PDF version of this chapterGraduate 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 courses | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| AHIS 500 | Methods and Theory of Art History | 4 |
| AHIS 501 | Problems in the History and Theory of Collecting and Display | 4 |
| AHIS 530 | Museum Studies: Institutions and Collections | 4 |
| AHIS 541ab | Museum Studies Exhibition | 4-4 |
| AHIS 550 | Art, Business and the Law | 4 |
| AHIS 630 | Museum Internship | 1 |
| Additional 400- and 500-level art history seminars | 8 | |
| 33 | ||
The museum internship (AHIS 630) requires a full-time summer internship prior to the student's second year of the program.
Certificate in the History of Collecting and Display
This program, open to University of Southern California Ph.D. students of art history as well as qualified students from other USC departments with written permission from their home department and the Department of Art History, is devoted to the study of the history of collecting and display of works of art and related materials across a broad chronological and geographical spectrum. The program provides a means of advancing knowledge about the presentation, circulation and consumption of works of art, as distinct from the more traditional art historical investigation of the conditions surrounding their production. Additionally, this program is designed to remedy a widely perceived disjunction between the ways art history is practiced in the museum and the academy. Each academic department will determine the number of units completed which may be applied to the student's graduate degree in that department.| REQUIRED COURSES | UNITS | |
|---|---|---|
| AHIS 501 | Problems in the History and Theory of Collecting and Display | 4 |
| AHIS 504 | Museum Research Assistantship | 1 |
Two of the following courses: | ||
| AHIS 502 | Markets, Value and the Institutions of Art | 4 |
| AHIS 503 | Categories and Collections | 4 |
| AHIS 550 | Art, Business and the Law | 4 |
| 13 | ||
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 courses | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| AHIS 530 | Museum Studies: Institutions and Collections | 4 |
| AHIS 541ab | Museum Studies Exhibition | 4-4 |
One of the following courses: | ||
| AHIS 501 | Problems in the History and Theory of Collecting and Display | 4 |
| AHIS 550 | Art, Business and the Law | 4 |
| 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 courses | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| AHIS 500 | Methods and Theory of Art History | 4 |
| Additional 500-level courses | 28 | |
| 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.