KU offers graduate art history courses in European, American, East Asian, and African art. Students may pursue graduate degrees in European and American/Global Modern and Contemporary Art or East Asian Art. 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 track.
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
An applicant seeking to pursue graduate study in the College may be admitted as either a degree-seeking or non-degree seeking student. Policies and procedures of Graduate Studies govern the process of Graduate admission. These may be found in the Graduate Studies section of the online catalog.
Please consult the Departments & Programs section of the online catalog for information regarding program-specific admissions criteria and requirements. Special admissions requirements pertain to Interdisciplinary Studies degrees, which may be found in the Graduate Studies section of the online catalog.
Admission to the M.A.
M.A. Degree Requirements
The student must complete 30 hours of graduate credit, at least 21 of which must be in art history distributed according to department requirements (see the Graduate Student Handbook). Students pursuing the degree in European and American Art/Global Modern and Contemporary Art must take at least 21 credit hours at the 700-900 level, 6 hours of which must be taken at the 800 level or higher. Students pursuing the degree in East Asian Art must take at least 15 credit hours at the 700 level or higher, 6 hours of which must be taken at the 800 level or higher (see the Graduate Student Handbook for specifics). The candidate must demonstrate proficiency in the reading of a foreign language, normally a major European language, Chinese, Korean, or Japanese.
A general written examination (in European and American Art/Global Modern and Contemporary Art or East Asian Art) must be passed to earn the M.A. degree. 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 and will be expected to maintain enrollment as per Graduate Studies guidelines. Students who do not submit the petition at the time of the M.A. exam will need to 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.
