Minot, North Dakota – A special degree program offered by Minot State University supports individuals with an interest in the arts. This degree blends science, history, commerce, communication, and the arts. It is known as museum studies.
This degree offers a means for students like Dyana DeCoteau-Dyess to make the connection between the past and the present.
“From my own experience, I love that we are preserving the past so that my children and their children and the community can come here and appreciate and learn from the area indigenous people, from just North Dakota’s history,” said DeCoteau-Dyess.
Dr. Amanda Watts, a native of Minot and a graduate of MSU, claimed that during her fifteen years of travel, she realized what was lacking from her time in college.
She had to take many required classes in college that weren’t part of her program.
After graduating, she would have needed to put in an extra 28 hours to obtain them.
“That’s two years, honestly, of full-time school after my degree,” said Watts.
Watts looked at MSU’s art administration department when she got back to North Dakota, and she used her knowledge of the program to help identify all the courses an undergraduate would need to succeed in the real world.
The museum studies degree was the comprehensive solution.
“Stepping back from decades of experience, we are able to say this is absolutely everything you would need to be very successful the day after you graduate,” said Watts.
DeCoteau-Dyess stated that, as an indigenous person, she wishes to use art to bring people together.
“I love the fact that right now we are bridging a friendship with the different indigenous tribes here so that we all can share our knowledge and preserve it,” said DeCoteau-Dyess.
Giving students a rare chance to study a variety of subjects while providing up a range of job options for graduates.
The only university in North Dakota and the surrounding states that offers a degree in museum studies is Minot State University.
This weekend in Spain, Dr. Watts and DeCoteau-Dyess will represent Minot State on a global platform.
At the symposium for indigenous artefacts in museum collections at the International Council of Museums Conference, they will collaborate on one of two projects.
