Additional spring 2027 programming TBA; full course listing and open registration available October 15, 2026.
Spring 2027 Courses
-
ARTH584
Dates: February 2-April 13, 2027
Times: TBA
Max. enrollment: 10
Course type: In-person course
Online course management platform: Sharepoint
Instructor: Katrina Derieg, Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum Curator and Museum Collections & Outreach Coordinator
Katrina is a museum professional and mammalogist whose work bridges systematics, natural history collections, and public-facing science. She is currently Curator and Museum Collections & Outreach Coordinator at the Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum at the University of Montana, following five years as Collections Manager of Vertebrate Zoology at the Natural History Museum of Utah. Her research focuses on the systematics, phylogeography, and ecology of small mammals of western North America, with broader interests in integrating natural history collections and community-engaged science.
Course Description
This course has two goals: firstly to introduce students to the history, preparation, curation, and scientific use of natural history collections; and secondly to familiarize them with the basic structure and management of data associated with museum collections. The course will be leaning on vertebrate zoological collections as examples for both goals, as they involve complex physical and data curation. However, the core concepts are transferrable to different types of collections, with different practices and purposes, across disciplines.
-
ARTH584
Dates: February 2-April 13, 2027
Times: Tuesdays, 6:30-7:30 PM
Max. enrollment: 10
Course type: remote (no in-person component)
Course management platform: Canvas
Instructor: Anne Caprez, MMAC Docent
Anne Caprez volunteers as a Montana Museum of Arts and Culture docent. In her professional life, Anne was a business management and technology consultant. In addition to leading regular and special-themed MMAC tours, Anne leads docent recruitment and performs ad hoc analytic projects that help explain what MMAC docents do and their relative impact to the museum.
Course Description
This online virtual course provides a deep understanding of museum docent programs’ organization and value. Docents are a museum’s ambassadors to the public, delivering tangible and intangible value to the museum. This course is intended for anyone currently engaged with a museum’s docent program or wanting to develop one. Students will gain a deep understanding of the docent’s role and value, including the essential components of a successful docent program; learn effective techniques by which docents engage with visitors of several types; and gain a solid understanding of how a docent program fits in the overall museum organization.
-
ARTH595
Museum Studies Certificate students who have completed a minimum of four of their five seminar classes are eligible to complete their field project (often referred to as a Capstone). With MMAC advisor approval, students may be able to simultaneously complete their fourth seminar requirement and complete their field project.
The field project course requires students to implement a project of their own creation, such as an archives organization system; with MMAC approval, they may work with Museum Studies faculty to build on the work of a Museum Studies class, or locate a partnering institution to work with.
Students will complete a final presentation for Museum Studies faculty. Projects may be completed on a flexible timeline during the semester, with presentations scheduled near the end of term.
Students interested in completing their field project should reach out to museum@mso.umt.edu for further info and to arrange an advising session with the MMAC.