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Docent Tours

Free docent tours of the McMullen’s current exhibition take place every Sunday at 2:00 pm. Tours of the Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch Collection are held every Sunday at 3:00 pm, when special events are not taking place. Register for a tour of the Lynch Collection here. If you would like a separate, private tour for yourself or a group, please contact Rachel Chamberlain at least two weeks in advance.

Student Ambassadors

Applications to become a paid 2024–25 McMullen Student Ambassador are now closed. Please stay tuned for next year’s application, to be posted in March 2025. Student Ambassadors, from all Boston College undergraduate disciplines, are paid to work five to ten hours a week collaborating on student programs and exhibition openings, acting as museum greeters, selling catalogues, contributing to the McMullen’s social media platforms, implementing new digital initiatives, creating virtual walkthroughs and podcasts, and assisting with research on temporary exhibitions and the Museum’s permanent collection. Student Ambassadors explore first-hand museum best practices while gaining experience in digital humanities, museum programming, and marketing.

The McMullen Museum recognizes the essential contribution a diverse community of students, faculty, and staff makes to the advancement of its goals and ideals in an atmosphere of respect for one another and for the Museum’s mission. Accordingly, the McMullen Museum commits itself to maintaining a welcoming environment for all people and extends its welcome in particular to those who may be vulnerable to discrimination on the basis of their race, color, national origin, sex, religion, disability, age, marital or parental status, gender identity, sexual orientation, military status, or other legally protected status.

For further information on the Student Ambassador program, please contact Rachel Chamberlain.

McMullen Graduate Assistant

This position provides a nine-month employment opportunity for two Boston College graduate students interested in marketing, digital humanities, hands-on experience with the Museum’s programming and outreach initiatives, and working with and mentoring undergraduate Student Ambassadors. All disciplines are encouraged to apply. Graduate Assistants receive a monthly stipend for 15 hours a week. Applications for the 2024–25 academic year are now closed. Stay tuned here and on the Museum’s social media @theMcMullen for future calls for applications.

the Terrace

The Terrace is a digital publication produced by the Student Ambassadors. Alongside information on the Student Ambassadors and updates on their current committee projects, readers can find episodes of the McMullen podcast, “Art in Focus,” an archive of lecture recordings, research on the McMullen permanent collection, as well as articles, interviews, digital resources, Boston spotlights, and more, all organized and produced by the Ambassadors in collaboration with Graduate Assistants and McMullen staff.

University/Academics

The McMullen Museum’s temporary exhibitions provide a resource to all higher education instructors, students, and researchers. The McMullen Museum welcomes class visits to engage with its exhibitions, permanent collection, interdisciplinary resources, and staff. As faculty prepare syllabi, we invite you to contact us regarding what we may offer you and your students both in-person and virtually. Some ideas include:

• Class visits to

• Temporary exhibitions

• The Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch Collection and other sixteenth- to twentieth-century paintings from the permanent collection on the first floor (available to reserve for classes on Mondays and Tuesdays and view on additional days throughout the week), and the recently acquired Charles Hack and the Hearn Family Trust Collection, of works from the nineteenth-century Belgian School of Tervuren, on the Museum’s third floor

• Study works relevant to topics covered in your courses from the Museum’s permanent collection that can be identified from our online database or through consultation with our staff 

• In-person guided tours of the Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch Collection and temporary exhibitions

• Incorporating any upcoming in-person or virtual McMullen events into your syllabi to enhance materials covered in your courses

• Workshops and discussions with museum staff on temporary exhibitions, the permanent collection, and topics in museum studies and best practices

• Tailored discussions or assignments for students

• Collaborative projects

• Self-guided visits

To learn more about what the Museum can provide, please contact Rachel Chamberlain.  

Pre-K–12

The McMullen Museum welcomes children and school groups of all ages to explore its rotating exhibitions and develop connections with the works on display. Dedicated to helping students develop critical visual and cognitive thinking skills through visual thinking strategies (VTS), the McMullen engages students in discussions on art, asking them to draw their own conclusions based on the visual evidence presented.

School Visits

The Manager of Education, Outreach & Digital Resources, Rachel Chamberlain, is available to help design individualized visits tailored to class curricula. To schedule a school group visit, please contact her at least three weeks in advance.

The Museum cannot accommodate student groups for lunch. When weather permits, students and chaperones are welcome to eat outside on the terrace or on the lawn in front of the museum. School groups are also welcome at the many dining halls on campus. Information on dining services may be found at the Boston College Dining Services website.

Buses may stop in front of the museum for drop off and pick up and may park in any of the visiting bus spaces in the Theology and Ministry Library parking lot. Information on parking/accessibility may be found at the University’s Transportation and Parking Office website.