CU Museum will remain closed from Monday, December 23 through Friday, January 10 for CU’s official winter holidays and planned construction activities nearby. 
The Museum will resume normal operating hours (10 AM-4 PM) on Saturday, January 11, 2025. Thank you!

Construction updates, accessibility, and parking information 

Course Catalog

Please contact TracyMcDonald(Graduate Program Administrator) at mfsinfo@colorado.edu or 303-492-5437 for updated Course Schedule information. For more information about courses at the University of Colorado at Boulder, consult the .

Museum Studies

  • MUSM 4010 - Museums and Society (3 credit hours)
    Investigates the museum as an institution in society; history of museums and changing roles and methods in society; administrative structure; museum profession; methodology of museum collections, exhibitions, and education. Designed for students interested in museums or museum careers.
  • Museum 5011 - Introduction to Museum Studies (4 credit hours)
    For majors in anthropology, biology, fine arts, geological sciences, history, or other museum-related subjects. Provides background in history and literature of museums, their objectives and methods, laboratory exercises in curatorship, exhibition theory, and administration. Prereq., Instructor consent.
  • Museum 5021 - Selected Museum Topics (2-4 credit hours)
    Provides framework for student projects on varied museum topics (e.g., ethics of collecting, data management, the museum's role in the community). Student projects include case study analysis, interviewing, and original presentations. Topics vary each semester. Prereq., Instructor consent.
  • Museum 5030 - Museum Education (3 credit hours)
    Surveys and discusses the educational role of museums and informal learning centers. Issues include current trends, learning theories and styles, learning from objects, education programs, diverse audiences, museum/school partnerships, and the role of education in exhibit development.
  • Museum 5031 - Museums and the Public: Exhibit Development (3 credit hours)
    Covers elements of exhibition development and design, up to production and evaluation of exhibit prototypes. The team approach is emphasized. Prereq., graduate standing and instructor consent.
  • Museum 5041 - Museum Administration (3 credit hours)
    Covers theory of organizations and how it applies to museums, application of small business management and non-profit organizations to museums, marketing and development, and grant writing and funding strategies. Prereq., graduate standing and instructor consent.
  • Museum 5051 - Collections Management (3 credit hours)
    Deals specifically with curation and data management. Topics include acquisition practices and problems; organization, management, use, and preventive conservation of collections; and computer data management of collections. Prereqs., instructor consent.
  • Museum 5061 - Introduction to Scientific Illustration (3 credit hours)
    Intended for students with little or no art background. Focus is on the accurate rendering of scientific subjects for publication and for public display. Course begins with basic drawing skills and sharpening of visual perception. Â鶹ÒùÔº progress to be able to produce realistic renderings of subjects. Â鶹ÒùÔº are exposed to a variety of black and white and color techniques and the standards for presenting illustrations for a variety of audiences. Course concludes with computer illustration tools and techniques.  of student artwork from Spring 2013. Or , including samples of previous students' work.
  • Museum 5918 - MUSM Practicum - Advanced Collections Management (3 credit hours)
    Provides a hands-on environment for exploring issues in museum collections management. Through lecture, resource procurement, in-class activities and out-of-class projects, students will gain practical and professional experience in areas of policy, procedure, best practices, museum storage planning and legal issues.
  • Museum 6110 - Seminar in Museum Issues (1-3 credit hours)
    Offers a weekly seminar for museum and field studies students which addresses one new topic each semester relevant to museum operations such as archival administration, museums, multiculturalism, repatriation and others. Prereqs., MUSM 5011, graduate standing, and instructor consent.
  • Museum 6930 - Museum Internships (2-4 credit hours)
    Provides experience in museums of different sizes, audiences, and subjects; including history, natural history, art, and children's museums. Each student is supervised individually by a faculty member as well as the appropriate person in the cooperating museum. Prereq., instructor consent.
  • Museum 6950 - Master's Thesis in Museum and Field Studies (1-6 credit hours)
    A thesis, which may be of a research, expository, critical or creative type, is required of every master's degree candidate under the thesis option. Prereqs., MUSM 5011 and 5051, and one of the following: MUSM 5030, 5031, or 5041.
  • Museum 6960 - Master's Project or Paper in Museum and Field Studies (1-4 credit hours)
    A project or project paper in the student's discipline and related to some aspect of museum studies is required of every master's degree candidate under the non-thesis option plan. Prereq., MUSM 5011 and 5051. Â鶹ÒùÔº in the collections/field track also need MUSM 5030,5031 or 5041.

