Cooperstown Graduate Program

The Science of CGP

Announcing the Science Museum Studies Master's Program at CGP! Founded in 2015, the Science Museum Studies program provides an environment where participants get hands-on experience in communicating science to the public in a diversity of science venues and organizations.

Project oriented and collaborative in nature, the program facilitates a deep understanding of the process of science and develops the skill sets required for working in today’s science venues. For more information, course descriptions, and examples of projects and content, please visit Our CGP Science Website or contact Carlyn Buckler, PhD. at carlyn.buckler@oneonta.edu.

Who we are

The Cooperstown Graduate Program (CGP) is the premier program for the training of museum professionals in the United States. One of only two programs in the country located on a museum campus rather than a university campus, students have the opportunity to interact regularly with museum professional staff, with objects, and with exhibitions.

Mission

The Cooperstown Graduate Program trains creative, entrepreneurial museum leaders committed to generating programs and services for the public good.

Highlights of the program

Our alumni are prominent and successful in the field, and regularly give back to the program.
The classes are small, dynamic, and interactive.
Our building is the country’s only facility designed specifically for museum studies.
We teach a core generalist curriculum, though with room for personal interests.
Assignments and internships are not academic exercises, but real and varied work in the field.
Classes are complemented by field trips to regional institutions.
Museums are community-based organizations, and CGP mirrors this with a strong focus on community.
We have strong partners in the New York State Historical Association, The Farmers' Museum, and Fenimore Art Museum.
As a small program, students develop strong relationships with faculty, fellow students, and local museum staff.

Why choose CGP?

CGP 50th Anniversary Campaign

Learn about the Institute for Cultural Entrepreneurship, an immersion program for mid-career museum, preservation, historic site and other arts and culture professionals.

Gretchen, Ryan, and Valerie in the exhibit lab

Professor Gretchen Sorin works in the exhibit lab with Ryan Donaldson ('07) and Valerie Aquila ('06).

latest news

For the lastest CGA Forum, the CGP newsletter, click here

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alumni

Students graduate from CGP and pursue careers in a variety of areas in the museum field. The depth of a CGP education is reflected in the positions held by alumni and the varied organizations they work for. Alumni around the world work as curators, directors, educators, marketers, development officers, registrars, human resource specialists, designers, and museum consultants in both the nonprofit and for profit sectors.

Graduates hold positions in large cultural institutions, small museums and historic houses and sites throughout the country. Other alumni contribute to the field through their work in corporate organizations and exhibit fabrication companies. For a sample of where our alumni are working scroll down to the list below.

Our graduates also serve as board members of community groups, museums and professional service organizations. More than 750 alumni make a difference in communities across the country.

Click here to learn why CGP is important to our alumni.

Cooperstown Graduate Program's 50th Anniversary

Join us as we celebrate the Cooperstown Graduate Program’s 50th Anniversary on October 10-12, 2014 for a weekend of remembering, learning, and feasting! For hotel accommodations and more information please contact Catherine M. Raddatz.

Visit the 50th Anniversary Celebration website for an updated schedule of events, to hear and contribute oral histories related to CGP history, and to learn more about the LegacyForward fundraising campaign.

alumni news

Dr. Gretchen Sorin ('75) and Ryan Leichenauer ('13) were recently featured on NPR.
Ryan Donaldson ('07) was interviewed in the New York Times.
Jane Spillman ('65) recently retired from the Corning Museum of Glass.
Tramia Jackson ('12) was appointed to the Virginia Association of Museums Governing Council.
Eric Strohl ('99) and Brian Richards ('08) were recently featured in the New York Times.
Brooke Steinhauser ('11) is now a site manager for four houses in Southern Maine for Historic New England.
Amy Drake ('11) recently had an article published in the Oregon Historical Quartely, "History: Made by You: A New Approach from the Southern Oregon Historical Society".
Lori White ('08) is the project coordinator for the 100th anniversary of Grand Central Station Terminal.
Tobi Voigt ('06) was named the Chief Curatorial Officer at the Detroit Historical Society.

what jobs do our alumni hold?

Executive Director - Alabama School of Fine Arts Foundation
Executive Director - Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Manager of Teacher Programs and School Partnerships- Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Director - Winterthur Program, University of Delaware
Director - Pocantico Programs at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Content and Media Specialist- The Corning Museum of Glass
Curator of Interpretation and Collections - Wisconsin Historical Society
Senior Manager for Exhibitions - National Museum of Qatar
Chief of Staff - NYC Department of Parks and Recreation
Exhibition Project Manager - The Field Museum
Manager of the Curatorial Department- Arab American National Museum
Director - Georgia O'Keeffe Museum
Vice President for Museum Affairs -Historic Deerfield
Curator of Paintings in the American Wing - Metropolitan Museum of Art
Director - Texas Historical Commission
Manager of Museum Programs- National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Executive Director - Newport Restoration Foundation
Assistant Director of Development - The Taft School
Head of the Film Department - National Gallery of Art
Assistant Director for Strategic Initiatives - National Museum of American History
Director of Education - Detroit Historical Society
Diversity Outreach Specialist - Minnesota Historical Society
Curator of Exhibitions, Collections, and Oral Histories- Centre d'histoire de Montreal
Visitor Experience Department Manager - Ohio Historical Society
Executive Director - Museums of Old York
Director- Florence Griswold Museum
Registration Assistant- Israel Museum
Assistant Director for Diversity and Outreach- Historical Society of Michigan
Programs Manager- Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
Curator- California African American Museum
Director- QM2
Development Associate- Historic House Trust of New York City