This is a list of college and university museums in the United States.
Overview University art museums and galleries are collections of art that are developed, owned, and maintained by schools, colleges, and universities. There are approximately 680 university art museums and galleries in the United States. While historically the origins of these kinds of institutions can be traced back to learning collections in art academies in Western Europe, they are now most often housed in centers of higher education. The primary aim of many university art museums and galleries is to create a sphere removed from the pressures of the commercial art world where students, artists, curators, and faculty can experiment freely; in terms of both making and exhibiting art, and also curating.
Distinctions between art museums, galleries, and academic museums An art museum houses a permanent collection, whereas a gallery usually hosts a changing program of art exhibitions. However, some university and college art galleries also feature permanent collections or showcase collections owned by the larger institution. Some institutions have a museum or an art gallery, and some have both. Others, such as the City College of New York, have important collections but neither a museum nor a dedicated gallery.
Art schools in the United States often have many gallery spaces on campus. Maryland Institute College of Art has 21 galleries.
Many university and college libraries also feature galleries to showcase items from their collections, which can include art, music, poetry, literary works and ephemera.
Another important distinction is the difference between art museums and academic museums. All university art museums and galleries are types of academic museums, but not all academic museums are university art museums and galleries.
Vulnerability in times of crisis University art museums function in a number of different ways. Some exist as affiliates of a university, operated by a separate board of trustees and administration, while others are nested within the institution. Art museum collections can become vulnerable to deaccession due to fiscal issues. One such example of a controversial deaccession was the Randolph College scandal; when the administration sold paintings from the museum's collection without the permission of the museum.
Academic freedoms and artistic freedoms of expression University art museums and galleries differ from traditional art museums and commercial galleries due to their relationship with institutions of higher education where academic freedoms are ideally upheld. With the protection of academic freedoms, topics that would otherwise be avoided, ignored, or censored can be openly explored. The two main academic freedoms are: the freedom of the student to study whatever they want, and the freedom of the teacher to teach whatever they want.James Morgan Hart, German Universities: A Narrative of Personal Experiences (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1874); quoted in Leo L. Rockwell, “Academic Freedom: German Origin and American Development,” Bulletin of the American Association of University Professors 36, 2 (Summer 1950): 225-236. When these two freedoms are observed, in the context of a university art museum and/or gallery, a unique setting for academic discovery is opened up. University art museums and exhibits are sometimes sources of controversies regarding issues of propriety, politics, gender, and sexuality.
Alabama
Alabama Museum of Health Sciences Alabama Museum of Natural History (UA Museums) Evelyn Burrow Museum at Wallace State Community College Gorgas House Museum (UA Museums) Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art Kathryn Tucker Windham Museum Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum (UA Museums) (Closed effective July 1, 2024) Moundville Archaeological Park (UA Museums) Paul W. Bryant Museum (UA Museums) Southern Environmental Center Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site University of Alabama Museums (UA Museums) William R. Harvey Museum of Art at Talladega College
Alaska
University of Alaska Museum of the North
Arizona
Arizona State Museum Arizona State University Art Museum Center for Creative Photography Center for Meteorite Studies Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery University of Arizona Mineral Museum University of Arizona Museum of Art
Arkansas
Japanese American Internment Museum Lakeport Plantation Pfeiffer House and Carriage House Physical Education Building (Arkansas Tech University)
California
Academy of Art University Automobile Museum Art, Design & Architecture Museum Benton Museum of Art Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive Bohart Museum of Entomology California Museum of Photography California Social Work Hall of Distinction Cantor Arts Center Coastal Science Campus De Saisset Museum Entomology Research Museum Essig Museum of Entomology Euphrat Museum of Art Fowler Museum at UCLA Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art Fullerton Arboretum Janet Turner Print Museum Hammer Museum Humboldt State University Natural History Museum Jesse Peter Museum Lawrence Hall of Science Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art Natural History Museum at Sierra College UCLA Meteorite Collection University of California Museum of Paleontology USC Fisher Museum of Art USC Pacific Asia Museum
Colorado
Koshare Indian Museum and Dancers Louden-Henritze Archaeology Museum Mines Museum of Earth Science University of Colorado Museum of Natural History The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College
Connecticut
Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry Connecticut State Museum of Natural History Davison Art Center Fairfield University Art Museum Housatonic Museum of Art Ireland's Great Hunger Museum J. Robert Donnelly Husky Heritage Sports Museum Peabody Museum of Natural History William Benton Museum of Art Yale Center for British Art Yale University Art Gallery Yale University Collection of Musical Instruments
