Talks

Yale Alumni Panels | Museum Careers and Trajectories

Museum Careers

This two-part online discussion is for graduate students from any discipline who are interested in pursuing a professional career in museums. In each session, Yale alumni who work in the field share their personal experiences and professional opinions. The goal is to better equip individuals for a museum position by discussing the range of specialist professions that support museums and sharing information about how to be competitive in the job market.

There are opportunities to ask questions with the online Q&A feature. Attendees must register to receive the link.

About this program

This session addresses personal career trajectories to highlight the diversity of pathways into museums and the range of positions related to audience outreach, curatorial practice, collections, and programming. Each panelist shares their current duties and responsibilities and how their position fits into their wider career goals and intellectual life. The discussion also touches on how to prioritize the skills and experience needed to be competitive in the job market, such as publishing scholarly research, gaining work experience, presenting at conferences, networking, interning, and applying to professional or fellowship positions. 

Panelists

Ashley James (Yale PhD 2021, English Literature, African American Studies, and Gender Studies), Associate Curator, Contemporary Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum 

Elizabeth Mattison (Yale MA 2014, History of Art), Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Curator of Academic Programming, Hood Museum of Art 

Rebecca Peabody (Yale PhD 2006, History of Art and African American Studies), Head of Research Projects & Programs, Getty Research Institute

Moderator

Laurel Peterson (Yale PhD 2018, History of Art), Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings, Yale Center for British Art 

Top image
Visitors in the Study Room, Yale Center for British Art, photo by Harold Shapiro

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