Ohio State nav bar

Natural History Museum Curation Certificate (undergrad & grad)

Natural History Museum Curation Certificate

The 12-14 credit hour Natural History Museum Curation Certificate will prepare undergraduate and graduate students for employment as a museum curator or curatorial assistant. The certificate is designed to provide both disciplinary expertise and curatorial training in museum curation. 

Note: At this time certificates are not offered online–they are strictly in-person.

 

Guidelines

  • 12-14 required credit hours
  • Maximum of 50% overlap with degree program (i.e. major, minor, other certificate, or GE)
  • Minimum C- for course to be listed on certificate
  • Minimum 2.00 cumulative point-hour ratio required for certificate (3.0 for graduate students)
  • X193 credits not permitted
  • If the certificate is not complete on the DAR, the student must consult with the College of Arts and Sciences Coordinating Advisor
  • The certificate program form must be filed at least by the time the graduation application is submitted to a college/school counselor
  • Once the certificate program is filed in the college office, any changes must be approved by the College of Arts and Sciences Coordinating Advisor

 

Required Coursework

  1. Disciplinary courses (6-8 credits):     
    • EARTHSC 4421: Earth Materials (3)     
    • EARTHSC 4423: Introductory Petrology (3)     
    • EARTHSC 4501: Paleontology (4)     
    • EARTHSC 4502: Stratigraphy and Sedimentation (4)     
    • EEOB 2210: Biodiversity of Ohio – Plants (2)     
    • EEOB 2220: Biodiversity of Ohio – Birds (2)     
    • EEOB 3310: Evolution (4)     
    • EEOB 3320: Organismal Diversity (3)     
    • EEOB 4210: Focused Study of Ecology and Evolution – Vertebrates (2)     
    • EEOB 4220: Focused Study of Ecology and Evolution – Mammals (3)     
    • EEOB 4230: Focused Study of Ecology and Evolution – Invertebrates (2)

**Students with demonstrated knowledge of the identification and classification of natural samples at the advanced undergraduate level may instead replace up to 6 credit hours with additional internship and museum curatorial practice/management hours.

  1. A museum internship (3 credits minimum; 6 credits maximum):     
    • EARTHSC 5191.01: Museum Internship (3)     
    • EEOB 5610: Translating Evolution (3)
  2. Curatorial and/or museum management experience (3 credits minimum):
    • EARTHSC 5501: Museum Data Curation (3)     
    • ARTEDUC 5671: Organizational Leadership in the Nonprofit Arts (3)     
    • ARTEDUC 5682: Nonprofit Arts Institution Governance and Board Leadership (3)     
    • ARTEDUC 5685: Arts/Cultural Organizations: Resource Management & Revenue Streams (3)     
    • ARTEDUC 5686: Cultural Program Design, Implementation, and Evaluation (3)    
    • ARTEDUC 7748: Museum Practicum (3)

 

View the two-year course schedule here.

 

Advising Information

Director of Undergraduate Studies (Earth Sciences): Professor Ann Cook, cook.1129@osu.edu

Undergraduate Academic Advisor (Earth Sciences): Dr. Karen Royce, royce.6@osu.edu, 614-292-6961

Director of Graduate Studies (Earth Sciences): Professor Mike Durand, durand.8@osu.edu