Program Requirements
The Master of Museum and Heritage Studies requires the completion of 96 units, of which:
96 units must come from 6000-level, 7000-level and 8000-level courses
A minimum of 48 units must come from completion of 8000-level courses
The 96 units must consist of:
24 units from completion of one of the following specialisations:
Cultural and Environmental Heritage
Museums and Collections
Museum Education and Heritage Interpretation
A minimum of 12 units from completion of research courses from the following list:
HUMN6001 Digital Humanities: Theories and Projects
HUMN8001 Interdisciplinary Humanities Research: Methods, Theories and Skills
HUMN8007 Cultural and Environmental Heritage Research Project
HUMN8012 Writing, World Histories and Lives: Research Project
HUMN8018 Cultural and Environmental Heritage: Extended Research Project
HUMN8022 Physical Conservation of Historic Heritage Places
HUMN8023 Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
HUMN8026 Writing in the Public Sphere
HUMN8027 Critical issues in Heritage and Museum Studies
HUMN8034 Collaborative Storytelling and Cultural Production
HUMN8035 Critical Issues in Intangible Heritage
HUMN8036 Who do we think we are? Using Archives and Special Collections
HUMN8038 Oral History and Heritage: Practice and Theory
MUSC8004 Internship 1
MUSC8005 Internship 2
MUSC8008 Museums, Art and Society in the Asia-Pacific
MUSC8009 Museums and Heritage Research Project
MUSC8011 Museums and Heritage Extended Research Project
A maximum of 36 units from completion of courses on the following list:
ARCH8104 An Introduction to Cultural and Environmental Heritage
ARTH6045 Curatorship Theory and Practice
ARTH8020 Arguing Objects
DESN6006 Front-End Web: Crafting Online Experience
ESEN6101 Extended University English
HIST6237 Digital History, Digital Heritage
HUMN8006 Best Practice in Managing Heritage Places
HUMN8009 Biography and Society
HUMN8019 World Heritage: conserving cultural heritage values
HUMN8033 Tourism, Heritage and Globalization
MUSC8006 Indigenous Collections and Exhibitions
MUSC8012 Understanding Learning in Museums and Heritage
MUSC8013 Museum Education and Heritage Interpretation Study Tour
MUSC8017 Museums and Collections: Key Concepts and Practices
MUSC8018 Exhibition Design and Delivery
MUSC8019 Repatriation: principles, policy, practice
MUSI6008 Sound Archiving
SCOM6012 Science Communication and the Web
SCOM6016 Science in the Media
SCOM6029 Cross Cultural Perspectives in Science Communication
24 units from completion of elective courses offered by ANU
Unless otherwise stated, a course used to satisfy the requirements of one list may not be double counted towards satisfying the requirements of another
Admission Requirements
Admission requirements
At a minimum, all applicants must meet program-specific academic/non-academic requirements, and English language requirements. Admission to most ANU programs is on a competitive basis. Therefore, meeting all admission requirements does not automatically guarantee entry.
Applicants must present a Bachelor degree or international equivalent with a minimum GPA of 5.0/7.0
Cognate Disciplines
Ancient History, Anthropology, Archaeology, Classics, Creative Arts, English, Environmental History, Environmental Management, Fine Arts, Gender Studies, History, Museum Studies, Philosophy, Politics, Social Sciences, Sociology, Visual Arts
In line with the university's admissions policy and strategic plan, an assessment for admission may include competitively ranking applicants on the basis of specific academic achievement, English language proficiency and diversity factors.
Academic achievement & English language proficiency
The minimum academic requirement for full entry and enrolment is a Bachelor degree or international equivalent with a minimum GPA of 5.0/7.0.
However, applicants will first be ranked on a GPA ('GPA1') that is calculated using all but the last semester (or equivalent) of the Bachelor degree used for admission purposes.
If required, ranking may further be confirmed on the basis of:
• a GPA ('GPA2') calculated on the penultimate and antepenultimate semesters (or equivalent) of the Bachelor degree used for admission purposes; and/or
• demonstrating higher-level English language proficiency.
Prior to enrolment in this ANU program, all students who gain entry will have their Bachelor degree reassessed, to confirm minimum requirements were met.
