Williams Baptist University is launching a new program for students to earn a Certificate in Museum Studies. The 18-hour academic program is designed to prepare students for careers in museums, archives, cultural institutions and the growing field of public history.
The certificate combines classroom instruction with supervised, hands-on experience and reflects WBU’s commitment to experiential learning and workforce preparation, according to Dr. Rodney Harris, chair of the Department of History and Political Science. Harris said the region offers a distinctive advantage for students entering the field.
“Northeast Arkansas has a unique and somewhat unusually high number of museums for a small, rural area,” he said. “These museums provide this new program with built-in laboratories to study public history and prepare students for jobs in this growing field.”
The program, which will be available starting this fall, includes two newly developed courses: Introduction to Public History and a Museum Internship.
Introduction to Public History provides students with a foundation in the theory and practice of presenting history beyond traditional classrooms. Topics include exhibit development, collections management, archival practice, oral history, historic preservation and community engagement.
The Museum Internship places students in working cultural institutions, where they gain structured experience in exhibit preparation, collections care, research, educational programming and nonprofit administration.
Students may complete internships at regional institutions, including the Wings of Honor Museum, the Randolph County Heritage Museum, the Hoxie First Stand Museum and the Eddie Mae Herron Center and Museum. Harris said additional placements will be available through Arkansas state parks and the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives, with other partnerships to be added as the program grows. Internship opportunities will also be available in art and science museums.
In addition to serving as department chair, Harris is president of the Randolph County Heritage Museum and serves on the board of the Wings of Honor Museum. He also serves as a trustee of the Arkansas Historical Association and maintains professional relationships with museums and archives throughout the region.
“The Certificate in Museum Studies gives our students the benefit of WBU’s outstanding history department combined with experience at one of our fine local museums,” said Williams President Dr. Stan Norman. “Certificate programs are a great avenue for workforce education, equipping students for careers in a specific field of study, and we expect to offer more such programs in the future across a variety of fields.”
Williams is a private, Christian university in Walnut Ridge.
For more information about the Certificate in Museum Studies, contact WBU’s Department of History and Political Science at rharris@williamsbu.edu.
