Master of Arts in History of Art
KU offers a wide range of graduate art history courses, exploring visual and material cultures of Europe, the Americas, and East Asia while engaging in discussion of methodological and theoretical models. Students who are interested in pursuing graduate degrees that emphasize international and/or transnational modern and contemporary art should follow the European and American/Global Modern and Contemporary concentration.
The M.A. provides students with a broad and deep knowledge of the visual arts, as well as study of the basic concepts, theories, and methods of the discipline. The M.A. may be pursued as a terminal degree or as preparation for subsequent doctoral studies.
Admission to Graduate Studies
Admission Requirements
- All applicants must meet the requirements outlined in the Admission to Graduate Study policy.
- Bachelor’s degree: A copy of official transcripts showing proof of a bachelor's degree (and any post-bachelor’s coursework or degrees) from a regionally accredited institution, or a foreign university with equivalent bachelor's degree requirements is required.
- English proficiency: Proof of English proficiency for non-native or non-native-like English speakers is required. There are two bands of English proficiency, including Admission and Full proficiency. For applicants to online programs, Full proficiency is required.
Admission to the M.A.
Admission requirements for this program follow Graduate Studies' Admissions Policy.
Application deadlines:
- January 5 for fall admission
- October 1 for spring admission
If January 5 or October 1 falls on a weekend or holiday, we will extend the deadline to the following business day.
Required application materials:
- Three letters of recommendation (preferably from art history professors). The application system will send your recommenders an email containing the instructions for submitting their letters once you have entered their contact information.
- A chronological list of art history courses completed that includes (1) the number of credit hours, (2) the instructor's name, and (3) the grade received. Applicants typically have completed no fewer than 18 credit hours of art history coursework.
- Résumé or curriculum vitae
- A statement of personal and educational interests and career objectives. We appreciate this opportunity to learn more about you. Feel free to discuss any personal, educational, economic, cultural, and/or social experiences that have helped shape you as a candidate. Please address how the graduate program/faculty in Art History at KU would help you to achieve your goals. Do not exceed 750 words.
- A writing sample, preferably from an art history course that you feel best represents your research, writing, and critical thinking skills. Your text (not including the bibliography, endnotes, and images) should be between 10-20 pages.
- Official transcripts, or copies of official transcripts, from all post-secondary institutions
M.A. Degree Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Course | ||
| HA 719 | Art Histories: Theory and Methodology | 3 |
| Concentration Requirements | 27 | |
| The below course lists outline the requirements for the European and American/Global Modern and Contemporary Art and East Asian Art concentrations. | ||
| Total Hours | 30 | |
European and American/Global Modern and Contemporary Art Concentration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| The student develops a unique plan of study in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies according to the established distribution requirements. At least 21 credit hours must be taken in art history. Of the required 9 courses, at least 7 must be art history seminars (700 level or above); of the 7, at least 2 must be numbered 800 level or above. HA 719 counts toward the seminar requirement. | 27 | |
| The student must take at least 1 art history course numbered 500 or above in 3 of the following 4 areas. A course cannot fulfill multiple distribution requirements. | ||
| 1. 400-1400: Europe and the Mediterranean | ||
| Special Study: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Early Medieval and Romanesque Art | ||
| Gothic Art | ||
| Medieval Manuscripts and Early Printed Books | ||
| Directed Readings Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Aegean Archaeology and Art | ||
| Greek Archaeology and Art | ||
| Archaeology and Art of Ancient Egypt and the Near East | ||
| Roman Archaeology and Art | ||
| Pompeii and Herculaneum | ||
| Special Study in Ancient Art: ______ | ||
| Special Study in Medieval Art: _____ | ||
| Seminar: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Directed Readings Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Franklin Murphy Seminar in Art History: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Seminar: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Directed Readings Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Seminar in Medieval Art: _____ | ||
| 2. 1300-1700: Europe | ||
| Special Study: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Directed Readings Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| The Spatial Arts of Urban Italy | ||
| Renaissance Architecture in Italy | ||
| Art in the Age of Rubens, Rembrandt and Vermeer: Northern Baroque | ||
| Special Study in Baroque Art: _____ | ||
| Seminar: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Directed Readings Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Franklin Murphy Seminar in Art History: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Seminar: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Directed Readings Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Seminar in 17th Century European Art: ______ | ||
| 3. 1700-1900: Europe or America | ||
| Special Study: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Directed Readings Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Rococo to Realism: Painting in Europe c. 1750-1848 | ||
| Impressionism and Post-Impressionism: 1848-1900 | ||
| Art of the United States | ||
| History of Photography | ||
| Seminar: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Directed Readings Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Franklin Murphy Seminar in Art History: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Seminar: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Directed Readings Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Seminar in 19th Century European Art: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Seminar in American Art: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| 4. Post-1900: Global Modern and Contemporary | ||
