Modern Art: Critical and Curatorial Studies (MODA)

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

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

• The MA in Art History (MAAH), for study in diverse fields from antiquity through pre-20th century
• The MA in Modern Art: Critical and Curatorial Studies (MODA)
   

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

To view this program's application requirements, please click here.

The MODA program prepares students for further study at the doctoral level, as well as future critics, curators, and others with advanced study in the history and theory of modern and contemporary art, in anticipation of careers in academia, museums, non-profits, galleries, art criticism, and other professional opportunities in the art world. The course of study enables each student to pursue their own unique, interdisciplinary curriculum, benefiting from the full range of expertise of the distinguished faculty in Columbia’s Department of Art History and Archaeology, as well as Columbia at large, taking elective lecture and seminar classes alongside MA and PhD students across the department and University.

It offers the following areas of study: 

Major Field

• 20^th- & 21^st-Century Architecture
• 20^th- & 21^st-Century Art History and Theory

Subfields

• American and European Art, pre-1945
• American and European Art, post-1945
• African American/African/ Caribbean/African Diaspora Art 20^th and 21^st centuries
• Latin American 20^th and 21^st centuries
• Modern and Contemporary East Asian
• Modern and Contemporary South Asian
• Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern
• Global Contemporary
• History of Photo and New Media (1900-1945)
• History of Photo and New Media (post-1945)

Founded on the conviction that art historians and critics need to understand curatorial thinking, and curators need to accrue extensive knowledge of art history and critical theory. 

MA IN ART HISTORY (MAAH)

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 program page. 

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

During their first year, all students take two required courses: the Critical Methods Colloquium and the Curatorial Colloquium. The first covers method, historiography, and criticism, and the second the history, theory and practice of museum, exhibition and curating. Each colloquium is also designed so that students engage with a range of professionals (academics, critics, artists and curators) through a guest speaker series and curatorial walk-throughs at museums and other institutions. Invited speakers hail from domestic and international universities, museums, think tanks, and art journals: past ones including professors from Harvard, Yale, the University of Texas, Austin, the University of British Columbia; critics from the New York Times, Artforum, Spike Art Magazine; curators at the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, Whitechapel Art Gallery, among many others. Specific programs crafted uniquely for MODA include the competitive MODA Curates, in which fellows mount an exhibition in relation to their thesis in Columbia’s Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery; MODA Critical Review, a student-run journal of art and criticism; and Works in Progress: Artists and Art Historians Present, among others..

Taking advantage of Columbia's extensive research resources, the program also takes advantage of the department's close ties with area museums, galleries, and other cultural institutions (including the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and The Studio Museum in Harlem, among others), complementing advanced scholarly study with immersion in the art world of New York City. On-campus resources such as those provided by the School of the Arts and Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, interdisciplinary studies (i.e. Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures EALAC; African American and African Diaspora Studies Department, among others) further enrich the program's multi-faceted and interdisciplinary approach. Students learn from and are exposed to a wide range of contemporary cultural practitioners, including art historians, artists, architects, critics, curators, theorists, designers and publishers, just as they build community across institutions and disciplines.

The program culminates in the preparation of an independent thesis. Students produce a written thesis based on rigorous, original research under the supervision of a faculty advisor. Students may also choose to conceive a thesis exhibition project, which can assume a variety of formats. 

Resources

The resources of the Department of Art History and Archaeology extend beyond the classroom: The Avery Architectural 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 about the Department of Art History and Archaeology is available on the department's website.

Special Admissions Requirements

A minimum of four undergraduate courses in art history or studies in archaeology or anthropology related to art history is required. Reading knowledge of one or more foreign languages is strongly recommended prior to admission. All applicants should submit a sample of critical or scholarly writing. Interviews are not offered as part of the application process, and the MODA Program Director only meets with accepted applicants after the admissions process is completed. 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.