Course information
UK fee £12,100
International fee £22,300
Taught by Museum Studies
Admissions queries
+44 (0)116 252 3963
museum.studies@le.ac.uk
- Course description
- Entry requirements
- Fees and funding
- Careers and employability
- Related courses
- Work placement
Course description
Course description
This course is grounded in museum practice and informed at every level by leading museum studies research. You will benefit from the range of exciting and innovative research that takes place in the world-leading Museum Studies at Leicester each year.
We will introduce you to the tools you will need, your tutors and their latest research and a diverse series of learning events.
During this course, you will consider:
- What is a museum?
- What are its purposes?
- How do we encounter and think about objects?
- How and why do museums look after them?
These topics will lead to the subject of how museums communicate with their audiences; what an exhibition is and how museums tackle them. You will be given expert training in sector-relevant research and professional skills and will have the option of studying specialist subjects such as heritage, museum education, the digital world and museums and the natural environment. There will also be plenty of study visits, visiting speakers from the sector and an opportunity to put on your own exhibition.
Beyond the teaching sessions, you will be able to conduct your own research project. You might choose to write this up as a dissertation, but you could also consider writing a paper, a critique or a professional report, or perhaps even producing a film. We look forward to working with you on the possibilities.
Finally, in the 'Practice' module, you will work in a Museum, Gallery or Heritage Site on a project devised by the host institution. We continue to build contacts with a huge range of organisations across the UK and every year offer placements that excite and challenge our students. You might find yourself caring for a world-class collection, helping to design and install an exhibition, or developing a teaching app for school children. There is a wide choice to enable you to specialise if you wish, or to come away having experienced a range of different activities.
What's the difference?
If your dissertation concerns a science collection or museum, or if the nature of your investigation is 'scientific', you can receive a Master of Science (MSc) degree instead of a Master of Arts (MA) degree.
If you would like to obtain a Postgraduate Diploma you will complete all of the modules, but not the dissertation.
Entry requirements
Fees and funding
Careers and employability
Related courses
Work placement
Course structure
- Core modules
- Research
Core modules
Core modules
- Developing Professional Practice
- Contemporary Museum Contexts
- Objects and Collections: Care, Management and Curation
- Designing for Creative Lives
- Engaging Audiences
- Specialisms
- Practice
Modules shown represent choices available to current students. The range of modules available and the content of any individual module may change in future years.
Research
Why Leicester?
All of our full-time courses include regular visits to museums and galleries, providing you with valuable opportunities to develop your skills in a practical setting.
An eight-week work placement lets you put into practice the skills you have developed on the course.
More than 30 museum professionals visit Leicester each year to give lectures and to provide valuable insight into contemporary museum and gallery work.
Our School of Museum Studies department, who developed this course in partnership with Futurelearn, is a world-leading hub for research, teaching, thinking, debate and practice.
Teaching and learning
You will alternate intensive periods of work in lectures, seminars, workshops and practical sessions with time set aside for the completion of assignments, reading and exploring your own specialisms. Regular visits to museums around the country provide opportunities to explore contemporary practice.
Guest lecturers offer additional perspectives, and are a source of inspiration and ideas and will give you the opportunity to further strengthen your links with the profession. During the summer term, you will undertake an eight-week museum or gallery placement.
If you wish to obtain an MA or MSc, you will undertake supervised research into a topic of your choice and complete an 8000-word dissertation or comparable piece of work such as a paper, a critique or a professional report.
All modules are assessed.
Key dates
September 2025 start
- Application deadline: 8 September 2025 (Please note if you require a visa to study you will be required to submit your course application by 25 July 2025)
- Deposit payment deadline: 8 August 2025
- CAS request deadline: 5 September 2025
- 70% tuition payment deadline: 5 September 2025
Apply now
| Course | Qualification | Duration | Start Dates | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Course Museum Studies | Qualification MA | Duration 1 year full-time | Start Dates September each year | Availability Apply Now |
| Course Museum Studies | Qualification MSc | Duration 1 year full-time | Start Dates September each year | Availability Apply Now |
| Course Museum Studies | Qualification PGDip | Duration 9 months full-time | Start Dates September each year | Availability Apply Now |
I’ve benefited greatly from the extensive range of module topics. They’ve filled my knowledge gaps and have enabled me to have a deeper and better understanding, not only of art museums and galleries, but of the whole art ecosystem.