Anthropology

  • Museum 4462 - Museum Field Methods in Anthropology (2-6 credit hours)
    Archaeological field techniques including excavation, mapping, recording, photography, interpretation, and field laboratory. May be repeated for a total of 6 credit hours.
  • Museum 4912/5912 - Museum Practicum in Anthropology (3 credit hours)
    Â鶹ÒùÔº take part in curatorial procedures of the anthropology section of the museum: conservation, cataloguing, collection management, and administration. Prereq. MUSM 5011 or equivalent. Enrollment is limited: students should make arrangements during previous semester.
  • Museum 5919 - Collections Research Practicum: Archaeology (3 credit hours)
    Focuses on Museum collections management from archaeological sites mainly in the American Southwest and Mongolia. The course involves readings, discussion, and collections analysis and archival documentation. Extra time ouotside of class is required for the practicum aspect of this course.

Botany

  • Museum 4473 - Museum Field Methods in Botany (3 credit hours)
    (See also MUSM 4795/5795 Museum Field Methods in Zoology and Botany)
    Emphasizes field techniques for observation, analysis, and identification of vascular plants, collection, preservation and date recording for museum specimens. Prereq., instructor consent.
  • Museum 4913/5913 - Museum Practicum in Botany
    Â鶹ÒùÔº take part in curatorial procedures of the botany section of the museum: specimen preparation, labeling, identification, cataloguing, conservation, and collection management. Prereq. MUSM 5011 or equivalent. Enrollment is limited; students should make arrangements during previous semester.

Entomology

  • Museum 4916/5916 - Museum Practicum in Entomology (3 credit hours)
    Â鶹ÒùÔº take part in curatorial procedures of the entomology section of the museum: field collection, specimen preparation, labeling, identification, rearing techniques, and exhibit preparation. Prereq. MUSM 5011 or equivalent. Enrollment is limited; students should make arrangements during previous semester.

Geology

  • Museum 4914/5914 - Museum Practicum in Geology (3 credit hours)
    Â鶹ÒùÔº take part in curatorial procedures of the geology section of the museum: field collection, specimen preparation, cataloguing, collection management, and a survey of current laws as they apply to specimens. Prereq. MUSM 5011 or equivalent. Enrollment is limited: students should make arrangements during previous semester.
  • Museum 5474 - Vertebrate Paleontology (4 credit hours)
    Discusses the history and evolution of the vertebrates, including the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary patterns of the major groups. Lab focuses on comparative vertebrate osteology aand fossil representation of major groups. Same as GEOL 5474.

Museology

  • Museum 4917/5917 - Museum Practicum in Techniques 1 (1-3 credit hours)
    Â鶹ÒùÔº participate in museum public education functions which may include researching, planning, developing, and producing exhibits, traveling trunks, booklets, and other materials. May involve writing labels, molding and casting, conservation, and restoration. May be repeated for a total of 6 credit hours.
  • Museum 4900/5900 - Independent Study (1-6 credit hours)
    May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.

Zoology

  • Museum 4795/5795 - Museum Field Methods in Zoology and Botany (3 credit hours)
    Class covers research & field methods for biological disciplines associated with natural history museums: vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants. Emphasis is on field research techniques: observations, sampling, collection & preservation methods, and comparisons among elevation zones. Includes 5 field labs, 2 weekend trips, 5 lab practica, experience with several taxonomic experts, and individual research projects. Same as EBIO 4795/5795 and ENVS 4795.
  • Museum 4915/5915 - Museum Practicum in Zoology (1-3 credit hours)
    Â鶹ÒùÔº take part in basic curatorial procedures of the zoology section of the museum: relaxing, fixing, positioning, preserving, cataloguing, storing, and shipping. Also introduces students to the animal kingdom. Prereq., instructor consent.

Cognate Discipline Courses

The following courses offered through other departments at UC-Boulder are among those that are commonly taken by Museum and Field Studies Masters degree students to fulfill the requirement for their cognate discipline. This is by no means a complete list of the courses that may be available or appropriate for your course of study, and inclusion on this list does not necessarily indicate that a particular course will be offered in the future. Student interests in Art History, Geology, and History vary considerably, so no topical courses are included in this list.

To determine the appropriateness of any particular course for your own program of study, consult with the Curator of Museum and Field Studies and your advisor. The UC-Boulder course  and Schedule of Courses provides a more detailed description of these courses. Â鶹ÒùÔº in the past have also taken classes at  and the  that may also be relevant for your own program. You must consult with the Curator of Museum and Field Studies before enrolling in any course offered by an institution other than UC-Boulder.

