Master of Arts in Museum Administration
Where History Meets Leadership
Most people who love history know how to study it. Far fewer know how to run the institutions that bring it to life. Managing budgets, leading teams, securing grants, developing exhibitions, and building the kind of public trust that keeps a museum relevant for generations. Norwich University's Master of Arts in Museum Administration is built for the professional who wants to do both.
This program deliberately combines public history and public administration into a single, focused degree, preparing you not just to understand historical collections, but to lead the organizations that protect and present them. You'll graduate ready for middle- and upper-level leadership roles in historical museums, societies, and cultural institutions, with a skill set that spans both the curatorial and the operational.
Two Disciplines. One Degree. No Compromises.
Most museum studies programs teach you the craft. Most administration programs teach you the business. Norwich teaches you both because the leaders who thrive in this field are the ones who can walk from an exhibition planning meeting straight into a budget review and hold their own in both rooms.
You'll develop expertise in:
Museum methods and practices: describing, preserving, curating, and interpreting visual artifacts, written documents, and material culture
- Exhibition development and project management: bringing historical narratives to life for public audiences
- Nonprofit leadership: personnel management, strategic planning, marketing, and ethics
- Financial and development skills: budgeting, fundraising, and grant-writing that keep institutions funded and mission-focused
Built for Where You Are. Designed for Where You're Going.
Norwich's online learning environment is built for working adults whether you're a recent graduate taking your first step into the field, a military veteran bringing operational leadership into the cultural sector, a secondary school teacher ready to take your passion for history further, or a current museum professional pursuing the credentials to move into senior leadership.
Your classroom will include all of them. That diversity isn't incidental, it's one of the most valuable parts of the program. The perspectives you encounter here reflect the range of people you'll lead and serve throughout your career.
History deserves great leadership. This is where you learn to provide it.