| Special Study: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Directed Readings Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Special Study in 20th/21st-Century Art: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Manga: Histories and Theories | ||
| European Art, 1900-1945 | ||
| Art From 1945 to the 1980s: Modernism to Post-Modernism | ||
| Contemporary Art | ||
| History of Photography | ||
| Modern and Contemporary Visual Arts of Japan | ||
| Special Study in Asian Art: ______ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Special Study in Modern Art: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Seminar: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Directed Readings Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Proseminar in Korean Art: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Proseminar in Japanese Art: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Franklin Murphy Seminar in Art History: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Seminar: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Directed Readings Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Seminar in American Art: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Seminar in Japanese Art: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Seminar in Korean Art: ______ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
East Asian Art Concentration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| The student develops a unique plan of study in consultation with the Graduate Advisor for East Asian Art according to the established distribution requirements. At least 21 credit hours must be taken in art history. Of the required 9 courses, at least 5 must be art history seminars (700 level or above); of the 5, at least 2 must be numbered 800 level or above. HA 719 counts toward the seminar requirement. | 27 | |
| The student must take a balanced distribution of graduate-level classes in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese art history. | ||
| Special Study: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Directed Readings Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Special Study in Asian Art Before 1900: _____ | ||
| Special Study in 20th/21st-Century Art: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Manga: Histories and Theories | ||
| Early Chinese Art | ||
| Chinese Sculpture | ||
| Ceramics of East Asia | ||
| Japanese Prints | ||
| Buddhist Art of Korea | ||
| Ceramics of Korea | ||
| The Art of Buddhism | ||
| Japanese Painting | ||
| Japanese Sculpture | ||
| Modern and Contemporary Visual Arts of Japan | ||
| Special Study in Asian Art: ______ | ||
| Seminar: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Directed Readings Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Proseminar in Korean Art: _____ | ||
| Proseminar in Japanese Art: _____ | ||
| Proseminar in Chinese Art: _____ | ||
| Franklin Murphy Seminar in Art History: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Seminar: _____ Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Directed Readings Dependent on the topic of the course | ||
| Seminar in Chinese Art: _____ | ||
| Seminar in Japanese Art: _____ | ||
| Seminar in Korean Art: ______ | ||
Foreign Language Requirement
M.A. students are expected to have a reading knowledge of one appropriate foreign language (typically a modern European language or Chinese, Japanese or Korean). Note that a native speaker of a language other than English may use the native language to fulfill a language requirement only if the language is considered to be an appropriate research tool for that student's program of study. Proficiency must be demonstrated before the M.A. exam may be taken.
Proficiency may be demonstrated by passing a proficiency exam or by enrolling at the appropriate level in a foreign language and completing the fourth semester course with a grade of B or better. Language courses numbered above 500 may count toward the 30 credit hours required for the M.A. with approval from the appropriate advisor.
Written M.A. Examination
A general written examination (in European and American/Global Modern and Contemporary Art or East Asian Art) must be passed to earn the M.A. degree. The student will write answers to two essay questions and is expected to incorporate discussion of the relevant art-historical scholarship and/or debates. The successful essay will respond thoughtfully to the question and present examples that display the student's breadth and depth of art-historical knowledge.
The M.A. exam is graded independently by three faculty readers without knowledge of the student's identity. Each essay will be graded for its accuracy, clarity, ingenuity, and cogency. The student must pass both essays to pass the exam.
Continuation to the Ph.D.
M.A. and M.A./Ph.D. students who wish to be considered for admission to the Ph.D. program must complete and sign the Petition for Continuation in the Ph.D. Program form, which will be distributed at the M.A. exam. It is expected that such students will already have expressed this interest to a potential major field advisor and received that faculty member’s support.
The student must pass the M.A. exam in order for the petition to be considered by the graduate faculty. After receiving departmental approval for the petition and completing all M.A. degree requirements, the student will automatically be entered into the Ph.D. program. Students who do not submit the petition at the time of the M.A. exam will need to formally reapply for admission to the art history graduate program.
Handbook for Graduate Students
A detailed presentation of departmental degree requirements and regulations is included in the department’s Graduate Student Handbook.
Graduate Policy
Students are encouraged to review Graduate Studies' policies that apply to M.A. degree programs for information about other requirements that may apply.
At the completion of this program, students will be able to:
- demonstrate mastery of course material.
- read, critically analyze, and use archival/primary, contextual, and scholarly literature.
- complete quality primary/archival and secondary research.
- speak clearly, coherently, articulately, and persuasively.
- construct in writing a clear, coherent, and persuasive scholarly argument.
- use art historical methodologies and/or relevant critical theories.
- demonstrate mastery of relevant knowledge in the field of art history (M.A. exam).