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Guidance for Pursuing Curatorial Study and Careers

Guidelines for Curatorial Studies Program adopted by the CAA Board of Directors on October 24, 2004; revised on October 25, 2009; revised, renamed, and revisions approved by the Board on October 27, 2024.

OVERVIEW

The following guidance is intended to support students interested in exploring curatorial studies programs or emerging professionals interested in curatorial careers, broadly defined. The museum field and curatorial practices are not static, frequently shifting as institutions’ visions, values, and strategic goals change. Museum work is necessarily collaborative and curatorial professions are nested within organizations where individuals may take on different roles and responsibilities and work together to accomplish projects and operations. The complementary, rather than competitive, nature of curatorial work is central and should be an apparent focus of any curatorial program. Therefore, this tool provides an overview of the current state of the curatorial field and curatorial studies, introducing readers to programs of study, curators' myriad duties, professional opportunities, resources, and questions for consideration.

DEFINING CURATORIAL STUDIES

This document addresses curatorial studies programs (undergraduate, graduate, certificate, and degree-granting) created to train curators of art museums, art centers, and galleries, as well as art spaces affiliated with institutions of higher education. These programs often take the form of undergraduate courses or certificates as well as one- or two-year master’s programs that are full-time intensives regarding the practice and history of curating through critical theory, art history, and visual culture. Curatorial studies programs are also often completed with a certificate, or a specialization in art history departments and programs alongside a specific academic track. Curatorial studies programs typically focus on more practice-oriented aspects and skills, as opposed to a strictly academic route within the study of art history. See below sections for more details on these distinctions.

By comparison, museum studies programs tend to be designed for future museum professionals at institutions including art, science, and cultural sites. Similar to curatorial studies programs, museum studies programs are commonly two-year master’s programs. Other tracks of museum studies education grant certificates, provide a specialization within a broader degree-granting program, or are offered in undergraduate studies. Much of the information about museum studies programs is relevant within curatorial studies. Museum studies curricula are also generally geared in their education and training toward various types of museum roles such as leadership, fundraising, education, collections, exhibition design, art handling, and curatorial—with students focusing on a few of these specializations while in the program. This guide can also help those in museum studies programs if they are interested in honing in on curatorial practice, especially within art institutions.

WHAT DO CURATORS DO?

The following list provides an overview of curatorial responsibilities. However, curatorial positions vary widely,* and some of the items might not be expected of all curatorial roles.

Research, scholarship, and interpretation

Researching the collection and artworks of interest to the institution (for its collection or an exhibition); this can include investigating authenticity, tracing provenance, as well as exploring, evaluating, and thinking critically about the works under their stewardship
Attending and participating in conferences, exhibitions, and fairs, and visiting museum collections relevant to their research interests, expertise, and projects
Authoring and publishing articles and book chapters, as well as catalog essays and entries, for both scholarly and general audiences
Giving lectures, participating in public programs, and organizing conferences
Staying abreast of current issues, criticism, and concepts in curation and museology as well as their area(s) of art historical expertise
Maintaining and developing knowledge and expertise regarding the art market as related to their specialization

Collections care (and sometimes, growth)

Ensuring that records documenting the collection (i.e., object identification information, location, exhibition dates, provenance, etc.) are accurate, accessible, and up to date
Conducting a collections assessment, as needed, to understand the scope of the holdings and contributing, as needed, to collections policy updates
Making recommendations for acquisitions and deaccessions, as well as incoming and outgoing loans, taking into account storage and gallery space needs
Utilizing digital collection management tools/software to maintain collection records as well as track loans

