M.A. Art History Program

This program is designed for individuals who wish to pursue a globally oriented graduate study in the History of Art. Using a diverse range of methodological approaches, the Art History faculty helps students to acquire the necessary tools and knowledge to make sense of our visual world. Courses cover all of the world's major geographic areas, with individual professors exploring specific interests in social history, gender and race, post colonialism, problems of taste and patronage, as well as myth and narrative. A Masters program is ideal for students who wish to pursue a career in the arts and is equally valuable for those seeking to develop visual, analytical, and communicative skills. Recent graduates have gone on to work in museums and art galleries, to enroll in a variety of humanities graduate programs, and to pursue careers in law, government, and business.

Fieldwork & Internship Opportunities

There are fieldwork opportunities and internships available in the program. Students desiring curatorial experience are encouraged to undertake a gallery project, such as the research and preparation of an exhibit or catalog with a curator at the Albright-Knox, the Castellani Art Museum, Hallwalls, or any other gallery approved by the department for curatorial internships. In the past, graduate students have worked on archaeological digs; have written theses on Buffalo Architecture & the Arts and Crafts movement, WPA art in Erie County, modernism & mass culture in the London Underground, Rembrandt's self-portraits, and twelfth century pilgrimage texts. Students are encouraged to undertake interdisciplinary work in anthropology, classics, comparative literature, philosophy, and women's studies. Fieldwork and internships relevant to a student's thesis project can be arranged at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Castellani Art Museum at Niagara University, Hallwalls Exhibition Center or another gallery approved by the department for curatorial internships.

Resources

The resources available for research and study within the department and the university include an Art History Slide Library of more than 350,000 items and a library system in excess of 2.7 million volumes. Field trips are made to museums in Buffalo, Rochester, Toronto, Cleveland, Ithaca, and Syracuse, and to outstanding architectural sites in Western New York - which include works by Richardson, Olmsted, Sullivan, Wright, Kahn, and Saarinen - and a rich heritage of industrial and vernacular architecture. Adjunct and visiting faculty members have taught courses in the arts of India, Mayan archaeology, Chinese and Japanese art, and critical theory. The department also employs a special fund to bring in lecturers to the university, co-sponsor lecturers with other departments, and create lecture series at the Albright- Knox Art Gallery.

Curriculum & Program Requirements

Candidates for the degree of Master of Arts in Art History will be expected to complete 36 semester hours (see summary below) in Art History or designated electives. Each student, with the guidance of a faculty advisor, will plan a program of study designed to facilitate his/her personal and professional goals. Electives include, but are not be restricted to relevant graduate offerings in the departments of Classics, Modern Languages and Literature, History, English, and the School of Architecture.

Successful completion of 36 hours of coursework to include:

Methods of Art History (3 credits)
thesis guidance (6 credits)
one course in five of the following six departmental areas: ancient, early modern, indigenous, architecture, modern, and contemporary (15 credits)
electives (12 credits).

A student serving as a Teaching Assistant must take at least 9 credits per semester to satisfy the University requirement for TA support. Students must maintain at least a "B" (3.0) average and make reasonable progress toward the M.A. degree.

Although part-time study is allowed, this is intended to be a full-time "residence" program to be completed in two years of study. Part-time students should note that the Graduate School stipulates a part-time student may not take more than eight semesters to graduate.

Summary of Program Requirements

Formal acceptance in the Art History program and Graduate School as a matriculated student pursuing an M.A. degree in Art History. Up to 12 transfer credits may be accepted toward the M.A. degree by the department. This will be determined on an individual basis. Students wishing to transfer graduate credits should consult the Director of Graduate Studies after acceptance to the program.
Successful completion of 36 hours of coursework to include:
- Methods of Art History (3 credits)
- thesis guidance (6 credits)
- one course in five of the following six departmental areas: ancient, early modern, indigenous, architecture, modern, and contemporary (15 credits)
- electives (12 credits).
Each student must demonstrate a proficiency in a language other than English through a language examination. These are given in September and February and consist of a written translation (with a dictionary) of a selected text. Students planning to pursue a PhD are strongly urged to master a second foreign language while in this program.
Each student must pass the Art History Minor examination. A ninety minute, written exam will be given in a minor field i.e., a departmental distribution area. In preparation for the exam, the student is to consult with the faculty member(s) in the chosen minor area. It is expected that full-time students will schedule their exam by October 30 in their third semester and take it by the end of that semester. In the case of part-time students, the examination will take place after the completion of 24 credit hours. All students must pass the minor exam before beginning their thesis work.
A cumulative B (3.0) grade average must be maintained for the M.A. program.
Successful completion of a Master's thesis. The thesis is a well written report on a project of original research, either art historical or curatorial, conducted under the supervision of an Art History faculty member. The first major step in beginning the thesis is to submit a carefully prepared proposal to two readers. For full-time students this submission should take place early in the third semester. The proposal should outline the procedures, goals, and format of the thesis and should include an annotated, complete and up-to-date, bibliography. In the case of a curatorial project, an exhibition catalog and essay will constitute the thesis.

Plagiarism

Departmental policy regarding plagiarism:

Do not copy material directly from any source (author or fellow student) unless the material copied is enclosed in quotation marks and is credited to its true author in proper footnotes. In general, you should not quote directly from such secondary sources but, rather, should use your own words and provide a footnote or endnote to indicate the source of the information.
Ideas used in your paper which are not your own must be credited to the proper source in footnotes. A good guide to footnoting is the MLA (Modern Language Association) Style sheet.
Do not make slight alterations of sources which seem to remove the necessity for utilizing quotation marks and footnotes. If footnoted, such work is only marginally plagiarized, but it will not be accepted in this department.

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