  • ANTH 5020: Explorations in Anthropology (various topics)
  • ANTH 5130: Advanced Osteology
  • ANTH 5170: Primate Evolutionary Biology
  • ANTH 5210: Southwest Archaeology
  • ANTH 5240: Geoarchaeology
  • ANTH 5270: Plains Archaeology
  • ANTH 5340: Archaeological Method and Theory
  • ANTH 5350: Archaeological Field & Laboratory Research
  • ANTH 5380: Lithic Analysis and Replication
  • ANTH 5390: Research Methods in Archaeology
  • ANTH 5400: Research Methods in Archaeology
  • ANTH 5460: Archaeology and Contemporary Society
  • ANTH 5470: Collections Research Practicum in Cultural Anthropology
  • ANTH 5610: Medical Anthropology
  • ANTH 5840: Independent Study
  • ANTH 5909: Independent Study Art History: Art History (Indigenous Art History)
  • ANTH 5919: Collections Research Practicum: Archaeology
  • ANTH 7000: Seminar Current Research
  • ANTH 7015: Seminar: Kinship: Being and Belonging
  • ANTH 7620: Seminar - Ethnography & Cultural Theory
  • ARTH 5929: Practicum in Techniques
  • ARTH 6939: Grad Seminar Art of Plains and Plateau
  • ETHN 5353: Indigenous Traditions & Law
  • ETHN 6103: Indigenous Thought & Theory
  • MUSM 5900: Independent Study
  • MUSM 5912: Collections Research Practicum: Cultural Anthropology
  • MUSM 5917: Museum Practicum in Techniques
  • MUSM 5918: MUSM Advanced Collections Management Practicum
  • MUSM 6110: Adv. Seminar: Incor. Musm Coll. Into a Research Strategy

  • ANTH 5020: Explorations in Anthropology
  • ANTH 5470: Coll. Research Practicum in Cultural Anthropology
  • ARTH 4919: Capstone Sem.: Contemporary Indigenous Art
  • ARTH 6929: Theory in Art History
  • ARTH 6939: Graduate Seminar Topics - Museums and Power; Plains and Plateau: Colonialism in Latin American Art
  • ETHN 6103: Indigenous Thought and Theory
  • ETHN 6501: Critical Race Theory
  • HIST 5012: Graduate Colloquium in European History
  • MUSM 5917: MUSM Practicum in Techniques
  • MUSM 5918: Adv. Collections Mgt. Practicum

  • ATLS 3519: Special Topics

  • EBIO 4750: Ornithology
  • EBIO 5000: Colloquia
  • EBIO 5030: Limnology
  • EBIO 5060: Landscape Ecology
  • EBIO 5080: Freshwater Phycology
  • EBIO 5290: Phylogenetics/Comp. Biology
  • EBIO 5410: Biological Statistics
  • EBIO 5460: Special Topics: Fish Biology; Genomics
  • EBIO 5520: Plant Systematics
  • EBIO 5660: Insect Biology
  • EBIO 5760: Mammalogy
  • EBIO 5800: Critical Thinking in Biology: DNA/Development/Diversity
  • EBIO 6200: Seminar in Population Biology
  • EBIO 6300: Organismic Biology
  • ENVD 3300: Special Topics: Intermediate Design Lab
  • INFO 5602: Information Visualization
  • MCDB 5350: Microbial Diversity & Biosphere

  • EBIO 4500: Plant Biodiversity/Evolution
  • EBIO 5000: Colloquia
  • EBIO 5290: Phylogenetics/Comp. Biology
  • EBIO 5520: Plant Systematics
  • EBIO 6200: Seminar in Population Biology
  • EBIO 6300: Organismic Biology
  • ENVS 3040: Conservation Biology

  • ACCT 5800: Accounting for Government and Non-Profit Organizations

  • COMM 5720: Readings in Communication & Technology Seminar

  • ANTH 5470: Coll Res Practicum in Cultural Anthropology
  • ARTH 5929: Special Topics in Art History
  • ARTH 6939: Art History Topic: Art Ecology & Climate Justice
  • ATLS 3519: Special Topics
  • COMM 5720: Readings in Communication & Technology Seminar
  • CSCI 7000: Current Topics in Computer Science, Design
  • EBIO 6100: Seminar Creative Conservation Messaging
  • EDUC 4112: Educational Psychology & Adolescent Development
  • EDUC 4800: Special Topics Practicum
  • EDUC 5445: Curriculum for Multicultural Education
  • EDUC 5105: Teaching for Understanding
  • EDUC 5115: Modern Trends in Teaching
  • EDUC 5317: Perspectives on Mathematics
  • EDUC 5445: Curriculum for Multicultural Education
  • EDUC 5706: Assessment Math & Science Education
  • EDUC 5716: Basic Statistical Methods
  • EDUC 5726: Introduction to Disciplined Inquiry
  • EDUC 6318: Psychological Foundations of Education
  • EDUC 6325: Culture & Ethnography in Education
  • EDUC 6811: Teaching and Learning Biology Seminar
  • EDUC 8348: Seminar: Human Develoment
  • EDUC 8358: Seminar: Human Learning
  • ETHN: 6103: Indigenous Thought & Theory
  • HIST 6800: Seminar: Readings in Global History
  • INFO 5505: Investigation in Info Learning
  • JOUR 5562: Digital Journalism
  • MDST 5002: Media Activism/Public Engagement
  • MUSM 5917: MUSM Practicum in Techniques
  • PHYS 5840: Selected Topics - Grad Independent Study
  • SOCY 3301: Survey Methods

