In terms of jobs or getting into the program? Jobs-wise, I can’t honestly give you concrete advice on this because I have not technically had a museum job, and only volunteered in the sector as I came into the field already having a full-time job (thankfully remote and so I could take it wherever I had a computer) that allows me to really flesh out my museum experience without the pressure of having it as a job. 

In regards to the program, however, prior experience is not needed, and they make sure that’s clear. Your pure interest, any volunteer work, and passion to learn is all you need, truly! 

Hello again! No, please, feel free to throw any questions you have at me - I’m an open book. 

Start having a look at the weekly updates here to get a sense: https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/museumstudies/JobsDesk

Museum jobs in my opinion are by no means scarce BUT there are usually quite a lot of people going for them, and the job will probably go to the person who hits the sweet spot of the best person to jive with the team, the most experience, and again, passion! I have to say that even in the small town we live in, there is enough heritage up in our neck of the woods that jobs have popped up here and there.

However, I would say that get used to doing a lot of work for free to build experience - there aren’t really a whole lot of paid internships, or even entry-level jobs. You’ll find even sometimes the bigger roles like assistant curator are volunteer if the museum thinks they can manage that. 

I think it really comes down to your passion, your values, and where you WANT to be working. At the end of the day, unless you’re aspiring to be the top of the top of the top at the British Museum, you are not going to make a lot of money in the museum profession, so you really have to love it and have the aim for quality of life, not quantity of funds. 

I would say start looking around at job openings to see A) what they’re asking for from an application B) what the job entails - you’d be amazed how many ‘Museum Assistants’ are not so much with the hands on collection work and a whole lot more scrubbing toilets, pushing papers, etc. You really want to start to get to know the terminology used in job postings and so on.

Archiving is really where it’s at though. If you look at a lot of the museum jobs, it’s the archivists that are 1, in demand, and 2, pay more. I am thinking of archiving down the line myself, but I know that I wouldn’t take back my Museum Studies degree in a heartbeat. It really lay the foundation for that whole sphere of work, and really let me understand what aspects of the field I do and do not want to work more in. 

Let me know if this helps or if you have any more questions! Happy to answer.

-Olivia

No prob! I would say the distance learning entry into the program is fairly easy if you check the boxes (they even say you can be in a totally separate industry and wanting to transition). The key thing for that style of learning is you have ot be so independently motivated. 

For the campus-based acceptance, I can’t speak to that. I will say that it’s not the largest populated program in the world, but I think that’s also just the nature of the subject. My gut is to say that it’s not highly competitive, like ‘we only take 50 out of 200 applicants each year’ sort of thing. My guess is if you check the boxes, and you go for it, you’ll get in. At Leicester, you really get the sense that they want people that are passionate about museums first and foremost above impressive experience you might have had in internships, blah, blah, blah. Which was really encouraging as someone who had completed her undergrad degree 5 years before and hadn’t been in school since. So looking at a Masters was daunting because I didn’t know if I had what it took to go back to school in that way. 

Fantastic! Okay, so, yes, I would say if you already come from an urban environment, ya gonna be fine! :p

Also, not to toot our own horn, but museum people are super weird and super fun - it’s a great program to be a part of and really feels like family even for those of us that did it via distance learning. 

As I did the program more of a preemptive step to later career work and already had a job, I can’t speak to how it helps with work. However, I have used it on my CV as a way to get volunteer experience to plump my CV up more. The diverse set of knowledge and skills that I already had with my design experience has seemed to impress. 

Unfortunately, the library scene everywhere is tough. I’d say if you want to go into library work specifically, a Library Science degree is probably the way you need to go - not only is it a competitive industry, but that’s WITH most having a Library Sciences qualification already. So you’re probably on the mark for Museum Studies, plus it’s broad enough to set you up for the ability to, say, go and work at a museum that has a rare books collection. 

From what I can tell in the UK, it’s not like the US where multiple people share a room. Rather everyone gets their own room and little living space (a bed, a desk, a closet), but then each individual room is in a shared little flat where you share the kitchen space. 

Hope this helps! Keep in touch and let me know if you end up appyling!

Hi there! Exciting to hear you’re interested in Leicester’s MS program - it was one of the best things I’ve ever done (plus, it’s how I met my partner). However, I can’t necessarily answer your question about life in Leicester as I did my MA through the distance learning option. My experience of Leicester though was only ever 100% positive as for two years in a row, I attended the week-long summer school there and had a great time! It’s got a great foodie scene, lots of live music and cultural events, and is very diverse both in student body and in residential vibe I felt. It’s got a really cool city centre and the resources like the Richard III Visitor Centre are top notch.

I think the mixed reviews probably depend entirely on where you’re living/staying. The first year I stayed there, we spent our week in the student accommodations that was ages away from the actual city so while it was leafy and green and pretty and safe, it also felt extremely apart from everything and you’d always be looking at a long walk in or a bus ride. The next year, we rented an AirBnb just a couple of streets down from the Museum Studies building, and really enjoyed our time there. It was a building full of flats with mostly families living in, and we always felt safe and the community was really nice.

I think whenever you’re considering a university town, you just have to assume you’re going to get the bad with the good. There are a huge amount of pubs and bars and clubs and things, so with that comes the not-so-great behaviors probably late at night and times like that. But even when we came for our graduation and went for a walk with my mum around 11pm at night in the city centre, we never felt like it was a dodgy area to be in.

I would say, when lockdown is lifted, visit yourself for a couple of nights, possibly in an AirBnb that’s near accommodation or somewhere you’d be looking to stay and test out a night time stroll to get dinner, or how it feels in the morning, and just see how comfortable you feel. This would go for everywhere, really. I think it also really depends on where you’re coming from. I’ve always lived in urban city areas, so it probably takes more to nerve me out than it might for people coming from a small leafy village in the country.

Overall though, I would say visit, see what you think, and it’s really the program that’s thet stand out here. As long as you build a community of good, reliable friends, and make smart choices, it could be one of the best experiences you’ll have! I know as a distance learner, there were times when I experienced serious FOMO from looking at all the cool campus-based things the MS students got to do, but I also wouldn’t knock the distance laerning option. I think we actually got more time to really dive deep into the material. So you might want to look at that as an option as well!

Long-winded, but I’ve got nothing but time! Let me know if this was helpful :)

-Olivia