In 2000, the Florida legislature placed the stewardship of The Ringling under Florida State University (FSU). FSU has a long tradition of excellence in the arts. The College of Fine Arts contains some of the leading arts programs in the nation. The Ringling’s cultural campus is home to the FSU’s Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training, the Sarasota Ballet, and the Asolo Repertory Theatre and making it one of the largest college arts complexes in the country.

The Ringling is committed to growing and strengthening its ties with FSU’s academic departments with the aim of providing educational opportunities for all FSU students and faculty across different departments and disciplines. Please send inquiries to: [email protected].

Visit FSU.edu to learn about the College of Fine Arts

Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies (MCHS)
Department of Art History

Florida State University’s master's program in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies combines intensive academic coursework taught by the faculty in Art History with an opportunity to obtain professional experience at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. The program provides insight into and training for museum careers through work experience not available in most academic settings. Students admitted into the graduate program take eight museum and art history courses in Tallahassee. Then, students may choose to continue their second year either at the main campus in Tallahassee or participate in a full-year internship at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota. The Ringling Course introduces student interns to the intricacies of a major museum complex. It provides foundational insight into most museum careers through practical work experience not available in most academic settings. Interns participate in daily operations across departments including archives, collections, curatorial research, education, library, marketing, theater, and visitor services. They have the opportunity to attend museum tours with curators, board meetings, lectures, exhibition openings, and departmental orientations. For additional information, please consult the program’s webpage at https://arthistory.fsu.edu/graduate/mchs/.

Museum Education and Visitor-Centered Curation (EC)
Department of Art Education

This program prepares edu-curators (EC) to advance museum theory and practice, a hybrid of education and curation functions, to promote innovative and socially engaged leaders and scholars. Informed by an adapted feminist systems approach, the specialized program in Museum Education & Visitor-Centered Curation (EC) prepares MA and Ph.D. students to be edu-curators who envision exhibitions and interpretative planning as non-hierarchical, collaborative processes. Students learn how to include underrepresented voices in exhibition and interpretation development and seek social justice through museum practice, evaluation, and organizational change. Graduate students have the opportunity to have a semester internship in the Ringling Museum’s Education Department. Interns collaborate across departments including archives, collections, curatorial, library, marketing, theater, and visitor services. They have the opportunity to attend museum tours with curators, board meetings, lectures, exhibition openings, and departmental orientations. For additional information, please consult the program’s webpage at http://arted.fsu.edu/programs/ec.