Exhibitions

Conceiving of, developing, and organizing exhibitions that represent new research and thinking in the field
Researching and articulating the thesis, goals, and narrative of the exhibition
Collaborating with internal and external stakeholders on the exhibition concept (i.e. interpretation and public relations colleagues, community members, academic experts, artists, artists’ family members, artist estates, etc.)
Identifying objects for the checklist that address the concept as well as account for the mission, scale, and resources of the project and museum
Researching and writing exhibition object labels, thematic texts, and other interpretive materials (i.e., digital interactives) informed by the project team’s goals and the institution’s audiences
Securing the objects for loan and serving as a liaison for artists, collectors, galleries, and other lenders
Helping create, communicate, and maintain deadlines for writing, editing, design, and review of project between museum staff
Assisting in planning evaluative measures and training front of house team
Organize institutional partnerships and negotiate travel venues

Collaboration and Developing Relationships

Respecting deadlines and communicate unforeseen delays or changes as soon as possible with colleagues and/or institutional partners
With collections managers and conservators, ensuring the safety of the collection and proposing and/or advising on any necessary conservation treatments
With exhibition, installation, and graphic designers, creating accessible and coherent paths and design language throughout exhibition and permanent collection galleries, taking into account pacing, grouping, and emphasis
With education and interpretation colleagues, identifying the varied needs of the institution’s audiences and responding by developing an appropriate presentation and interpretive plan for content and engagements. Also, identifying themes and key objects for compelling audiences with collections and exhibitions. Advising on aligned educational and public programs.
With editorial and interpretation colleagues, ensuring that exhibition/installation interpretation accommodates diverse learning styles, experiences, backgrounds, and abilities
With colleagues across curatorial, programming, publications, philanthropy, and public relations developing strategic plans for collections, programs, publications, fundraising, and publicity
With philanthropy colleagues, assisting, as needed, with grant writing proposals
Networking with academic, independent, and museum colleagues
Mentoring emerging scholars and museum professionals, including junior colleagues, interns, and students interested in museum careers

Audience outreach, philanthropy, and stewardship

Identifying and cultivating donors and collectors
Establishing and fostering relationships and strategic partnerships with community members and organizations
Engaging with artists, colleagues, donors, and trustees in a professional and respectful fashion
Providing lectures and tours of collections and exhibitions to encourage audience engagement
Attending arts events and gatherings in support of your community stakeholders

*Other duties and expectations as assigned; each institution will have particular ways of operating and with that come slightly or distinctively different expectations for those in curatorial roles. For example, at smaller institutions, curators might have a hands-on role in collections management whereas at a large institution, there might be a colleague responsible for the entirety of those duties.

See also: the College Art Association’s Professional Practices for Art Museum Curators.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Curatorial positions fall roughly into four categories: 1) curators with specific areas of expertise within large museums (i.e. curator of drawings, curator of East Asian art, or curator of modern art); 2) curators who oversee a broad collection and/or serve as directors at smaller museums or university-based art museums; 3) curators working at contemporary art museums and galleries, art centers, and alternative spaces; 4) independent curators not tied to any one specific institution. Often these categories may overlap and curators have careers where they have worked in several types of art museum institutions. There is a lot of room to think expansively and creatively about the role of the curator in cultural work.

A combination of education and practical experience is necessary to prepare for a career as a curator. Increasingly, there are specific undergraduate and graduate curatorial training courses that provide field-focused instruction. Additionally, there are general art history and related programs that provide subject-based instruction and the expertise necessary for this field. Overwhelmingly, museums hiring curators for the first two categories of positions “strongly prefer” a doctorate in art history. While degrees such as a master’s degree in curatorial studies might distinguish a job applicant, they are often not considered an equal alternative to the PhD. A PhD is preferred for a joint appointment to a museum and university.

For positions in the contemporary art field, the applicant needs a master’s degree and a strong knowledge and understanding of current art and art criticism. However, even in this field, the doctorate is becoming more common. Extensive professional knowledge of the art scene entails regularly viewing art in galleries and museums and keeping abreast of developments globally, which requires time, energy, and dedication. This knowledge can be particularly useful for finding positions, including internships, within the commercial auction and gallery world. Additionally, commercial galleries frequently seek candidates with a certificate in relevant inventory, website, or database software (i.e. ArtSystems) and some business background.