Diversity factors
As Australia’s national university, ANU is global representative of Australian research and education. ANU endeavours to recruit and maintain a diverse and deliberate student cohort representative not only of Australia, but the world. In order to achieve these outcomes, competitive ranking of applicants may be adjusted to ensure access to ANU is a reality for brilliant students from countries across the globe.
Assessment of qualifications
Unless otherwise indicated, ANU will accept all Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) qualifications or international equivalents that meet or exceed the published admission requirements of our programs, provided all other admission requirements are also met.
Where an applicant has more than one completed tertiary qualification, ANU will base assessment on the qualification that best meets the admission requirements for the program. Find out more about the Australian Qualifications Framework: www.aqf.edu.au
ANU uses a 7-point Grade Point Average (GPA) scale. All qualifications submitted for admission at ANU will be converted to this common scale, which will determine if an applicant meets our published admission requirements. Find out more about how a 7-point GPA is calculated for Australian universities: www.uac.edu.au/future-applicants/admission-criteria/tertiary-qualifications
Unless otherwise indicated, where an applicant has more than one completed tertiary qualification, ANU will calculate the GPA for each qualification separately. ANU will base assessment on the best GPA of all completed tertiary qualifications of the same level or higher.
Applications for course credit
Applicants with a Bachelor Degree or Graduate Certificate in a cognate discipline may be eligible for up to 24 units (one semester) of credit.
Applicants with a Graduate Diploma or Bachelor degree with Honours in a cognate discipline may be eligible for up to 48 units (one year) of credit.
Cognate Disciplines
Ancient History, Anthropology, Archaeology, Classics, Creative Arts, English, Environmental History, Environmental Management, Fine Arts, Gender Studies, History, Museum Studies, Philosophy, Politics, Social Sciences, Sociology, Visual Arts
Indicative fees
- Annual indicative fee for domestic students
- $28,224.00
For more information see: http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/costs-fees
- Annual indicative fee for international students
- $43,344.00
For further information on International Tuition Fees see: https://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/fees-payments/international-tuition-fees
Scholarships
ANU offers a wide range of scholarships to students to assist with the cost of their studies.
Eligibility to apply for ANU scholarships varies depending on the specifics of the scholarship and can be categorised by the type of student you are. Specific scholarship application process information is included in the relevant scholarship listing.
For further information see the Scholarships website.
The Master of Museum and Heritage Studies draws on our strong connections with Canberra’s leading cultural and collecting institutions to prepare you for an innovative career in this field. Our local and national links mean you’ll regularly hear from senior institutional staff in classes, and can learn on the ground through our internship program.
Our academics are international leaders in research in the field, and the masters offers a range of specialisations in either museum or heritage studies. Within the museum specialisation you’ll learn traditional curatorship and collections management, in addition to new areas such as such as social inclusion, citizenship and community engagement, social activism and museums, Indigenous curation and collection, and innovative visitor studies. The cultural and environmental heritage specialisation offers you the opportunity to analytically address and assess national and international policy and practices in the context of a critical framework that explores the political and social phenomenon and impacts of heritage and its management and conservation.
Career Options
Graduates from ANU have been rated as Australia's most employable graduates and among the most sought after by employers worldwide.
The latest Global Employability University Ranking, published by the Times Higher Education, rated ANU as Australia's top university for getting a job for the fourth year in a row.
Learning Outcomes
- analyse, research, reflect on and synthesise complex approaches to museums and collecting agencies and their relationships to societies;
- evaluate significant debates, problems, controversies, concepts and theories pertinent to museums and collections;
- develop critical engagement with, and a working knowledge of, museums and collecting agencies; and
- communicate and interpret knowledge and ideas to general and specialists museum audiences.
Inherent Requirements
Information on inherent requirements is currently not available for this program
Further Information
- Interested in writing a thesis? Check out the advanced version of this degree.
- Please be aware that any courses taken as part of the 24 units from completion of elective courses offered by ANU list will not count towards the advanced degree should you decide to transfer. This is because the advanced degree has no free electives, as they are in practice replaced by a 24 unit thesis.
