Culture and Heritage Site Management Program Includes Real World Experience

If you have an interest in culture and heritage, and are a natural born leader, your career path may lie in Culture and Heritage Site Management. This unique hospitality and tourism field involves balancing current challenges confronting cultural and heritage organizations while still promoting them to the public. The way into the field — which includes management of national historic sites, municipal and not-for-profit museums, galleries, national and provincial parks, historic sites, zoos, world heritage sites, federal, provincial and municipal cultural funding agencies; government departments, arts service organizations, and related not-for-profit arts, cultural and heritage organizations — is through post-secondary heritage management courses.

At Centennial College, students can attend the two-semester Culture and Heritage Site Management program. This offering is designed for graduate students and as such, applicants are required to have completed a college diploma or university degree in any discipline. Additionally, the offering will consider applicants with partial post secondary education and relevant work experience in the field. A resume describing relevant work experience may also be requested.

Here are the essential details of this undertaking:

• Students complete practical management courses as well as industry-based subjects.
  
  
• There is a balance of practice and theory, so that students apply what they learn prior to graduation.
  
  
• Students have the opportunity for the ultimate hands-on learning experience through partnerships with local, regional, provincial and national institutions and establishments.
  
  
• The field placement with Centennial College’s partners is facilitated in the second semester, and lasts 15 weeks for two days per week.
  
  
• All faculty members are industry professionals who are currently practicing their art. As such, personal anecdotes and advice that students receive are relevant.
  
  
• The first semester consists of seven courses. The second features four and the field placement.
  
  
• Among specific courses included in the undertaking are: Financial Management and Planning for the Culture and Heritage Sector, Culture and Heritage Marketing Strategy, Innovative Technologies in the Culture and Heritage Sector, National Historic Site Management, Municipal Cultural Planning, Issues in Heritage, Museums and Galleries, and more.
  
  
• Elective courses are eliminated so that students are only learning topics that relate directly to the industry.
  

Once students complete each heritage and culture course at Centennial College in the program, their career outlook is positive. Canada has 2,500 museums and related institutions that include not-for-profit museums, art galleries, science centres, aquaria, archives, sports halls-of-fame, artist-run centres, zoos, and heritage sites. These sites see more than 59 million visitors annually. A further 60 million people visit our historic sites and natural parks.