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Supporting the Next Generation
CÉLAT/MCQ International Summer School in Museum Studies
The Musée organizes an annual summer school in partnership with the Centre interuniversitaire d’études sur les lettres, les arts et les traditions (CÉLAT) at Université Laval.
The CÉLAT/MCQ International Summer School in Museum Studies is a unique program in Québec and Canada. It was jointly created and is co-managed by the Research Division of the Musée de la civilisation and the CÉLAT at Université Laval. The summer school is intended for undergraduate and graduate students from Québec, Canada and abroad, as well as for museology professionals.
Each year, the summer school program encourages participants to reflect on issues facing museums. The themes are always connected to current events in museums, heritage, culture and urban planning. To combine theory and practice, students do field work in museums and cultural institutions in Québec City. Students and professionals enrolled in the summer school receive pedagogical support from the national and international speakers invited to the program.
The Roland-Arpin Award
An educator at heart, a thinker and a great orator, Roland Arpin established the Musée de la civilisation’s reputation and its position as a leading museum in the province of Québec. He had the wisdom to bank on a future built on the rich knowledge of the past and on the energy of the present. He also had constant faith in youth and in multidisciplinarity. Creating an award to encourage future museologists seemed worthy of Roland Arpin’s legacy. The Musée de la civilisation proudly presents the Roland-Arpin award.
LThe Roland-Arpin Award is an annual prize for the best academic work by a student enrolled in a Master’s degree, DESS in museology or graduate program in interpretation and cultural mediation, or in cultural leisure studies at a partner university in Québec.
The Musée de la civilisation is the headquarters of the Roland-Arpin Award. It is under the responsibility of the Collections Department, which monitors the process.
The Award’s partners are:
- La Société des musées du Québec;
- L’Université Laval;
- L’Université de Montréal;
- L’Université du Québec à Montréal;
- L’Université du Québec en Outaouais;
- L’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.
Selection of applications
Each of the partner universities selects and nominates up to two candidates from among all students’ academic work submitted during the academic year preceding the application deadline.
For the purposes of these guidelines, an academic work is considered to be any thesis, essay or directed work completed under the supervision of a professor connected to a graduate program in museology or in interpretation and cultural mediation, or in the study of cultural leisure, for a minimum of six credits.
Applications can only be submitted once. Papers written in either of Canada’s official languages are eligible.
Applications
Each application must be submitted by email by the program director in PDF format, to the attention of the Roland-Arpin Award secretary, and must include:
- A digital copy of the academic work
- A short summary of the academic work (10 lines)
- A letter of motivation from the student (one page)
- LA transcript from the last year completed
- A short curriculum vitae (two pages)
Application deadline
Applications must be submitted to the Musée de la civilisation no later than June 21 (or the next business day) of each year. If there is a major reason why this deadline does not suit the partners, another deadline may be proposed by the Collections Department and submitted for approval.
Eligibility conditions
To be eligible, the applicant must have completed a graduate program recognized by these guidelines and be in good standing with the academic and administrative requirements of their academic institution. The academic work must have been submitted by the program director.
Evaluation committee
The Roland-Arpin Award evaluation committee is composed of the following five members:
- Two representatives of the Musée de la civilisation, including the Roland-Arpin Award secretary
- One person from a related academic field (outside the museology or interpretation and cultural mediation programs, or the study of cultural leisure), invited by the Musée de la civilisation
- One representative of the Société des musées du Québec
- One person from the Québec museum network, designated by the Société des musées du Québec
Evaluation of applications
Work submitted to the committee will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria and percentages:
- The work’s relevance for the museum, interpretation and cultural mediation and cultural leisure sectors, as well as research in museology (updating museum practices, sustainable development, diversification of sources, concrete and universal applications and challenges) (40%)
- The clarity of the research question, theoretical framework and research methodology, the originality and quality of the argument and the proposed solutions and strategies (intelligibility of the content, initiative, innovation, creativity) (20%)
- The quality of writing and documentation (style, structure, argument and references) (20%)
- The candidate’s professional adaptability (based on the perspective submitted) (20%)
Value of the Roland-Arpin Award
The Roland-Arpin Award is accompanied by a $5,000 grant.
The Roland-Arpin Award is presented by the CEO of the Musée de la civilisation during the annual convention of the Société des musées du Québec.
The Roland-Arpin Award was given to Maéli Shan Leblanc-Carreau, a graduate of the Master’s program in museology at the Université du Québec à Montréal, under the supervision of Professor Anne Bénichou.
“Decompartmentalizing contemporary art: artistic interventions in urban public spaces by Montréal institutions specializing in contemporary art (2000–2020) ”
Maéli Shan Leblanc-Carreau, attending remotely, was represented by Jennifer Carter (2nd from the left in the photo) at the Société des musées du Québec awards ceremony held on September 29, 2022, at the Château Roberval Hotel.