Certificate in Museum Management

The Virginia Association of Museums offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to museum staff and volunteers throughout Virginia. Our Certificate in Museum Management will combine the best of VAM’s hands-on workshop and conference programming with other training opportunities across the state to give you a high quality educational experience that you can list on your resume.

Volunteers and new museum staff can earn professional credentials without going back to graduate school.
Your professional training will be backed by VAM, the largest state museum association in the country.
Earning the Virginia Certificate in Museum Management will provide you a basic understanding of many different facets of museums. Should you choose to continue your education, a completed Certificate offers you three credits toward a Museum Leadership Master’s Degree currently in development at the University of Virginia’s Northern Virginia Campus.

Requirements:

Completion of 2 one-day or 4 half day workshops in each of the five core curriculum areas.

Attendance at one statewide, regional or national multi-day conference (VAM, SEMC, AAM, ALFAM, AZA, etc).

Completion of a final project. This project can be in the form of an exhibition, a paper, a presentation at a VAM conference, or other format approved by VAM. Back to top.

Virginia Certificate Core Curriculum:

Download a PDF version of these requirements.

I. Internal Affairs
Administration, Human Resources, Legal Issues, Operations, Budgeting, Governance—by laws, mission, board development, ethics, leadership

II. External Affairs
Public Relations, Development, Membership, Grantwriting, Marketing, Advocacy

III. Exhibitions
Curation, Installation, Evaluation, Labels, Gallery Guides, Object Mounting, Furnishing Plans for Historic Houses

IV. Collections Management
Accessioning, Deaccessioning, Loans, Inventory, Storage, Conservation, Preservation, Archives

V. Education/ Outreach
Public Programming, Special Events, SOLs, Volunteers, Docent Training, Customer Service, Visitor Studies, Educational Theory

Participants in the certificate program may attend non-profit classes through several partner programs across Virginia as a part of their certificate requirements; each applicable full day course earns one credit and each applicable half day course earns 1/2 credit. For information on our partner programs, click here. If you have further questions about what courses count toward the certificate, email Jennifer Thomas, Deputy Director, or call 804.788.5823. Back to top.

Sign Up Now

If you are ready to begin getting credit for your workshop attendance, click here. Once we have processed your Letter of Intent and $25 payment, you will receive a Welcome Packet with all the details on how to make the most of this great program! Back to top.

What Our Students Are Doing (And Saying!)

A New Student Weighs In...
I have to say that in the short time since I started the Certificate program, it has been truly inspiring for me to take advantage of these professional development opportunities. I certainly had gained a great deal from my graduate program in Public History and past experience as a museum director---but the program requirements and workshops both through VAM, your partner organizations and other presenters throughout the region have been a *great* networking experience and way to prepare for re-entry into the field. As a re-emerging professional I've already updated some of my training, and the presenters and process has been very, very interesting. Many thanks!

Fun Final Projects

The Art of Liberty (slideshow)

Robynne Dexter, at the U.S. Army Women's Museum at Fort Lee, recently completed her certificate final project! Here she is, pictured with the project Kevlar and Crowns, an exhibit about women who are both in the Army, and have been crowned in beauty pageants. This exhibit was a way to show how the Army is changing how it views females and femininity.

Keith Campbell organized a fundraiser for his institution, the National D-Day Memorial, called the Memorial Ride/ Poker Run. What is a Poker Run, you ask? It is a classic game of poker, only designed for motorcyclists. Riders stop at five locations along their route to pick up the five cards for their "hand", and the best hands win prizes. Riders pay to play, and those funds go to the benefiting institution. Keith's innovative project raised almost $1,000 for the Memorial.