Museum Studies students at a museum.
Museum Studies, MA

Careers & Internships

Through interdisciplinary coursework, professional training, and internships, our students graduate with the skills necessary to advance museums at a time of great social and technological change.

Museum Studies, MA
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Museum Studies Internships in the San Francisco Bay Area

Taken the summer after a student’s first year of study, the 150-hour formal internship is central to the professional training our program offers and allows students the opportunity to complete a major project in a museum setting under the guidance of an on-site supervisor and a faculty advisor. In addition to the 150-hour requirement, students simultaneously enroll in a 4-unit online internship course that allows students the flexibility to either intern at one of the Bay Area’s many renowned cultural institutions or pursue opportunities at museums nationwide or internationally. 

Students talk while standing in front of a mural in Haight Ashbury.

Job Titles

Museum Studies graduates pursue diverse careers across museums, cultural institutions, nonprofits, galleries, archives, and the broader arts and heritage sector, including roles such as:

  • Associate Curator/Curatorial Assistant
  • Collections Manager
  • Education Coordinator
  • Exhibition Designer
  • Museum Director
  • Archivist
  • Conservator
  • Museum Registrar
  • Outreach Coordinator
  • Museum Administrator
  • Digital Media Specialist
  • Cultural Heritage Consultant

Employers

A select list:

  • Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

  • American Bookbinders Museum

  • ARTogether

  • Asian Art Museum

  • Berkeley Botanical Garden

  • Blanton Museum of Art

  • California Academy of Sciences
  • Chicago History Museum

  • Chihuly Garden and Glass

  • Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum

  • Discovery Cube

  • Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

  • Five Oaks Museum

  • Foster Youth Museum
  • Gleeson Library

  • Haight Street Art Center

  • Harvard University School of Education

  • Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

  • Maritime Museum

  • Museum of Arts and Design

  • Museum of Latin American Art
  • National Japanese-American Historical Society
  • National Museum of African-American History
  • National Women's History Museum
  • National WWI Museum and Memorial
  • Neville Public Museum
  • New Children's Museum

  • New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts

  • Oakland Museum of California
  • Palo Alto Art Center
  • Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo

  • Philbrook Museum of Art

  • San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
  • Sartle.com
  • SFO Museum

  • Sonoma Valley Museum of Art

  • Thacher Gallery

  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  • The Phillips Collection

  • Walt Disney Family Museum

  • Yerba Buena Center for the Art

For over a decade, University of San Francisco students and faculty have been our valued partners in the creation of innovative educational programming and outreach that benefits a wide community. The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco is grateful to USF for being such important members of our community."

Sheila Pressley Director of Education, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Meet Museum Studies Program Manager Jullianne Nubla

Video Transcript