Learning Opportunities
The AMA provides a variety of learning opportunities, including
our Certificate in Museum Studies (CMS) program, a virtual webinar
series, and other professional development opportunities.
Financial support for the CMS Program is available
forall Individual Members through the AMA's Knowledge Development
Bursary.
To register for an open learning opportunity, please visit the
Events page.
For more information about the AMA's Learning Programs, please
contact learning@museums.ab.ca.
Please note that these schedules are subject to change at
the discretion of the AMA.
Upcoming CMS Courses
Research (CMS 26 - 05)
June 5 - 6, 2026
Location: YouthLink Calgary Police Interpretive Centre,
Calgary
Instructor: Cassandra Cummings
Research is undertaken in all areas of museum practice as it is
fundamental to the museum's purpose and programs. Participants will
explore the kinds of research conducted in museums and will learn
practical guidelines for planning and conducting research projects.
Topics covered will include discipline-based research,
collections-based research, research relating to museum functions
and activities (such as exhibit and interpretation research), and
research methodologies such as field research, audience research,
and oral history interviews.
Registration for Research (CMS 26-05) will
open April 7, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. MT.
Museum Management (CMS 26 - 02)
June 26 - 27, 2026
Location: Prince of Wales Armouries, Edmonton
Instructors: Meaghan Patterson and Tyler Sherard
Museum management relates to the daily management of the museum
and defines how it works in the present and how it plans for the
future. Its effectiveness impacts all aspects of the work of the
museum, both internally and externally. Topics covered will include
planning, financial management, human resources, facilities
management, marketing, risk management, and information
management.
Registration for Museum Management (CMS 26-02) will
open April 20, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. MT.
Programming
(CMS 26 - 07)
October 5 - November 20, 2026
Combined asynchronous and synchronous,
Online
Instructor: Christine
Moreland
Programming is the service
a museum provides to the public to help interpret their collections
from the visitor's point of view. Participants will learn how to
enhance the range of opportunities museums offer to their
communities. Topics covered will include audience research,
customer service, planning, and evaluation.
This course includes four
required live, virtual meetings, which will take place on October
8, 2026, October 22, 2026, November 5, 2026, and November
19,
2026 at 9:00
a.m. MT.
Priority registration for
Programming (CMS 26-07) will be available to previous waitlist participants.
Any additional spaces will be
released in August
2026.
Governance
(CMS 26-03)
October 12 - November
27,
2026
Combined asynchronous and synchronous,
Online
Instructors: TBC
As legally constituted
organizations, museums must define their governing authorities and
public trust responsibilities to make the most effective
possible
contribution to the communities they
serve with the resources available to them. Topics covered will
include the governing documents required to establish and run a museum, the
accountability and responsibilities of a museum's governing
authority, and exploration into policy and mission statement
development.
This course
includes four required live, virtual meetings. Dates are
TBC.
Registration for Museum
Governance (CMS 26-03) will open in August
2026.
First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI)
Scholarship
The AMA is pleased to share the formalization of our First
Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) Scholarship.
Since the introduction of the FNMI fee waiver for Indigenous
Certificate in Museum Studies (CMS) Program participants, the
Alberta Museums Association (AMA) has seen greater engagement with
and representation from Indigenous individuals in the Alberta
museum community. To better facilitate and support interested
self-identified, Indigenous participants, the AMA is introducing a
formalized scholarship structure.
Applications
for the FNMI Scholarship will open annually in January and
will remain open until all FNMI spaces are filled. FNMI
participants who miss the scholarship intake will still be eligible
for the Knowledge Development Bursary and will have access to
discounted CMS course rates.
This scholarship is part of the AMA's work to integrate
reconciliation into all of the Association's programs and services,
and to encourage greater engagement with and representation of
Indigenous individuals and perspectives in the Alberta museum
community.
For more information about the FNMI Scholarship, please contact
Meredith Leary, Program Lead, at 780.424.2626 or learning@museums.ab.ca.