Art History - MA

Program

The MA in art history, granted by Hunter College since 1952, is a comprehensive program of study intended to give the student a broad background in the history of art as well as an in-depth concentration in a particular area. It leads to enrollment in PhD programs throughout the country and serves as a terminal degree for professional work in museums, galleries, arts organizations and art publishing.

Admission Requirements

Applicants are admitted in both fall and spring semesters. The applicant must have completed 12 credits of undergraduate courses in art history. Reading knowledge of a foreign language (French, German, or Italian) is required. All supporting material requested by the college’s Graduate Admissions Office (GRE score, official transcript, two to three letters of recommendation, and a writing sample) as well as the completed on-line application form must be supplied by the application deadlines. Application Deadlines: for fall admission, February 1; for spring admission, October 1.

Program Requirements

Curriculum

1. Course Requirements

ARTH 60200 Research Methods of Art History (3cr), as early as possible in a student’s course of study.
One course must be taken in art historical theory or historiography, such as ARTH 73400, or a special topics course directly related to one of these areas (3cr).
Three courses from three of the following four areas (9cr):
- Ancient and Medieval Art
- Renaissance, Baroque, and 18th-century Art
- Modern (19th- or 20th-century) and American Art
- Non-Western Art
Three electives in Art History or other courses approved by the department (9cr).
Masters Thesis (6cr):
- ARTH 79900 Thesis Research
- ARTH 80000 Thesis Writing

2. Permission of the graduate adviser:

With the permission of the graduate adviser, candidates for the MA in art history may take up to 6 credits in studio courses or in courses in related areas.

Additional Information

Transfer students

Students may apply for transfer of up to, but no more than, 9 credits from another institution (including the Graduate Center of the City University of New York). Permission to transfer credits is not guaranteed and is considered on a case by case basis.

Examinations

Students must take and pass two examinations before they are permitted to proceed beyond 15 credits. It is recommended that they take these examinations as early in their careers as possible. Both examinations are given once each semester.

Language Examination:

Students must demonstrate their ability to use at least one foreign language as a research tool by passing a written examination in French, German, Italian, or Spanish.

Comprehensive Examination:

Passing a written examination in the history of art is required of all candidates.

Mid-program evaluation:

The progress of each student will be reviewed upon the completion of 15 credits. Students will be permitted to proceed if they have demonstrated proficiency in writing and research skills and have passed the comprehensive and foreign language examinations.

Incomplete credit:

Students with 6 credits of IN (“Incomplete”) will not be permitted to register for courses.

Facilities

The department functions in two main locations, the main campus at 68th Street and Lexington Avenue and the MFA Studio Building at 450 West 41st Street. The North Building at 68th Street houses the administration and the library and has fully equipped, newly renovated workshops on the 11th floor in photography, graphics, metal, wood, plaster, computer graphics and general painting studios. The basement of Thomas Hunter Hall, the adjacent building, houses the clay workshop. The MFA Building houses the graduate studios, the MFA Gallery, and the graduate photo, wood, metal and ceramics studios.

Galleries

The Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery, located at the main campus, houses professionally organized exhibits that support the educational programs of the Department of Art and Art History at Hunter College.

The 205 Hudson Gallery is located in the MFA facility at 205 Hudson Street in Tribeca. The 3500-sq. ft. space houses MFA thesis exhibitions each semester as well as exhibitions curated by Hunter graduate students and faculty.

Hunter East Harlem Gallery is located in the Silberman School of Social Work on Third Avenue at 119^th Street. It is devoted to exhibiting artists engaged in social practice, community projects, and other alternative forms of public art.

The Artist’s Institute, located in Casa Lally on East 65^th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues, is a research and exhibition space for contemporary artists and writers.

Scholarships and Travel Grants

Among the programs targeted scholarships are the Estrellita Brodsky scholarships which supports strong MA students working in Latin American and African American art history, and the Virginia Adams Award, which supports students working on pre-twentieth-century topics. Edna Wells Luetz/Joseph P. Riedel Scholarship provides support for Hunter College undergraduates pursuing graduate studies in the Department of Art and Art History. The Queen Sofia Spanish Institute Fellowship supports research travel for students researching topics in the Hispanophone world. The Joan Lazarus fellowships support both MA and MFA students working on exhibitions in the Hunter College Art Galleries. We have established ongoing paid internship relationships with the Dia Art Foundation and the Maria, Hans, and Renate Hofmann Trust, and working relationships with the Rauschenberg Foundation and, beginning in the 2018-19 academic year, Hunter MA students were able to participate in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s yearlong Curatorial Practice Seminar.

Program Adviser

Maria Antonella Pelizzari, Professor, Art History
apelizza@hunter.cuny.edu