Master of Museum and Heritage Practice

Launch a career in the museum and heritage sector or take your existing career in a new direction with a flexible range of professional and academic qualifications.

Fast track your career in the museum and heritage sector

Get the practical skills, theoretical knowledge, and sector experience you need to work as a museum and heritage professional.

Choose from a flexible range of qualifications that can all be completed in a year.

Get connected

Join a programme that's an integral part of New Zealand’s museum and heritage sector. It’s been designed for and with the sector to give you the professional development you need for a career in GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) or in heritage management.

Taking advantage of Wellington's rich cultural resources, you’ll head out on numerous field trips and meet with experts from local organisations, as well as from academics with strong local and international networks, along with highly qualified professionals drawn from the sector.

Flexible qualifications

Choose from a range of flexible qualifications and courses that balance taught classes and work experience, academic research and professional skills, theory and practice.

The qualifications are part of a tiered family, with each one counting towards the next step. This lets you choose the qualification that best suits your current situation and build on this later should you wish.

Research Master's

If you want to focus on independent research, you can complete the Diploma and then do the Master of Arts by thesis in Museum and Heritage Studies.

Scholarships for international students

We are currently offering a NZ$10,000 VUW Postgraduate International Scholarship to all eligible international students enrolling in a Master’s degree or Postgraduate Diploma programme. Your scholarship will be processed automatically when your programme application is accepted, and the amount will be deducted from your tuition fees.

Build practical experience

Learn on the job during a placement with one of the dozens of organisations involved with the programme. If you're doing the MMHP, you'll also have the opportunity for advanced professional training and work experience through a longer internship.

You’ll get practical experience, make valuable contacts, and learn from working professionals.

Cultural immersion

Familiarise yourself with tikanga Māori through our annual Wānanga at Hongoeka marae. Learn about the Treaty of Waitangi and how it has shaped museum and heritage organisations in New Zealand and learn about research processes by, with, and for Māori.

Community

Postgraduate study at Victoria University of Wellington will help you build valuable relationships with peers, university staff, and future colleagues, and become part of a strong professional network.

You’ll be part of a small, friendly, and supportive postgraduate programme and have access to the postgraduate room and printing facilities.

Kick off your study with a three-day wānanga. Experience a pōwhiri, stay on a marae, and learn about tikanga Māori alongside members of the museum and heritage sector.

You'll have opportunities to attend and present to seminars, conferences, workshops, and social functions.

The Postgraduate Students' Association can give you information on study at the University and provides a voice for you on campus.

Live and study in New Zealand's creative, compact, and vibrant capital. Wellington is home to the National Library, Archives NZ, Te Papa, and a plethora of government agencies. Take advantage of the University's connections with these and a host of other private sector institutions and professional bodies.

Careers

Past students have been snapped up for a wide range of roles in the sector, including exhibition developer, collection manager, gallery manager, curator, researcher, registrar, interpreter, and educator. They're working in museums, art galleries, libraries, archives, government and community and heritage organisations all around New Zealand. Other students have embarked on academic careers, building on their research work.

Scholarships

Te Papa Scholarships: The Cliff Whiting Memorial Scholarship and The Dame Cheryll Sotheran Memorial Scholarship These scholarships are open to students studying Master’s level Museum and Heritage Studies, either by coursework with a Master of Museum and Heritage Practice, or by a Master of Arts thesis.

There are a range of general University postgraduate scholarships and international scholarships available.

You can look for scholarships based on your level of study, subject area, and background.

You can also apply for a Summer Research scholarship—where you'll work with academics and a sector organisation on a research project over the summer.

Employer support

The professional development you get from the programme will be very useful to employers. You may also be able to do a project, placement, or internship where you work.

Occasionally students get paid contracts or part-time work in the sector while studying.

Research grants

If you’re doing a Master’s or PhD you can apply for a research grant of up to $2,000 per year from the WFHSS Joint Research Committee (JRC).

Master of Museum and Heritage Studies

The Master of Museum and Heritage Practice (MMHP) replaces the Master of Museum and Heritage Studies (MMHS). The research-based option of the Master of Arts by thesis in Museum and Heritage Studies remains.

Find out about your options for Museum and Heritage Practice qualifications, and discover what and how you'll study.

Qualification family structure

The Master of Museum and Heritage Practice is part of a tiered family of qualifications. These are ‘staircased’ so that [courses] completed for each qualification can count towards the next step.

• A Postgraduate Certificate in Museum and Heritage Practice (PGCertMHP) can lead into:
• a Postgraduate Diploma in Museum and Heritage Practice (PGDipMHP), which can lead into:
• a Master of Museum and Heritage Practice (MMHP).

Choose the qualification with the time commitment, course options, and career benefits that suit you.

What you'll study

All qualifications

Students studying each of the three qualifications do the core courses:

• two introductory courses
• two practicum courses (including a 120-hour placement).

PGDip and Master's

• If you're doing either a PGDipMHP or MMHP, you'll choose an additional 60 points from approved courses.
• The introductory courses, practicums, and approved courses are normally done in Trimester 1 and 2. They make up Part 1 of the MMHP.

Master's

For Part 2 of the MMHP, you’ll do either:

• a research essay and a project or
• an internship (600-hour placement).

Part 2 is usually completed after Part 1.

Workload

If you are studying full-time you can expect a workload of 40 to 45 hours a week for much of the year. Part-time students doing two courses per trimester will need to do around 20 to 23 hours of work a week. Make sure you take this into account if you are working.

You can estimate your workload by adding up the number of [points] you'll be doing. One point is roughly equal to 10 to 12 hours of work.

Duration

The MMHP can be completed in 12 months or three trimesters of full-time study, or in two to four years part-time study. The Diploma and Certificate can both be completed in a full year.