Course Overview

This MA will give you a solid grasp of foundational skills and key issues in collections management. During an intensive week studying current issues and practices, you will meet experts in London museums and galleries and engage in hands-on activities including documentation, cataloging, and issuing loan requests.

You will also have the opportunity to apply for a 10-week supervised work placement in a museum, gallery, or archive. Previous work placements have been offered at the Tate, British Museum, Whitechapel Gallery, and Horniman Museum. Past students have documented collections that were previously uncatalogued, helped design and run school programs, conducted visitor research and assisted curators in producing exhibitions.

Graduates can pursue career paths in the heritage and museums sector, arts, media, and education. Possible professions include:

museum/gallery registrar

curator

arts administrator

community arts worker

multimedia specialist

higher education lecturer.

We offer a comprehensive Careers Service - Birkbeck Futures - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education, and future ambitions.

General Eligibility

Our standard postgraduate entry requirement is a second-class honors degree (2:2 or above).

Part Time Work Details

20 hours of work permit weekly for international students.

Language Requirement

• If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.