USC
University of Southern California
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Graduate Degrees

Admission

Admission to all programs, with the exception of the Museum Studies Certificate, is granted through the Graduate School in conjunction with the Department of Art History; all applicants must meet the requirements of both. Applicants at the M.A. level must hold a bachelor of arts with a major in art history, or the equivalent, from an accredited school. Applicants at the Ph.D. level must indicate an intended area of primary research and submit an M.A. thesis for consideration. Interviews are strongly encouraged. Applicants to the Museum Studies Certificate Program must hold an M.A. or Ph.D. in Art History from an accredited institution. Admission to this program is granted through the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Art History Department.

All applicants must complete the department's supplemental application form, which may be obtained by writing: Graduate Programs, Art History Department, Von KleinSmid Center 351, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0047.

Complete details for all graduate programs can be found in the Guidelines for Graduate Studies in Art History, obtainable upon admission.

Areas of Concentration

Greek and Roman Art and Archaeology, Medieval Art, Renaissance Art, Baroque Art, 18th and 19th Century European Art, Modern and Contemporary Art, Chinese and Japanese Art.

Master of Arts, Art History (Museum Studies)

The Master of Arts in Art History (Museum Studies) is a two-year course of study leading to the Master of Arts in Art History, designed to meet the special training needs of students whose career goals are oriented toward professional work in art museums.

The degree requires a minimum of 33 units. The program consists of four parts: courses in art history, museum studies courses, production of an exhibition and accompanying catalogue and an internship in a museum.

Foreign Language Requirement
All candidates must pass a reading proficiency examination in one language, normally French or German. Substitutions may be made upon faculty recommendation and approval of the chair of art history when it is deemed appropriate to the student's course of study (i.e., Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, etc.). The language requirement should be completed by the end of the first year.

Course Distribution
Courses will be at the 400 and 500 level. No seminars with the same course number can be taken for credit toward the master of arts. AHIS 500 normally must be taken in the first semester of study.

A minimum grade point average of 3.0 is required for the master of arts degree. Each student's progress will be reviewed by the faculty at regular intervals throughout the first and second years.

Required coursesUnits
AHIS 500Methods and Theory of Art History4
AHIS 501Problems in the History and Theory of Collecting and Display4
AHIS 530Museum Studies: Institutions and Collections4
AHIS 541abMuseum Studies Exhibition4-4
AHIS 550Art, Business and the Law4
AHIS 630Museum Internship1
Additional 400- and 500-level art history seminars8
33

The museum internship (AHIS 630) requires a full-time summer internship prior to the student's second year of the program.

Certificate in Museum Studies

The Certificate in Museum Studies is a flexible program which may be completed in one year. It is designed for graduate students in all disciplines, or those already holding degrees in art history, who seek additional training for the museum profession.

The Museum Studies Certificate has three components: the core course (AHIS 530); the exhibition and catalogue (AHIS 541ab); the historical and theoretical component (AHIS 501 or 550). A total of 16 units is required.

Required coursesUnits
AHIS 530Museum Studies: Institutions and Collections4
AHIS 541abMuseum Studies Exhibition4-4

One of the following courses:
AHIS 501Problems in the History and Theory of Collecting and Display4
AHIS 550Art, Business and the Law4
16

Master of Arts, Art History

The Master of Arts in Art History is a two-year program of study administered in collaboration with the Graduate School, emphasizing course work and specialized research in the history of art. It is not offered as a terminal degree, but only en route to the Ph.D. A student may be eligible for the M.A. on leaving the program after two years. A minimum of 32 units is required for the degree. The opportunity to gain experience as a teaching assistant is available on a competitive basis.

Transfer work applicable to the M.A. program must have been completed within 10 years of the date of application.

Degree Requirements
A minimum of 32 units, usually taken during a two-year period, is required for the Master of Arts in Art History, to be distributed as follows:

Required coursesUnits
AHIS 500Methods and Theory of Art History4
Additional 500-level courses28
32

Course Distribution
Courses will be at the 500 level; 400-level courses may be accepted with approval of the graduate advisor. No more than two seminars with the same course number can be taken for credit toward the master of arts. AHIS 500 normally must be taken in the first semester of study.

Foreign Language Requirement
All candidates must pass a reading proficiency examination in one language, normally French or German. Substitutions may be made upon faculty recommendation and approval of the chair of art history when it is deemed appropriate to the student's course of study (i.e., Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, etc.). The language requirement should be completed by the end of the first year.

Doctor of Philosophy

The Doctor of Philosophy in Art History program normally requires at least three years of course work and two years of dissertation research. Applicants may be admitted directly into the program after receiving the B.A. Other applicants may already hold an M.A. in art history or the equivalent from USC or another accredited school.

A student with a master's degree in the history of art from USC must apply to the Ph.D. program, and will be evaluated on the basis of his or her overall performance. Every student will be subject to departmental screening procedures, which involve periodic review by the art history graduate committee. The committee may recommend at any time, based on a student's grades, evaluation of instructors or rate of progress toward the degree, that a student be dropped from the program. Such recommendations will become effective at the end of the semester during which the recommendation is made.

Course Requirements
Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy units total 60. Up to 32 master of arts units from USC or 30 from other institutions may be transferred with approval of the faculty. Transfer work applicable to the Ph.D. program must have been completed within 10 years of the date of application. AHIS 500, or equivalent, is required of all graduate students. Four units are for work on the dissertation. (Two units of dissertation credit each semester -- including summer -- for a minimum registration period of two semesters.)

Foreign Language Requirements
All candidates must pass reading proficiency examinations in a minimum of two languages, normally French and German or the requisite languages in Asian art. Substitutions and/or additions may be made with faculty recommendation and approval of the chair of the Art History department when appropriate to the student's program. Additional foreign language beyond the minimum may be required depending on the student's program of study. All language requirements must be completed by the end of the third year of study.

Qualifying Examination
At the end of the second year, the student will nominate a five-member guidance committee for the qualifying examination that includes one member from outside the Department of Art History. The student must pass the qualifying examination in a major field and satisfy the requirements for the minor and outside fields. Forms for permission to take the qualifying examination must be submitted at least 60 days before the date of the scheduled examination. The written portion of the examination will be followed by an oral examination. The oral examination will be given to discuss in greater depth the student's knowledge of the dissertation proposal; the oral lasts approximately two hours. After passing the qualifying examination, the student will be admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D.

Dissertation
Following the completion of the qualifying exam the guidance committee will be reduced to three members, including one member from outside the department, who will guide and finally approve the dissertation.