Heritage Management

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Coordinator: Gary F. Edson, Professor of Museum Science and Executive Director, Museum of Texas Tech University

The Master of Science in Heritage Management degree program emphasizes extensive investigation in the field of heritage management. Graduates from the program are prepared to enhance local, regional, and national sociological and scientific values; encourage preservation and stewardship of cultural and natural heritage; advocate public service; and direct educational programming designed to derive maximum advantage from innovative technology without the loss of cultural identity and biodiversity.

The program is configured to allow individual students to emphasize areas of special interests such as heritage administration, conservation, interpretation, education, and use (ecotourism). The program offers both theoretical and practical coursework designed to prepare graduates to be leaders in the heritage management field.

Applicants will be considered for admission to the heritage management program after the following materials are received: two letters of recommendation from persons knowledgeable of the student’s professional abilities and a career summary statement. Forms will be furnished on request. Prior to admission consideration, students must complete the appropriate application forms and satisfy the requirements of the university, including official transcript of complete undergraduate coursework and GRE scores. Once that process is concluded, program admission and competitive scholarship awards are based on three general categories of criteria.

• Academic Record: All academic records may be considered—60 hours, total, major, post-baccalaureate, etc.
• Test Scores: Scores on the General Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) should be no more than five years old. Each score is considered separately, with percentile scores viewed by broad major. No test score will be considered the sole criterion.
• Individual Profile: Profiles may include recommendations, research background, motivation, multilingual proficiency, undergraduate institution, presentations, and interviews. Other information that admission and scholarship committees may consider is work commitment, demonstrated commitment to a particular field of work or study, and community involvement.

Interested persons should contact the Museum of Texas Tech University for a comprehensive packet of information about the program. The program is administered by the Executive Director of the Museum.

The heritage management program uses a variety of existing courses offered by various departments within the university to address individual educational and career goals. All students must develop competency in the core courses taught by selected members of the graduate faculty. (Competency is construed to mean an understanding of professional practices.)

A student majoring in the program must take at least 12 hours from the heritage management core curriculum, a minimum of 15 hours prescribed elective courses, 12 of elective graduate-level courses, plus 6 hours of thesis or internship. Required core courses for the program are MUSM 5327, MUSM 5331, HMGT 5323, HMGT 5327. (Internships are to be at locations approved by the student’s advisory committee.) A total of 45 credit hours of graduate-level work is required for graduation. In addition, each student must pass a qualifying exam prior to beginning either the internship or thesis and must pass comprehensive written and oral exams at the conclusion of his or her studies. Students pursuing the thesis option must write and defend the thesis.

Following the first 9 credit hours of graduate study, each student’s curriculum will be formalized through consultation with a graduate faculty advisory committee that consists of at least three members and reflects the student’s area of emphasis. This degree plan will be approved by the program coordinator and the Executive Director of the Museum and will then be submitted to the Graduate School. When approved, it will serve as a tool for advising and review to assure completion of degree requirements.

A minor at the master’s level in heritage management consists of 9 approved credit hours in the core curriculum; a minor at the doctoral level consists of 15 hours of heritage management courses, at least 9 of which must be from the core curriculum.

Core Courses

• HMGT 5323 Principles of Heritage Management (3:3:0)
• HMGT 5327 Heritage Planning (3:3:0)
• MUSM 5327 Museum Collection Management (3:2:3)
• MUSM 5331 Museum Interpretation and Communication (3:2:3)

Prescribed Elective Courses

• MUSM 5330 Museum Law, Ethics, and Standards (3:3:0) or LAW 6025 Land-Use Planning Law (3:3:0)
• MUSM 5340 Museum Data Management (3:1:6) or CS 5356 Advanced Database Management Systems (3:3:0)
• HMGT 7000 Research (3) or MKT 5360 Marketing Concepts and Strategies (3:3:0)
• MUSM 5325 Museum Field Methods (3:1:6) or MUSM 5328 Museum Practicum (3:1:6)

Course Descriptions

• Heritage Management (HMGT)

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