Art/Art History/Dec Arts/Architecture

Columbia’s curriculum provides educational opportunities in the arts, communication, and public information fields within the context of a liberal arts education. Course offerings in major subject areas combine conceptual study with practical application, resulting in realistic career preparation.

The BA program in Art and Materials Conservation was developed observing the American Institute for Conservation guidelines and offers students intense training in chemistry, materials science, studio art, and the humanities, as well as a year of study and hands-on practice at the Lorenzo de’ Medici Italian International Institute in Florence, Italy. Upon completion of the program, students will be prepared for graduate study or for work in the field. They will have gained a solid foundation in the philosophy and ethics of art conservation and preservation. Further, students will have gained a deep understanding of the scientific basis of art and materials conservation.

Art History provides skills in analyzing and interpreting art in relation to its historical and cultural contexts. Students learn how art acquires and conveys meaning by exploring the interactions among artists, objects, patrons, and society at large across a broad spectrum of media, cultures, and periods. Unlike art history programs at other colleges, the curriculum at Columbia College Chicago emphasizes fields of study outside the traditional canon of western art history. Our students specialize in one of four areas – modern and contemporary art, history of design, history of photography, and global art. These areas provide exciting perspectives on our visual and cultural environment and reflect the inclusive and interdisciplinary nature of art and art history today.

Both the BA and MA in Arts Management equip students with the competitive advantage needed to support careers in creative sectors such as music promotion and distribution, live entertainment and the performing arts, museums and galleries, traditional and new media, and professional and collegiate sports.

Queen's University in Kingston offers the only Canadian Master's degree program in art conservation -- a Master of Art Conservation.

Combining theory and practice, advanced programs aim to educate and train conservators and conservation scientists to a professional level. Students must specialize in conservation of paintings, artifacts, or paper objects. Graduates from the Queen’s program are employed worldwide in conservation laboratories and research facilities in art galleries, museums, libraries, archives, and independent conservation studios.

The Art Department at City College of New York offers an MA in Art History with a Concentration in Museum Studies.

The Museum Studies Concentration at City College is an option within the M.A. in art history. This track of study offers a flexible curriculum, allowing students to develop their own area of specialization. Although the concentration is primarily focused on art museums, the required seminars also consider issues and practices within other cultural institutions, providing students with a broad view of the field. In addition to the two required seminars and internships described below, students may select from any number of elective courses in art history, history, anthropology, American studies, film, literature, education, or video production. By taking advantage of the cultural institutions in New York City, students have the opportunity to explore any number of career choices.

The Cooperstown Graduate Program offers an MA in History Museum Studies.

The Cooperstown Graduate Program (CGP) is a partnership between the State University of New York College at Oneonta and the New York State Historical Association. The Program trains creative, entrepreneurial museum leaders committed to generating programs and services for the public good. CGP trained professionals dedicate themselves to the development of strong institutions that play a central role in their communities, encouraging broad public audiences to use artifacts and the study of art and history as a catalyst for social change.

One of only two programs in the country located on a museum campus rather than a university campus, students have the opportunity to interact regularly with museum professional staff, with objects, and with exhibitions. The CGP curriculum balances museum studies with the study of history and material culture. Core and elective courses in research, history, object study, administration, and education provide an excellent foundation for the development of museum programs and exhibitions. The coursework at CGP provides students with real professional experience including creating programming and exhibitions for museums in the region, acting as consultants, and working on strategic plans, feasibility studies, historic furnishing reports, and collections plans. Students gain a basic understanding of all aspects of museum work (particularly administration, collections, exhibitions and programming) and specialize in a career track and in a subject area.

In addition, the Cooperstown Graduate Program is a co-collaborator with the Museum Association of New York (MANY) and the New York State Historical Association (NYSHA) in running the "Institute for Cultural Entrepreneurship" -- a four-day program that is held at the Cooperstown Graduate Program. This program is for mid-career museum, preservation, historic site and other arts and culture professionals designed to introduce business applications and principles of entrepreneurial thinking with the goal of expanding vision and leadership skills. Participants at the Institute for Cultural Entrepreneurship are introduced to what today’s entrepreneurial museum leaders are saying. The Institute is a dynamic four-day experience that immerses participants in the world of nonprofit entrepreneurship training through case studies and skill building exercises that contribute to creative idea generation. Training sessions are designed to serve as catalysts that challenge traditional models of museum work in innovative and creative ways. Practice exercises teach creative idea generation and follow-through while entrepreneurial and problem solving skills are tested on case studies developed expressly for this Institute. Follow-up webinars keep participants connected with mentors and one another to help them become the change agents that 21st century museums demand.

MA in Art and Museum Studies

Georgetown University’s M.A. degree program in Art and Museum Studies brings the academic study of art museums together with museum practice, and emphasizes the international contexts of museums in the modern world. Through courses, individual research, and internships, students work closely with Georgetown art history faculty, curators, and other museum professionals in Washington DC, and with faculty specialists at Sotheby's Institute of Art in London or New York.

The twelve-month course of study combines courses in museology and art history with internships at some of Washington’s premier art institutions. We examine the changing relationships between academic study of art and new configurations of museum display and interpretation. Such topics as the roles of museums in modern cultures, museum education programs and audiences, new technologies, collection management, curatorial work and the ethics of acquisition and display are discussed in classes and individual research projects. Our students take part in critical debates about art exhibition and interpretation.

The curriculum provides a sequence of varied approaches to museum study. In the first semester, students take courses at Georgetown and participate in an internship at an area museum. The following semester, at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London or New York, students take an intensive course in a selected field, such as decorative arts or contemporary art. The Institute’s course work emphasizes connoisseurship and hands-on study of art works, and incorporates study trips to public and private collections, auction houses, and art fairs. In the summer term, students complete a full-time internship in a museum in Washington or another city; the term culminates in a capstone workshop held in late August in Washington.

