Curatorial Studies, Graduate Diploma

Curatorial Studies at a Glance

Our Program

Our unique Curatorial Studies program spans the arts, social sciences and sciences, exposing students to a wide range of museological and curatorial issues. Through the program’s strong relationships with museums, galleries and festivals in the National Capital region, students also receive hands-on, discipline specific training and exposure to professional best practices.

Carleton is located in the heart of Canada’s national capital, with a large concentration of galleries, museums, heritage and arts organizations with many experiential opportunities. Significant components of the program are delivered in collaboration with professionals from these institutions, both on-campus and in the field. These opportunities afford our students both real-world experience and excellent employment networks.

A Standalone or Combined Graduate Diploma

We offer the Graduate Diplomas in Curatorial Studies to domestic and international students. The Type 2 Diploma is for students seeking to acquire practical skills in addition to a disciplinary MA or PhD at Carleton and will give them a combination of academic training and professional skills available nowhere else in Canada.

Our standalone Type 3 Diploma is for students who would like to supplement their completed academic degrees with practical training or for practitioners who wish to upgrade their knowledge and skills. This interdisciplinary program is twelve months long and includes a practicum component.

Application and Admission

Fall 2026 applications are now closed. To request access to the recording of our Curatorial Studies Information Session from winter 2025, please email ICSLAC@Carleton.ca.

Application Process

Submission

• All applications are submitted through Carleton 360 by selecting the appropriate program (Type 2 or Type 3). If you are not a current Carleton University student and you do not already have a Carleton 360 account, you will need to choose Register for Carleton 360. A non-refundable application fee in Canadian funds is payable by Visa, MasterCard, American Express or INTERAC Online for each program application.

Why Curatorial Studies at Carleton?

Galleries, Museums, Memorials, and Interpretation Centres are how we as a society define ourselves, our histories, our identities, our values, and the spaces we occupy in the public sphere. Curators play a major role in shaping that discourse, through collections, exhibitions, performances, and sites of memory that provide space for public debate, engagement, and reflection.

As featured in Maclean’s 2018 College and University Program Guide, Carleton’s Graduate Diploma in Curatorial Studies is designed to train curators in both the practical and the critical skills that are crucial in the curatorial profession. Combining hands-on experience in a practicum, with institutional training in a major museum, and critical theoretical engagement in the classroom, this program gives students a well-rounded education that enables them to jump-start their careers.

Successful Alumni

Carleton is home to many successful alumni working in galleries, museums, and the heritage, public history and cultural sectors. Even while at school, our students engage in the practice of curating, and networking through regular interactions with alumni, international curators and artists at a wide range of talks, workshops, and exhibit openings throughout the year. Emerging from the program with a curated exhibition, curatorial experience and professionally vetted exhibition proposal, students leave Carleton ready to build a future in the field.

The Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG)

Carleton is home to the Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG), a dynamic cultural hub on the university campus and in the National Capital Region. Connecting art, ideas, and communities, CUAG offers a diverse program of art exhibitions, events, and publications. Committed to cultivating innovative artistic and curatorial practices, experienced curators on staff provide mentorship and opportunities for students to curate collaborative and individual exhibits on site.

Behind the Scenes Access

Students will enjoy behind-the-scenes access to some of Canada’s National Museums where they can experience first-hand the inner workings of major contemporary institutions. They are exposed to museum practices through site visits, they are given practicum placements in one of the many institutions in the National Capital Region, and they group-curate a small exhibition with their peers. Program faculty and staff members from hosting cultural institutions provide mentorship to students as they develop their own curated exhibitions and proposals for curatorial interventions. Students also enjoy the rare opportunity to present their proposals to representatives from national museums for consideration.

A Strong Network of Relationships

One of the program’s many strengths is the network of relationships that it has built with museums in the National Capital Region. In particular, Carleton and the National Gallery of Canada are proud to be the first national institution to have partnered with a university in Canada to develop a curatorial studies program. At the same time, the program is building international partnerships. This fall, Carleton signed co-operative agreements with the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the University of Florence, with a view toward the exchange of faculty, students and expertise in museology and curatorial studies.

A Unique Interdisciplinary Approach

With a unique interdisciplinary approach, students are exposed to a wide range of curatorial practices that allow them to think beyond the given paradigms of their chosen discipline, providing an opportunity for even seasoned curators to expand their horizons. In our program, anthropologists spar with art historians, biologists learn from public historians, and performance curators challenge conservators. Through these productive encounters, all participants hone their craft, sharpen their critical faculties, and add to their toolbox of curatorial strategies.