Museum Studies

Types of Degrees Museum Studies Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many museum studies graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	490
Graduate Certificate	206
Basic Certificate	68
Bachelor’s Degree	39
Undergraduate Certificate	11
Associate Degree	2

What Museum Studies Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, museum studies majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Museum Studies Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in museum studies should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills for Museum Studies Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to museum studies:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Museum Studies Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a museum studies student include the following:

• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Museum Studies Major?

People with a museum studies degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Archivists	14.7%	$52,240
Curators	13.7%	$53,780
Museum Technicians and Conservators	12.7%	$43,020

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Museum Studies?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 39 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in museum studies in 2021, making it rank #308 in popularity. This major is dominated by women with about 79% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of museum studies majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	2
Hispanic or Latino	2
White	22
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	13

How Much Do Museum Studies Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $46,870 to $58,490 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to museum studies. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Museum Studies

Some careers associated with museum studies require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to museum studies have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.4%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	5.7%
Some College Courses	1.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	13.5%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	4.2%
Master’s Degree	56.2%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.7%
Doctoral Degree	13.2%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.8%

Online Museum Studies Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 91 schools offered some type of museum studies program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	3	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	3	0
Bachelor’s Degree	35	2
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	40	2
Post-Master’s	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Museum Studies Worth It?

The median salary for a museum studies grad is $56,400 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 41% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $330,000 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Museum Studies

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to museum studies.

Major	Number of Grads
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	34,975
Biological & Physical Science	30,075
Interdisciplinary Studies	9,074
International Studies	7,368
Nutrition Science	5,330
Behavioral Science	4,169
Sustainability Science	3,005
Cognitive Science	2,776
Natural Sciences	2,214
Human Biology	1,939
Human Computer Interaction	1,857
Computational Science	1,360
Data Analytics	1,338
Mathematics & Computer Science	1,302
Gerontology	1,234
Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution	1,175
Science, Technology & Society	1,095
Systems Theory	884
Dispute Resolution	648
Data Science	541
Multicultural & Diversity Studies	482
Historic Preservation	416
Cultural Studies & Analysis	405
Marine Science	334
Classical & Ancient Studies	275
Biopsychology	183
Medieval Studies	104
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics	97
History and Political Science	66
Holocaust Studies	66
Maritime Studies	50
Accounting & Computer Science	48
Earth Systems Science	44
Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature	42
Geography and Environmental Studies	40
Environmental Geosciences	20
Anthrozoology	13
Digital Humanities and Textual Studies	12
Mathematical Economics	10
Linguistics and Computer Science	6
Linguistics and Anthropology	4
Economics and Computer Science	2
History and Language/Literature	0
Thanatology	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.