Through the Arts Management Program at the American University, students can pursue an MA, a Graduate Certificate, or the recently established Graduate Certificate in International Arts Management.

The MA program trains students to become arts administrators across performing and visual art disciplines. The program blends the basic tenets of administration with an understanding of the cultural sector in the global economy. The arts management MA program excels in providing students a decision making context for the jobs of the future through an understanding of cultural policy, international arts management issues, and organizational dynamics. The master's program prepares students to become effective advocates for the arts and to succeed in a wide range of administrative, managerial, and leadership positions. The arts management MA program curriculum is designed to combine current cultural and nonprofit theory with the best practices from the management field. Core courses focus on fundraising, marketing, and financial management of arts organizations. A flexible and interdisciplinary program, master’s students may take electives and rotating topic courses in museum management, art history, public administration, business administration, communication, international or public policy as well as participate in any of the Department of Performing Arts ensembles. Arts management master's students can apply classroom concepts in professional settings through internships and independent studies at numerous arts organizations in the Washington, DC area.

The Graduate Certificate in Arts Management is for students who wish to augment or begin arts management studies and is designed for those with a number of years of experience in the field. The arts management graduate certificate is a recognized form of continuing education. Students gain knowledge and experience in nonprofit arts management, including fundraising, marketing, governance, and cultural policy.

The new Graduate Certificate in International Arts Management is a joint certificate awarded by American University's International Communications Program of the School of International Service (ranked #5 in the world) and the Arts Management Program in the College of Arts and Sciences. This Certificate is the first in the world to combine intellectual examination of and practical training in international arts management. Students completing the Certificate in International Arts Management will have a specialization that makes them uniquely qualified to tackle a wide range of intercultural and international challenges within the diverse field of international arts. In particular, an International Arts Management Certificate will provide innovative international education and training to students in the skills necessary to engage in cultural work in projects of international scope or that have significant cross-cultural or transnational components. Graduates of the program may find work in embassies, international cultural NGOs, international divisions of cultural institutions, government entities dedicated to arts and culture and similar organizations. As a result, students will be able to act as community, national, and international leaders throughout the domain of arts and culture in a global context.

Students pursuing an MA in Museum Science can specialize in one of two areas: Museum Science or Heritage Management.

The Museum Science Track offers study in the degree program Master of Arts in Museum Science. The program emphasizes thorough preparation in the broad spectrum of museum theory and practice. It is one of the few study programs offering classroom instruction coupled with a working museum setting, allowing theory to be applied in practice first-hand.Graduates from the program have a comprehensive background in museum studies, preparing them as generalists. In addition, students may elect to become specialized in a number of museum sub-disciplines including collection management; exhibitions and interpretation; museology; museum management and administration; and, curatorship in anthropology, art, history, or the natural sciences.

The Heritage Management Track emphasizes extensive investigation in the field of heritage management. Graduates from the Museum Science Program's Heritage Management Track are prepared to enhance local, regional, and national sociological and scientific values, encourage preservation and stewardship of cultural and natural heritage, advocate public service, and direct educational programs designed to derive maximum advantage from innovative technology without the loss of cultural identity and biodiversity. The track is configured to allow individual students to emphasize areas of special interests such as heritage administration, conservation, interpretation, education, and utilization (ecotourism). The track offers both theoretical and practical coursework designed to prepare graduates to be leaders in the heritage management field. The Heritage Management Track uses a variety of existing courses offered by various departments within the University to address individual educational and career goals.

MA and PhD programs in Art History are offered.

The graduate program leading to an MA degree offers Architectural History, Art Historical Studies, and Museum Studies tracks. The PhD program offers Art Historical Studies and Curatorial tracks.

Graduate degree programs in Art History include the Master of Arts with individual tracks in Architectural History, Art Historical Studies, and Museum Studies, and the Doctor of Philosophy with Historical and Curatorial tracks; Provides a broad overview of historical developments, institutional responsibilities, professional opportunities, and theoretical issues relevant to contemporary museum practice; Curriculum equips students to build careers in curatorship, collections management, educational program development, and exhibit development.

MA in Arts Management or a Graduate Certificate.

George Mason's program emphasizes not administration, but rather the management of all aspects of the arts: commercial and not-for-profit; theatre, dance, music, visual, museum, literary, film, video and the combination of any and all of these in exciting arts centers around the country. Graduates provide for the continuance, development and nurturing of the art form, the artist and the audience, using technology, science, best practices, relevant and vibrant communications and good practical reasoning, taught by some of this country’s most outstanding practicing arts managers. The vision is to see arts managers bring into alignment the many resources required to birth, sustain, and further develop arts organizations.

Effective Fall 2012, a new Arts Management Graduate Certificate program will be offered. The Certificate is intended for those who know the specific expertise they desire to acquire to either enter into or advance arts management or related careers. Candidates choose one of the four concentrations: Marketing & Public Relations in the Arts, Entrepreneurship, Programming & Project Management in the Arts, Fundraising & Development in the Arts.

In addition to gaining the broad knowledge of the major art historical periods and the historiography and critical methodologies of art history that are required for a degree in Art History, the M.A. and Ph.D. in Art History and Museum Studies requires the study of art museum procedures and connoisseurship, and a supervised museum internship. Dissertation topics for this specialty may be related to museum practice if they satisfy scholarly standards within the field.

The Center will not be enrolling degree-seeking students for the 2011-2012 academic year while they embark on an comprehensive effort to enhance and expand the Center's programs. Interested students should contact the program for updates on the status of this program.