{"id":311,"date":"2019-12-18T18:11:45","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T18:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/graduate-studies\/?page_id=311"},"modified":"2026-01-21T21:30:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T21:30:02","slug":"museums-and-communities","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/graduate-studies\/certificates\/museums-and-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Museums and Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Museums, archives, and the communities they serve have emerged as a major area of interest in the field of American Studies but, more importantly, in the public culture of the United States. A striking example is provided by the huge success of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened to the public on September 24, 2016 in Washington, DC. In its first year, the Museum had attracted nearly 1 million visitors. By 2018, only two years after opening, the number of visitors had reached nearly 5 million. By 2019, the Museum had to change the way it handled visitors, utilizing timed passes for entry in order to provide a safe and pleasant experience.<\/p>\n

These details suggest at least two things: first, Americans and visitors to this country have come to see museums not as places for a small cultural elite but as venues of mass entertainment and education. And second, museums need both larger staffs and volunteer corps and a broader understanding of their new roles in a changing cultural environment. The certificate in Museums and Communities within the American Studies Master’s program at Trinity is designed to respond to those changing needs.<\/p>\n

The certificate in Museums and Communities consists of four credits:<\/p>\n