Art History and Archaeology, MA

Program Category: MA Programs
Chair: Francesco de Angelis 
Director of Graduate Studies: Noam Elcott
MA in Art History and Archeology (MAAH) Program Director: Frédérique Baumgartner
MA in Modern and Contemporary Art History (MODA) Program Director: Janet Kraynak

Website: https://arthistory.columbia.edu/content/ma-art-history  

The Department of Art History and Archaeology has two free-standing MA programs:

  • MA in Art History and Archaeology (MAAH), for study in fields from antiquity through pre-20th century
  • MA in Modern Art: Critical and Curatorial Studies (MODA), for study in all fields of 20th- and 21st-century art 

Both MA programs offer full-time and part-time enrollment options. 

The Department of Art History and Archaeology is a member of the Doctoral Program Subcommittee on Classical Studies and the Interdepartmental Committee on Medieval and Renaissance Studies and participates in the Program in Historic Preservation in the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

MA IN ART HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY (MAAH)

To view the MAAH application requirements, please click here.

The MAAH program prepares students for further study at the doctoral level and for careers in museums and other art-related organizations. The department offers one of the richest graduate programs in the discipline, and students are encouraged to take advantage of its variety of subjects and approaches. For complete information on the program and fields of study, please visit the MA in Art History and Archaeology Program Page.

The MA in Art History and Archaeology program includes the following areas of study:

  • Ancient Art and Archaeology
    • Greek
    • Roman
    • West Asian (Near Eastern)
  • Art and Architecture of Africa and the African Diaspora (pre-20th century)
  • Art and Architecture of the Americas until 1500 (“Pre-Columbian”)
  • Arts and Architecture of the Lands of Islam
  • East Asian Art and Archaeology (pre-20th century)
  • History of Architecture
    • Ancient Architecture
    • Early Christian, Byzantine, Western Medieval Architecture
    • Renaissance and Baroque Architecture
    • Modern Architecture
  • History of Western Art
    • Early Christian, Byzantine, Western Medieval Art
    • Renaissance and Baroque Art
    • Europe 1700-1900
    • US American Art (pre-20th century)
  • Native North American Art (pre-20th century)
  • South Asian Art (pre-20th century)


MA PROGRAM IN MODERN ART: CRITICAL AND CURATORIAL STUDIES (MODA)

The MODA program prepares future scholars, critics, and curators with advanced study in the history and theory of modern and contemporary art, in preparation for careers in academia, museums, non-profits, galleries, art criticism, and other professional opportunities in the art world. Students benefit from independently crafted courses of study in one of the deepest departments in the discipline, with the opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary work in departments across a top research University. For complete information on the program and fields of study, please visit the MODA Program Page.

MA IN ART HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY (MAAH)

Applying to the MA in Art History and Archaeology Program (MAAH)
Students are accepted into the program and mentored by a faculty member in the proposed field of study. For this reason, it is recommended that applicants to the MA in Art History and Archaeology program contact the faculty member most closely allied with their interests to discuss the planned course of study. Applicants should indicate the faculty member's name on the application. Recipients of the free-standing MA in Art History and Archaeology will be considered for admission to the PhD program only upon re-application.   

Resources 

The resources of the department extend beyond the classroom: the Avery Architecture and Fine Arts Library, the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, the Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture, and the many museums and art galleries of New York offer an incomparable array of world art on permanent and temporary exhibition. The Media Center for Art History provides learning opportunities for graduate students in the area of new imaging and information technologies. More information is available on the department's website.

Other Resources for Study

Aside from the regular courses, a varied program of individual lectures and colloquia by distinguished visitors is offered at frequent intervals. In addition, the department hosts various fora that bring together faculty and graduate students in the New York area. Please see the department's website for information about the Bettman Lecture Series, the Robert Branner Forum for Medieval Art and Architecture, the Howard Hibbard Forum for Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture, and the Collins/Kaufmann Forum for Modern Architectural History. The Graduate Student Colloquium, founded and organized by students in the department, provides an informal forum in which students and faculty can present their various projects. Work in Progress, a series similarly founded and organized by graduate students, extends its reach to the faculty and students in Columbia University's Visual Arts Program.

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, in existence since 1986, has presented many widely noted exhibitions. Most exhibits are planned and curated by faculty and graduate students. Seminars devoted to preparing exhibitions and their accompanying catalogues are occasionally offered.

In addition to the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, the many collections and libraries of New York City provide opportunities for further study and research. Students have free access to most of these. In several, such as the Metropolitan Museum, the Frick Collection, the Museum of Modern Art, and the New-York Historical Society, special facilities are available for students. Periodically, graduate seminars are taught by museum curators and meet at the museums. The galleries of art dealers offer an ever-changing series of exhibitions in which the works of the most recent artists, as well as of the more established ones, can be seen. Various private collections in New York, through the courtesy of their owners, are often made accessible to students under the guidance of their instructors. Visits to museums and collections form part of the assigned work in many of the courses. Trips are occasionally made to out-of-town museums. The department also offers courses on a regular basis at Reid Hall in Paris.

Special Admissions Requirements

Generally, applicants are expected to have taken a minimum of four undergraduate courses in art history, archaeology, or other fields related to art history. Reading knowledge of at least one foreign language is recommended, since demonstration of proficiency in at least one foreign language is a degree requirement. All applicants should submit a sample of critical or scholarly writing.

Applicants are encouraged to consult with a faculty member in the intended field of specialization prior to the application deadline. Applicants are advised to visit the department’s website or to contact [email protected] for general information about the graduate program.

In addition to the requirements listed below, all students must submit one transcript showing courses and grades per school attended, a statement of academic purpose, a writing sample (a course paper, term paper, etc.), a personal statement, and three letters of evaluation from academic sources.

All applicants whose undergraduate degree is from an institution in a country whose official language is not English must submit English proficiency exam scores. The English proficiency requirement can be fulfilled through the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

For more information, refer to our Admissions Information and Frequently Asked Questions pages.

*To be eligible for admission in GSAS, at least TWO letters must be submitted by academic recommenders. You may include up to four letters in your application, regardless of the number required by your program of interest.