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Museum educator education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a museum educator. Museum educators usually study fine arts, history, or general education, specific areas. 71% of museum educators hold a bachelor's degree, and 20% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 875 real museum educator resumes to see exactly what museum educator education sections show.

The most common colleges for museum educators are the New York University and the New York University.

There are also many online museum educator courses to help get the education required to be a museum educator.

What education do you need to become a museum educator?

What degree do you need to be a museum educator?

The most common degree for museum educators is bachelor's degree, with 71% of museum educators earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 20% and master's degree degree at 5%.
  • Bachelor's, 71%
  • Master's, 20%
  • Associate, 5%
  • High School Diploma, 2%
  • Other Degrees, 2%

What should I major in to become a museum educator?

You should major in fine arts to become a museum educator. 21% of museum educators major in fine arts. Other common majors for a museum educator include history and general education, specific areas.

Most common colleges for museum educators

Museum educators often get their degrees at New York University, Old Dominion University, and University of California, Berkeley. Here are the most common colleges for museum educators in the US based on their resumes.
Museum educator common collegePercentages
New York University7.92%
Old Dominion University6.93%
University of California, Berkeley6.93%
University of Pittsburgh5.94%
The University of the Arts4.95%

Best majors for museum educators

Best colleges for museum educators

The best colleges for museum educators are Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and Brown University.

A museum educator with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for museum educators. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become museum educators.

1. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

2. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,262

Enrollment

30,079

3. Brown University

Providence, RI • Private

In-state tuition

$55,466

Enrollment

6,752

4. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

5. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,382

Enrollment

5,597

6. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

7. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Enrollment

34,564

8. University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$10,595

Enrollment

30,184

9. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

10. Middlebury College

Middlebury, VT • Private

In-state tuition

$54,450

Enrollment

2,550

20 best online courses for museum educators

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1. Music Education for Teachers

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2. Critical Issues in Urban Education

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4. Google Certified Educator Level 1 Technical Training

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Google Apps for Education...

5. Health, Housing, and Educational Services

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Course 5 discusses policies in four areas: housing, education, healthcare, and immigration, with an optional fifth module in child protection. This course addresses issues of power, oppression, and white supremacy. -First we’ll look at housing policy, with its contrasting supports for homeowners and renters. -Then we’ll interpret the structure that provides education and examine debates about its future. -The third module will differentiate the issues in the U.S. healthcare system and develop...

6. American Education Reform: History, Policy, Practice

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Discover what shapes how we talk about schools today by exploring the history of U.S. education reform. Engage with the main actors, key decisions, and major turning points in this history. See how social forces drive reform. Learn about how the critical tensions embedded in U.S. education policy and practice apply to schools nationally, globally— and where you live...

7. Seth Godin on learning and education

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8. Complete Google Certified Educator Level 1 and 2 Masterclass

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9. Aboriginal Worldviews and Education

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Intended for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal learners, this course will explore indigenous ways of knowing and how they can benefit all students. Topics include historical, social, and political issues in Aboriginal education; terminology; cultural, spiritual and philosophical themes in Aboriginal worldviews; and how Aboriginal worldviews can inform professional programs and practices, including but not limited to the field of education...

10. What future for education?

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Through this course you will start to critically examine your own ideas about education, teaching and learning. The critique will be developed through engagement with theories and ideas developed through educational research. You will be encouraged to use these ideas to challenge or support your own ideas about education. Each week we will focus on one key question, using video lectures, key readings and challenges to explore some commonplace notions about education. With the guidance of the...

11. Introduction to Early Childhood Montessori Education

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12. Train the Trainer Foundation: Adult Education Mastery Course

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Deploy a repeatable system for employee learning to ensure you reach every learner…every time...

13. Diversity and Inclusion in Education

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Student diversity is becoming the rule rather than the exception in education systems across the world. Students bring to classroom different characteristics such as ability and disability, socio-economic background, race, ethnicity, and cultural background, beliefs and religion, and gender characteristics. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4 aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all (United Nations, 2015)...

14. Online Learning Design for Educators

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This specialization is for educators seeking to improve and expand their repertoire of online teaching skills related to the design, development and delivery of effective and engaging online courses and lessons for school age and adult learners.\n\nLearning in the 21st century no longer takes place exclusively between the four walls of a physical classroom. With advances in technology, learners now expect to be offered flexible study modes outside of the traditional face-to-face model. This...

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16. Instructional Methods in Health Professions Education

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This course provides those involved in educating members of the health professions an asynchronous, interdisciplinary, and interactive way to obtain, expand, and improve their teaching skills. These skills can then be applied within their own professional context, with a variety of learners, extending across many stages. After completing this course, learners will: 1. Understand educational theory as it relates to health professions education 2. Match instructional methods with desired...

17. Activity Design with PhET Simulations for STEM Education

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PhET Interactive Simulations ( https://phet.colorado.edu/ ), a project of the University of Colorado Boulder, provides fun, free, interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations for use across, primary, secondary, and higher education levels. We extensively test and evaluate each simulation to ensure educational effectiveness. All simulations are open source and free to all students and teachers. In this course, we will review strategies for how to use PhET to create sim-based...

18. ICT in Primary Education: Transforming children's learning across the curriculum

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Why and how are teachers integrating ICT (Information and Communication Technology) into primary education? In this course we analyse examples from schools in different parts of the world, and bring professional teachers, headteachers and policymakers together to share their best ideas and inspiring stories. The materials in the course are based on studies carried out for the UNESCO Institute of IT in Education, Moscow. Learning Outcomes: to be aware of the range of reasons for using ICT to...

19. Nutrition Education for the Consumer

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20. Climate change education

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Top 10 most affordable universities for museum educators

The most affordable schools for museum educators are University of Florida, brigham young university, and hunter college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for museum educators are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for museum educators.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

3. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

4. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

5. Queens College of the City University of New York

Queens, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,338

Cost of attendance

14,281

6. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

7. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

8. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

9. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

10. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for museum educators

The hardest universities for museum educators to get into are Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and Brown University.

Some great schools for museum educators are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for museum educators based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

2. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

3. Brown University

Providence, RI • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

4. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,461

5. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

6. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

7. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

8. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

9. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI • Private

Admissions rate

23%

SAT average

1,434

10. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for museum educators

The easiest schools for museum educators to get into are Wayland Baptist University, barry university, and felician university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a museum educator without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for museum educators.

1. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

2. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

3. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

4. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

Standish, ME • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,069

5. Ottawa University

Ottawa, KS • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,024

6. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

7. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

8. Thomas More University

Crestview Hills, KY • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

1,099

9. University of the Incarnate Word

San Antonio, TX • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,044

10. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

Average museum educator salary by education level

According to our data, museum educators with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $44,457 annually. Museum educators with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $39,638.
Museum educator education levelMuseum educator salary
Master's Degree$44,457
Bachelor's Degree$39,638

Museum educator education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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