  • EBIO 3400: Microbiology
  • EBIO 5320: Current Topics in Evolutionary Biology
  • EBIO 5410: Biometry
  • EBIO 5660: Insect Biology
  • EBIO 5750: Ornithology
  • EBIO 5760: Mammalogy
  • EBIO 5800: Critical Thinking

  • EBIO 5190: Diversity & Inclusion
  • EBIO 5410: Biometry
  • EBIO 5410: Biological Statistics
  • EBIO 5320: Current Topics in Evolutionary Biology
  • EBIO 5520: Plant Systematics
  • EBIO 5660: Insect Biology
  • EBIO 5750: Ornithology
  • EBIO 5760: Mammalogy
  • EBIO 5800: Critical Thinking
  • EBIO 6100: Seminar in Environmental Biology
  • EBIO 6200: Seminar in Pop. Biology
  • MUSM 5900: Independent Study
  • MUSM 5914: MUSM Practicum in Geology

  • ARTH 6939: Topics - Ecology
  • CSCI 7000: Current Topics: Design a Scientific Exhibit
  • EBIO 5660: Insect Biology
  • HIST 4109: Work War II Asia and Pacific
  • HIST 4366: Culture Wars: Modern US
  • HIST 5012: European History
  • INFO 5505: Investigations in Information Science: Designing for Creativity & Learning
  • JOUR 6871: Special Topics: Visual Communication
  • MUSM 5900: Independent Study
  • MUSM 5917: MUSM Practicum in Techniques

  • GEOG 5103: Geographic Information Systems

  • GEOL 3410: Paleobiology
  • GEOL 5474 (MUSM 5474): Vertebrate Paleontology
  • GEOL 5700: Geological Topics Seminar (various topics)

  • HIST 4091: The Roman Empire
  • HIST 4109: World War II Asia and Pacific
  • HIST 4153: Britain 1688-1851
  • HIST 4366: Culture Wars: Modern US
  • HIST 5000: Historical Methods: Introduction to the Professional Study of History
  • HIST 5012: European History Seminar
  • HIST 5125: British Colonial America, 1580-1756
  • HIST 5205: Coming of Independence
  • HIST 5844: Independent Study Europe/Topical
  • HIST 7844: Independent Study-Europe/Topical

  • JOUR 5562: Digital Journalism
  • JOUR 6871: Special Topics: Visual Communication

  • ANTH 5170: Primate Evolutionary Biology
  • ANTH 7020: Physical Anthropology
  • EBIO 5760: Mammalogy
  • EBIO 4500: Plant Biodiversity/Evol
  • EBIO 5800: Critical Thinking in Biology
  • EBIO 5270: Population Genetics
  • EBIO 5660: Insect Biology
  • GEOG 5371: Forest Geography
  • GEOL 3410: Paleobiology
  • GEOL 3430: Sedimentology/Stratigraphy
  • GEOL 5002: Phys/Chem/Bio Sed Systems
  • MUSM 5021: Selected Museum Topics: Field Approaches: Paleobiology
  • MUSM 5031: Exhibit Development
  • MUSM 5474: Vertebrate Paleontology
  • MUSM 5900: Independent Study
  • MUSM 5914: MUSM Practicum in Geology
  • MUSM 5918: Adv. Collections Management
  • MUSM 6110: Adv. Seminar: Paleo Environmental Evidence

  • PHYS 5840: Selected Topics - Grad Independent Study

  • SOCY 3301: Survey Methods

  • EBIO 3400: Microbiology
  • EBIO 4570: Ornithology
  • EBIO 5030: Limnology
  • EBIO 5060: Landscape Ecology
  • EBIO 5460: Special Topics: Fish Biology
  • EBIO 5600: Evolutionary ecology
  • EBIO 5760: Mammalogy
  • EBIO 6100: Seminar in Environmental Biology
  • GEOL 5474: Vertebrate Paleontology
  • MUSM 5900: Independent Study
  • MUSM 5914: Museum Practicum in Geology
  • MUSM 5918: Advanced Collection Mgt. Practicum