This fall, the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts is introducing a new graduate certificate program designed to combine academic and professional training for the next generation and museum and gallery leaders.
Offered through the M.A. in Arts Leadership (MAAL) Program, the Graduate Certificate in Museum and Gallery Management is an exclusive 12-credit program open to current University of Houston students who have completed at least 9 graduate credit hours. The certificate serves in addition to master’s and doctoral degrees.
“I’m very excited to see our academic offerings in arts leadership expanding,” says MAAL Director Fleurette S. Fernando. “This certificate will allow graduate students across disciplines at UH interested in this field the opportunity to strengthen their skills while building their professional networks.”
Students will be immersed in the history and philosophy of museums and galleries, while developing essential skills for museum and gallery administration, museum education programming, collections management and exhibit design. They will also have the chance to gain hands-on experience working at Blaffer Art Museum, the University’s on-campus contemporary art museum, and in off-site major museums throughout Houston.
“I’m thrilled to foster the many partnerships we have established with key community partners in the field, including the MFAH, Asia Society Texas Center, Lawndale, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston Art League, Diverseworks and Blaffer,” says Fernando. “We are proud to have the support of the Houston Museum District and hope to expand our relationships and program offerings in the years ahead.”
“The foundation to my career was a degree in arts management, which has the inspiring capacity to navigate galleries and museums in a holistic and expansive manner,” says Steven Matijcio, Jane Dale Owen Director and Chief Curator of the Blaffer Art Museum. Matijcio, who will not only lead projects within the museum but will also teach courses in the certificate program, is excited by the promise and potential of the program.
“I’m thrilled to see this certificate program being launched at UH, and for the adept, broadly-thinking professionals it will bring to the Blaffer, and to organizations across the city,” he says.
Though the city of Houston is home to one of the most vibrant museum districts in the nation, this certificate will be the first graduate-level museum and gallery management program offered in the area. This is what makes this program, the first of its kind in the Houston area, so important, according to Fernando.
“The certificate will thus fill a need for the city and for current University of Houston students training to be museum and gallery leadership professionals.”