical development of museums and cultural heritage sites around the world.
2. Identify the differences among various categories of museums and sites.
3. Explain various policies governing museums and sites in the areas of administration, mission, object acquisition and care, ethics, and working with indigenous communities.
4. Distinguish the role played in museum and cultural heritage site operations by directors, curators, conservators, exhibit designers, preparators, registrars, collections managers, education staff, and rangers in order to understand the training that is appropriate to enter these careers.
5. Demonstrate skills in written, oral presentation and practical settings, engage in fruitful oral discussion, debate, and formal presentations that are logically coherent, clearly and concisely stated, and accessible to their peers on topics within museum and cultural heritage studies.

Careers in Museum & Cultural Heritage Studies

The Certificate in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies prepares students for professions in museum collections and curation, cultural resource management (CRM), historical preservation, law and government, art and design, and public education.

Careers include:

• Museum curator and collections manager
• Cultural resources specialist
• Museum exhibitions manager
• National Park Service technician
• Museum educator

Effective Fall 2025

Courses used to satisfy requirements outside this certificate cannot count toward completing this certificate. If using a course toward major/concentration/minor/honors requirements, the student must take a different course for this certificate.

Additional coursework may be required due to prerequisites.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Required courses:
ANTH 240	Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies	3
ANTH 462	Anthropology Curation and Exhibition Methods	3
Select one course from the following:		3
ANTH 486	Practicum 1
ANTH 487	Internship 1
ART 487	Internship 1
ETST 487	Internship–Ethnic Studies 1
HIST 487	Internship 1
Select one course from the following:		3
ANTH 422/SOC 422	Comparative Legal Systems
ANTH 456	Archaeology and the Public
ANTH 478/HIST 478	Heritage Resource Management
ART 409	Museum Collections--Storage to Exhibition
ETST 441	Indigenous Knowledges
HIST 479	Practice of Public History
Program Total Credits:		12

¹

Must be museum or cultural heritage related.