Master of Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies

2023 Deakin University Handbook

Note: You are seeing the 2023 view of this course information. These details may no longer be current. [Go to the current version]

Year	2023 course information
Award granted	Master of Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies
Course Map	This course map is for new students commencing from Trimester 1 2023. This course map is for new students commencing from Trimester 2 2023. Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser in Student Central.
Campus	Offered at Burwood (Melbourne), Online
Duration	1 year full time or part time equivalent
CRICOS course code	102879G Burwood (Melbourne)
Deakin course code	A768
Approval status	This course is approved by the University under the Higher Education Standards Framework.
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition	The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 9.
2023 is the final year of intake for this course version. Students should contact a Student Adviser in Student Central for course information. For students who commenced prior to 2023, please refer to handbook archive for course structure information.

Course sub-headings

Course overview

The Master of Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies allows you to specialise in the areas you want to take your career into. You’ll develop the knowledge, research skills and practical experience to make a difference in the way we engage with our past.

Do you have a passion for the past and how it impacts the present?

Cultural heritage and museum studies at Deakin is the largest and longest running program of its kind in Australia, with over 40-years of experience. All units are developed and taught by leading academics with industry experience.

Whether you want to create exhibitions, manage a museum or heritage site, safeguard Indigenous cultural heritage, support the conservation of intangible cultural heritage or protect and interpret significant objects, buildings, sites and landscapes, you’ll have the ability to tailor your studies to these disciplines throughout your masters.

During your studies, you’ll explore traditions and living examples of culture, and focus on current social, environmental and political concerns.

The core units you’ll study are built around these categories and include:

Intangible Cultural Heritage
Sustainability and Human Rights in Heritage and Museums
Research Design

You’ll also choose up to four elective units based on your interests and use them to form a specialisation in Collections and Curatorship or Heritage Practice. A specialisation isn’t compulsory but can signal to potential employers the type of career you want and your professional interests.

Work-integrated learning is featured throughout the masters, including the Applied Heritage Project unit, which offers a week-long study intensive at sites like Port Arthur. You can also choose to complete an internship unit where you will undertake a professional work placement within a host organisation in Australia or overseas. This experience helps you to develop the skills you need, whether changing or progressing your career, gain industry knowledge and extend your professional networks.

For the opportunity to expand your networks further and graduate with a two Masters degree, you might want to consider applying for our dual award in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies and World Heritage Studies. Deakin partners with Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) in Cottbus-Seftenberg, Germany, to deliver a dual-award program where you will graduate with BTU’s Master of World Heritage alongside your Deakin masters degree, highlighting the global reputation of our course. This competitive entry dual award opens overseas study opportunities and valuable professional experience.

Career opportunities

By researching the past, you’ll be contributing to making it accessible in the present – leading to stronger community engagement and a deeper understanding of how cultures have come to be. More than ever, society is wanting to gain a better understanding of the past and to create positive change in the present – something you can be a part of with the expertise you’ll develop.

Opening a broad range of roles both locally and abroad, your future roles could include:

heritage officer
heritage site or museum manager/director
interpretation officer
registrar
curator
public programs officer
exhibition officer
researcher
project officer.

Completion of the course can be used as a pathway to PhD through research training and a two-credit point research minor thesis.

The graduate certificate and graduate diploma elements of the cultural heritage and museum studies suite are possible early exits, both giving you a solid foundation of knowledge to confidently apply for entry-level roles.

For more information go to DeakinTALENT

Participation requirements

Reasonable adjustments to participation and other course requirements will be made for students with a disability. More information available at Disability support services.

Mandatory student checks

Any unit which contains work integrated learning, a community placement or interaction with the community may require a police check, Working with Children Check or other check.

Alternative exits

Graduate Certificate of Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies (A568)
Graduate Diploma of Museum Studies (A668)

Research information

Students will complete a research pathway in 1 of the 3 following options:

Minor Thesis - PhD Pathway ; or
Research Paper – non PhD Pathway^ ; or
Professional Experience – non PhD Pathway^ .

Fees and charges

Fees and charges vary depending on your course, the type of fee place you hold, your commencement year, the units you choose and your study load.

Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.

Use the Fee estimator to see course and unit fees applicable to your course and type of place. Further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods is available on our Current students fees website.