Delaware
University Museums at the University of Delaware
District of Columbia American University Museum George Washington University Art Galleries National Deaf Life Museum at Gallaudet University Textile Museum (George Washington University)
Florida
Alexander Brest Museum and Gallery Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art at Florida Southern College Carnegie Library at FAMU Family Heritage House Museum Florida International Museum Florida Museum of Natural History Freedom Tower (Miami) Frost Art Museum Gillespie Museum Jacksonville University Life Sciences Museum John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art Lowe Art Museum Mary McLeod Bethune Home Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville Museum of Florida Art and Culture NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale Rollins Museum of Art Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum Wolfsonian-FIU
Georgia Georgia Museum of Art Georgia Museum of Natural History Georgia Southern Museum Michael C. Carlos Museum Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum Old Governor's Mansion (Milledgeville, Georgia) Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking SCAD Museum of Art Spelman College Museum of Fine Art
Hawaii
John Young Museum of Art
Idaho
Herrett Center for Arts and Science Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History
Illinois Cuneo Museum DePaul Art MuseumDePaul Art Museum Hull House Illinois Natural History Survey James Millikin House Krannert Art Museum Loyola University Museum of Art Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art Museum of Contemporary Photography Koehnline Museum of Art at Oakton Community College Oriental Institute (Chicago) Renaissance Society Smart Museum of Art Sousa Archives and Center for American Music Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership Spurlock Museum University Museum (Southern Illinois University Carbondale) William and Florence Schmidt Art Center
Indiana
Brauer Museum of Art David Owsley Museum of Art Eskenazi Museum of Art Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology National Art Museum of Sport Raclin Murphy Museum of Art
Iowa B.J. Palmer House Brunnier Art Museum Christian Petersen Art Museum The Farm House (Knapp–Wilson House) Figge Art Museum Harlan–Lincoln House Palmer Museum of Chiropractic History University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame University of Iowa Museum of Natural History University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art
Kansas
Gordon Parks Museum Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art McPherson Museum Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art Old Castle Hall Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics Spencer Museum of Art Sternberg Museum of Natural History University of Kansas Natural History Museum
Kentucky
Cumberland Inn & Museum Kentucky Folk Art Center Kentucky Museum University of Kentucky Art Museum
Louisiana Louisiana Center for Women in Government and Business Hall of Fame Louisiana Museum of Natural History LSU Museum of Art LSU Rural Life Museum Meadows Museum of Art Newcomb Art Museum Ogden Museum of Southern Art Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum Shaw Center for the Arts
Maine
Bates College Museum of Art Bowdoin College Museum of Art Hudson Museum Northern Maine Museum of Science Page Farm & Home Museum Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum University of Maine Museum of Art
Maryland
Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture Evergreen Museum & Library Homewood Museum St. Mary's College of Maryland University of Maryland School of Nursing Living History Museum The Art Gallery at the University of Maryland
Massachusetts
Amherst Center for Russian Culture Arthur M. Sackler Museum Beneski Museum of Natural History Barnum Museum of Natural History Busch-Reisinger Museum Davis Museum at Wellesley College Dumbarton Oaks Emily Dickinson Museum Fogg Art Museum General Artemas Ward House Harvard Art Museums Harvard Mineralogical Museum Harvard Museum of Natural History Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East Harvard University Herbaria List Visual Arts Center McMullen Museum of Art Mead Art Museum MIT Museum Mount Holyoke College Art Museum Museum of Comparative Zoology Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology Pioneer Village (Salem, Massachusetts) Rose Art Museum Smith College Museum of Art University Museum (Harvard University) University Museum of Contemporary Art Warren Anatomical Museum Williams College Museum of Art
Michigan
Dennos Museum Center Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum Finnish American Heritage Center Great Lakes Quilt Center Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia Kalamazoo Valley Museum Kelsey Museum of Archaeology Kruizenga Art Museum Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum Meadow Brook Hall A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum Sindecuse Museum of Dentistry Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments University of Michigan Museum of Art University of Michigan Museum of Natural History William L. Clements Library
Minnesota
American Museum of Asmat Art Bell Museum of Natural History Glensheen Historic Estate Goldstein Museum of Design SMSU Art Museum SMSU Museum of Indigenous Americans SMSU Museum of Natural History Tweed Museum of Art Weisman Art Museum
Mississippi
University of Mississippi Museum
Missouri
Arthur F. McClure II Archives and University Museum Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum Museum of Art and Archaeology Museum of Contemporary Religious Art National Churchill Museum National Museum of Toys and Miniatures Ralph Foster Museum Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum Saint Louis University Museum of Art Samuel Cupples House St. Louis Mercantile Library State Historical Society of Missouri
Montana