Museum Curator Job Guide: How to Become a Museum Curator

A museum curator handles artifacts, works of art, and other historical items in a museum. A museum curator’s duties include acquiring and authenticating artifacts, curating exhibits, overseeing museum collections, and designing tours and other educational materials for the public. Archivists are curators that exclusively handle a museum’s paper records.

Smaller museums typically have one general curator who oversees the entire collection. More significant museums may have different curators for various subjects and specialties. Types of museum curators include:

1. 1. Art curator: Art curators have a vast knowledge of art history and fine arts and typically work at an art museum. They might specialize in particular art movements, especially if they work at a large museum with different departments. Curators that specialize in the history of art can also work for an art gallery.
2. 2. Science curator: These curators work in natural history and science museums. Science curators can specialize in areas such as natural sciences or astrophysics.
3. 3. Special collections curator: These curators oversee a museum’s special collections. Special collections curators may travel with the exhibit when it is loaned out to other institutions.
4. 4. Digital data objects curator: A digital data object curator collects, catalogs, maintains and preserves digital assets of a museum’s collection. These curators have similar duties and skills as archivists.

The role of the curator can be expansive. At a small museum, a curator may have a wide range of duties. At more prominent museums, the curator can have more specialized responsibilities in research and acquisition, while conservators, collections managers, and the museum director handle object maintenance and administrative tasks. The duties of a curator can include:

1. 1. Handling artifacts: Curators may be responsible for acquiring, authenticating, and cataloging artifacts for storage. They may also oversee the cleaning and preserving of the objects.
2. 2. Conducting research: Curators research the museum’s objects to best take care of and educate the public about them.
3. 3. Curating exhibits: Curators select objects for public displays and support educational materials for exhibitions.
4. 4. Leading tours: Curators may also interface with the general public by conducting tours and workshops. They also create educational programs and interpretive materials and work on public outreach campaigns to promote museum-going.
5. 5. Securing funding: Curators can also interact with government agencies and community groups to help secure funding for the museum. Many museums are nonprofit organizations that depend on public contributions, private donations, and government funding.

A museum curator is responsible for a wide range of tasks, and so the skill set is likewise expansive:

1. 1. Technical skills: A museum curator must have the technical skills for dating and preserving historical artifacts.
2. 2. Communication skills: A curator interacts with the public in an educational capacity and must possess strong written and verbal communication skills. Curators also must communicate effectively to designate tasks and manage museum employees.
3. 3. Managerial skills: A curator might oversee the museum’s staff and train staffers to preserve and display objects and educate the public. Curators also collaborate with different museum departments to determine how to present the museum’s collections best.
4. 4. Organizational skills: A curator can be in charge of cataloging and storing objects to develop a navigable database.

If you are interested in becoming a museum curator, consider enrolling in a master’s degree program. Aspiring museum curators typically begin their careers as assistant curators before moving up the ranks. Follow these steps to pursue a career as a curator:

1. 1. Enroll in an education program. Many curators have a master’s degree in museum studies, art history, archaeology, or history. Smaller museums may take candidates with bachelor's degrees. Lead curators at major museums, such as the Smithsonian, usually have PhDs.
2. 2. Pursue a double major. Choose a second major or take courses in business administration, grant writing, marketing, public relations, and fundraising to gain a competitive edge in the job market.
3. 3. Gain experience through internships. Students usually work in museum internships to gain experience. They may also continue to intern or volunteer at museums after graduation. To get full-time work in a museum, having expertise in collection management, research, restoration, exhibit design, or other museum-related roles is helpful.

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