Course Learning Outcomes

Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes	Course Learning Outcomes
Discipline specific knowledge and capabilities	Research and critically reflect on the diverse tangible and intangible manifestations of social memory as expressed in places and sites, objects, traditional practices and beliefs on a personal and collective level and evaluate different conceptual and practical approaches to its identification, collection, conservation, interpretation, display, management and use.
Communication	Effectively communicate the findings and analysis of cultural heritage and museum studies concepts, theories and applied knowledge, in written, digital and oral formats to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
Digital literacy	Use a range of generic and specialist cultural heritage and museum studies digital technologies and information sources to research, select, analyse, employ, evaluate, and disseminate technical and non-technical information and research outcomes.
Critical thinking	Critically reflect on, research, analyse, evaluate and synthesise key concepts in the identification, collection, conservation, display, interpretation, management, and use of cultural heritage. Apply expert knowledge of, and, technical and creative skills in cultural heritage to evaluate issues and problems in professional practice and scholarship.
Problem solving	Apply expert knowledge to critically analyse, and develop innovative and creative solutions to real-world and ill-defined problems or issues in the identification, collection, conservation, display, interpretation, management and use of cultural heritage.
Self-management	Apply knowledge and skills in creative ways to new situations in professional practice and/or further learning in the field of cultural heritage and museum studies with adaptability, autonomy, responsibility and personal accountability for actions as a critically self-reflexive practitioner and learner.
Teamwork	Apply the principles of effective team work as a reflective team member and/or leader of diverse cultural heritage and museum teams in order to support the team in achieving designated goals.
Global citizenship	Analyse and address cultural heritage issues in the domestic, regional and global context as a critically reflexive scholar and practitioner, taking into consideration cultural and socio-economic diversity, social and environmental responsibility and the application of the highest ethical standards.
Approved by Faculty Board 2020

Course rules

To qualify for the award of Master of Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies, a student must successfully complete 8 credit points as follows:

2 credit points of compulsory core units
AAI018 Academic Integrity (0-credit-point compulsory unit)
6 credit points of study from one of the Minor Thesis, Research Paper, or Professional Experience Pathways. Course Elective units may be used to form a Specialisation.*

*course electives may be used to form a specialisation in either Collections and Curatorship or Heritage Practice of 4 credit points

Specialisations

Course structure

Core units

AIM709

Intangible Cultural Heritage

AIM720

Sustainability and Human Rights in Heritage and Museums

AAI018

Academic Integrity (0-credit-point compulsory unit)

Course Electives*

AIX706

Research Design

AIM703

Heritage Practice: Conservation and Managing Change

AIM705

Heritage Practice: Fundamentals

AIM708

World Heritage

AIM715

Digital Interpretation

AIM719

Cultural Heritage and Museum Practice

AIM722

Managing Collections

AIM727

Developing Exhibitions

AIM733

Applied Heritage Project

AIM736

Museums, Heritage and Society

APE700

Internship A

* choice of elective units may be used to form a specialisation, students who have previously completed any of these units within the Graduate Certificate of Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies are required to substitute with an alternate unit from the course elective list

2 credit points of the electives may be selected from other Deakin postgraduate units with the approval of the course director.

Pathways

Minor Thesis - PhD Pathway

AIX706

Research Design

Plus 2 credit points of research units:

AIX704

Minor Thesis A

AIX705

Minor Thesis B

Plus 3 credit points chosen from the specialisations and/or course electives

Research Paper – non PhD Pathway^

AIX701

Research Paper

Plus 5 credit points chosen from the specialisations and/or course electives

Professional Experience – non PhD Pathway^

APE701

Internship Capstone (2 credit points)

Plus 4 credit points chosen from the specialisations and/or course electives

^ The Research Paper and Professional Experience options are not PhD Pathways.

Work experience

Elective units may provide the opportunity for Work Integrated Learning experiences.

Details of specialisations

Collections and Curatorship

Overview

Those who would like to work with objects and collections, create ground-breaking exhibitions, or manage museums and galleries can choose the Collections and Curatorship specialisation. Units in this specialisation include Managing Collections, Developing Exhibitions, and Digital Interpretation.

Career outcomes

Graduates can be found working as a curator, museum or gallery manager, collections manager, exhibition officer, interpretation officer, registrar, public programs officer, researcher.

Unit set code

SP-A78601

Units

AIM715

Digital Interpretation

AIM722

Managing Collections

AIM727

Developing Exhibitions

Plus

AIX706

Research Design

AIX704

Minor Thesis A

and

AIX705

Minor Thesis B

AIX701

Research Paper

APE701

Internship Capstone (2 credit points)

Heritage Practice

Overview

For those whose primary interest lies in looking after significant places such as heritage sites, historic buildings or landscapes, and want to develop practical skills such as heritage assessment/designation, management planning, community engagement or impact assessment can choose the Heritage Practice specialisation. It includes units on Heritage Practice: Fundamentals, Conservation and Managing Change, and World Heritage.

Career outcomes

Graduates can be found working as a cultural heritage advisor, heritage consultant, heritage officer, heritage planner, heritage policy officer, heritage site manager, heritage project manager, researcher.