Reinvented Accreditation Program Now Accepting New Applicants

New Streamlined Application and Self-Study Launched

For the first time since 2010, the Accreditation Program is accepting new applicants. The Alliance is pleased to welcome museums into a completely transformed program—modernized and streamlined to provide a more accessible, relevant and achievable experience, with no watering down of the standards or rigor.

Instead of a three-year process dominated by a voluminous paper Self-Study, museums will complete the entire accreditation review process in about 11-16 months and submit all their materials online. Not only 50% shorter than the previous paper version, the online Self-Study for first-time applicants features customized questions for museums that don’t own collections or only borrow objects, and provides question-by-question “Help.”

The site visit has also undergone significant change to make more effective use of the peer reviewers’ and museums’ time and bring greater consistency to the reporting. The site visit and Self-Study have been refocused to bring increased attention to a museums’ impact, trajectory and capacity, so the review is not just about process and policies.

The launch of the reinvented accreditation process for first-time applicants caps off a five-year effort that also included the debut of a streamlined and differentiated approach to reaccreditation, a more inclusive and transparent selection process for Accreditation Commissioners, and the creation of the Core Documents Verification program that offers museums a preparatory and recognition step on their pathway to accreditation.

All of these changes were driven by what the field demanded of its accreditation program. The Alliance thanks the many hundreds of museum professionals who gave input, numerous funders that provided nearly $600,000 in grants, and the discipline-specific organizations that continue to be such valuable partners in the Alliance’s efforts to unite the field and nurture excellence through standards and the Continuum of Excellence.

Learn more about the Accreditation process and how to apply .