Practical experience is vital in this field, not only for starting to build a portfolio of exhibitions and projects, but also for building a network of connections in the industry. A good place to start might be to become involved in a campus museum and/or a nearby arts institution. Informational interviews are one tool that may be useful in developing a professional network. These are typically arranged by reaching out to inspiring leaders or professionals in the field and asking to meet and discuss their career path, interests, training, or studies. These interviews can build relationships and develop potential mentors—people who can provide valuable professional insights. Additionally, in order to promote and showcase their accomplishments, many emerging professionals choose to start a website with their work relevant to the field and share their work on social media.

Finding a position that fits one’s goals often requires careful consideration regarding skill transfer, relocation, remote work, or adjacent cultural opportunities (i.e., libraries, community organizations, or arts nonprofits). Job seekers should also be aware that many starting curatorial salaries, particularly for emerging professionals, tend to be low (compared to positions in other fields with similar educational requirements), and advancement within an institution is not guaranteed. However, more museum workers are forming unions, improving pay and stipulations around advancement. In this line of work, being a self-starter and a creative thinker is important. One does not need to be connected to an institution to do curatorial work, and starting with a small, self-organized project can be a great way to start building skills, relationships, and experiences. See the resources section at the end of the document for job-seeking tools.

PROGRAMS OF STUDY

Broadly speaking, there are two types of curatorial studies programs: 1) a program to train students for the first two categories of museum careers described above (specialized curators and broad collection curators/directors); 2) a program for contemporary art positions. The first type is often designed as an adjunct to the master’s or PhD in art history; frequently it is offered as a certificate program. Such programs usually consist of courses on materials, media, and techniques; classes devoted to research methodologies; training in connoisseurship and the organization of exhibitions. Many programs also include a course on exhibition design with an emphasis on graphics and mounts. In depth internships are usually included. See the section below on internships/fellowships for more information.

The second type of curatorial studies program is designed for students who aim to work in the contemporary art field. These programs familiarize students with current trends in practice and criticism and provide opportunities to organize exhibitions. Students make studio and gallery visits, learn gallery installation skills, exhibition and graphics design, and write essays, wall texts, and publicity materials. Because the staff of contemporary art centers tend to be small, hands-on experience in every aspect of the curator’s responsibility is important. Training for contemporary art curators presents particular challenges as the field of contemporary art is enormous and ever-changing. Although students may concentrate on art developments since 1980, studying twentieth-century art broadly remains essential.

Art history is at the core of most curatorial studies, and students should expect to learn critical skills for assessing, evaluating, and interrogating the history of exhibitions and curation, current issues within museology, and the responsibility and ethics of curators, as well as dealing with challenging subject matters

CURRICULUM RECOMMENDATIONS

The following section aims to provide an overview for what prospective students can expect in a typical curatorial studies program and can provide a means to assess the depth of a program before deciding to enroll.

Access to Objects

The profile of today’s curators reflects the changing expectations of art institutions more broadly. This profile includes an advanced degree in art history/visual studies, and practical skills for working with objects and people. Therefore, curatorial studies programs should provide access to museum objects —either at a campus museum or a local museum—regardless of the program’s emphasis on contemporary or historical art.

Relation to Communities

Equally important to working with objects is the curator’s understanding of the complexity and shifting nature of their community and audience. A curatorial studies curriculum, therefore, has to offer classes that bear in mind the relationship between objects, their geographic and historical context, and their audiences. As indicated in the section about the different types of programs of curatorial study, critical thinking skills and a knowledge of history and theory are critical.

Internships and Hands-on Experience

As previously mentioned, most curatorial studies programs are certificate programs offered in conjunction with the master’s and PhD in art history/visual studies. Curatorial Studies programs should, therefore, offer at least three to six credits of curatorial training, preparing students for at least six to nine credits of internship. Contextual knowledge about the role, function, and responsibilities of curators should be complemented by internships that provide an experience of the complexities of the curatorial day-to-day.

