Students of art, dance, design, and art history flourish in the rich, humanistic environments of these magnificent cities and cultural centers. This they can do usually without disrupting their sequence of courses and without loss of residency since the Florence and London campuses are true extensions of the Tallahassee campus. The School of Visual Arts and Dance is a leader in the development of Florida State University's museum studies certificate program. Open to graduate students of all departments, the program offers theoretical, practical, and methodological training in museum management, curatorship, fundraising, collections management, education and interpretation, marketing, exhibition development, and other museum topics. Museum studies curriculum includes courses taught by full-time faculty and practicing museum professionals, internships, and special museum projects.
Emphasis is placed on career guidance and finding a position in the museum profession.
Students have opportunities for firsthand experience at the School's Museum of Fine Arts and the Appleton Museum of Art and in other regional and national museums. The Florida State University's international programs offer museum internships at international institutions in cities such as London and Florence. On the undergraduate level, students studying art history may obtain a concentration in museum studies. The Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts is first and foremost an extension of the teaching mission of the school. Large, modern, and spacious, it houses the permanent collection and several times a year hosts student and faculty shows.