Writing and Exhibition Design

In addition to academically focused lecture courses and colloquia, requirements for a certificate in curatorial studies should also include experiential and hands-on components. This might be a graduate seminar devoted to the organization of an exhibition, providing students with opportunities to select works of art, study these works, write and edit catalog essays and wall texts, help design the flow of the space, and obtain an understanding of the exhibition’s potential audience.
A curator’s two central means of expression are the written word and the organization of the exhibition space, including the visual and spatial relationships of exhibited objects. Therefore, both writing (for different audiences and purposes: text for catalogs, guides, interactives, and labels) and exhibition design (including hanging, installation, and labels) need to be central subjects in the curatorial studies curriculum.

Faculty

Curatorial training courses should be taught by museum professionals and by experts in other fields as appropriate. The introductory course should consider core aspects of curatorial work—ranging from historical and theoretical context, to curatorial space management regarding exhibition design and interpretation, to relational aspects of curatorial work such as the curators’ interactions with other museum departments like education and community engagement.

Methods

A methods-focused class is a central second cornerstone of the curatorial studies curriculum. A curriculum’s emphasis on, for example, work with objects or engagement with artists and communities is determined by a program’s focus on one of the above-mentioned two types of curatorial studies programs (specialized curators and directors, or contemporary art positions). The course or seminar on methods should introduce students to museum-based research, which may involve texts, historic documents, biographical information about artists, or contemporary reporting. Much of the research, particularly for curators working with historic objects, requires inquiries into materials that are sometimes harder to access or even find and that have to do with provenance and authenticity. This requires curators to be open to working with and thinking deeply about uncertainties and gaps in the record, to collaborating with experts in various fields, and then to communicating these findings or uncertainties to an audience. An addition to or incorporated into the methods class should be a deep dive into critical issues within curating to understand critiques, challenges, responsibilities, and inequities within the field. Bearing this in mind, students should have the opportunity to engage with originals first hand and be enabled to discuss artwork with artists, as constant exposure and the opportunity to discuss contextual significance is essential in this development. This also means that students should learn about conservation and materials and techniques, and will benefit from taking at least one studio course so that they understand the physical and intellectual challenges involved in creating works of art.

Additional Skill-building

In addition to such courses, comprehensive curatorial programs should offer instruction on law and ethics, management, budgeting, grant writing, languages, and working with foundations. The care of the collections, especially in a specialized curator’s purview, requires that curators be familiar with numerous legal areas, including trade, import and export laws, estate planning, taxes and charitable giving, and ownership and repatriation issues. A curator’s role as an internal connector with education and communication staff, as well as an external connector to community members and funders, requires them to play a major part in project management (including strategic planning), information management, and personnel management. Curatorial programs should offer collaboratively taught courses with faculty from other university departments and programs such as business, ethics, and law.

CHOOSING A PROGRAM

There are many factors to consider when choosing the curatorial studies program that is right for you. Here are some questions you may ask as you evaluate program options:

Do the program instructors have extensive curatorial experience that relates to your interests/goals?
What is the ratio of students to faculty?
What systems of support exist for students in the program? Are there opportunities for advising, coaching, mentorship, or professional learning?
Does the program engage the perspectives of other museum professionals beyond curators?
Does the program incorporate an opportunity to continue studies to the PhD degree?
Does the program have an ongoing relationship with a museum holding a substantial collection? What kind of collection access is offered to students?
What is the program’s relationship with the campus museum? Are museum staff members involved in the program?
What is the program’s relationship with the art history program? How are art history faculty members involved?
What is the relationship with libraries, research centers, special collections, and archives?
What opportunities exist for cross-disciplinary learning or collaboration?
Will there be an opportunity to organize an exhibition or contribute to a designated project? What deliverables will be produced through this project that could be included in a portfolio or on a resume? (example: exhibition, publication, program, presentation)
Have alumni of the program found curatorial positions or other relevant positions in the field?
Are alumni who have been successful in the field active in mentoring current students? Will they speak with prospective candidates?
What resources, such as financial aid, support for research/conference travel, etc., are available for students?

INTERNSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS

Internships and fellowships provide meaningful hands-on learning experiences for the training of prospective curators. Internship and fellowship opportunities are often included as curricular options or requirements for many curatorial studies programs. These opportunities may be credit-bearing, paid, or both.

Internships and fellowships may involve partial or full days of work in a museum or gallery over an extended period of time, with the supervision and guidance of a staff member. All internships or fellowships should include financial compensation for the intern or fellow, but many of these opportunities still remain unpaid or for-credit only. Students are advised to refrain from accepting unpaid internships that do not earn them program credit. When considering internship or fellowship opportunities, it is important to assess the opportunity and determine the knowledge, networking, and skill sets that may be obtained from the experience.

Here are some questions and ideas to consider when reviewing internship or fellowship opportunities:

First, in an ideal internship or fellowship experience, the intern/fellow would be introduced to all museum departments and functions. Museums and galleries are often complex organizations, and every department performs vital functions, from security to development to operations to accounting.

What department(s) does this position operate within?
How does this role collaborate with colleagues across departments?
Are there additional development opportunities to learn from or gather with staff or peers across departments?

Additionally, an ideal internship or fellowship experience would provide opportunities to develop the following skills:

Following exhibition processes and helping brainstorm idea(s) and goal(s)
Writing interpretive text for an installation
Researching objects
Handling artworks
Installing a show
Giving talks on art to a variety of audiences
Writing an acquisition proposal
Working with collection databases
Collaborating with staff across the organization, potentially including conservators, educators, designers, and registrars

Lastly, when looking for internship and fellowship opportunities, consult with your program advisor to discuss options that are eligible for credit or may be eligible for pay. Some higher education institutions may also provide financial support to enroll in unpaid internships to reduce the financial burdens incurred by deciding to accept an unpaid position.

RESOURCES

The following resources and information may be useful to those searching for curatorial studies programs or curatorial careers.

General Professional Development Resources & References (Websites)

General Resources (Books)

Marjorie Schwarzer, Graduate Training in Museum Studies: What Students Need to Know. Washington, DC: American Association of Museums, Committee on Museum and Professional Training, 2001.
Careers in Museums: A Variety of Vocations. Washington, DC: American Association of Museums, Technical Information Service, 5th ed., 2000.

Curatorial Job Listing Websites

Relevant Professional Organization Websites

AUTHORS AND CONTRIBUTORS

The initial document approved by the CAA Board of Directors was prepared by the 2004 Museum Committee: Katherine B. Crum, chair; Maria Ann Conelli, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York; Jan Driesbach, Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Maribeth Flynn, Brooklyn Museum; Erica E. Hirshler, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Bonnie G. Kelm, University Art Museum, University of California; Joan M. Marter, Rutgers University; Andrea S. Norris, Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas; Joseph T. Ruzicka, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts; Brian Wallace, Galleries at Moore, Moore College of Art and Design; Nancy E. Zinn, Walters Art Museum.

Revised in 2009 by the CAA Museum Committee: Jay A. Clarke, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, chair; Brooke D. Anderson, American Folk Art Museum; Virginia Brilliant, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art; Maria Saffiotti Dale, Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Anne Goodyear, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Holly Harrison, Dallas Museum of Art; Dorothy Kosinski, Phillips Collection; Karol Ann Lawson, Sweet Briar College; Amy Schlegel, Aidekman Arts Center, Tufts University; Alan Wallach, College of William and Mary. Two noncommittee members advised on the revisions: Anne Helmreich and Catherine Scallen, Case Western Reserve University.

Revised in 2024 by members of the CAA Museum Committee: Monica Andrews, Chair; Lisa Crossman, Mead Art Museum – Amherst College; Miriam Paeslack, University at Buffalo; Samantha Sigmon, Bates College Museum of Art; Martina Tanga, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Erica Warren, University of Chicago.