Master of Arts in Art History

The Master of Arts in Art History prepares students with the course work, language skills, and research experience needed for further graduate study or work in a museum or educational setting. The curriculum is structured to provide both breadth and depth of inquiry through a variety of approaches to art history. We recommend that courses be broadly selected to take full advantage of the multiple approaches, expertise, and insights of the art history faculty.

The relatively small size of the MA program, the richness of available resources, and the dedication of its faculty enable students to tailor their program of study to particular needs while simultaneously attaining a strong general grounding in the discipline. Campus resources include the Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center, the Special Collections of the M. I. King Library, the W.T. Young Library, the University Art Museum, and the John Tuska Center for Contemporary Art.

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Prospective Students:

admission requirements

application procedure

financial support

contact information

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Admission requirements:

Experience suggests that applicants from a wide variety of educational backgrounds may earn a MA degree in Art History. It is recommended that those without an undergraduate art history major consult with the art history graduate advisor before applying. Depending on one’s prior preparation, some entering students may be required to take preparatory work that will not be applied to the graduate degree course requirements.

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Application Procedures:

The Graduate School, which is the administrative unit for all graduate students, and the Art History graduate program, which is responsible for the academic curriculum, require different application materials. Graduate School information is available on-line at:

www.gradschool.uky.edu

For application for admission to the Graduate School contact:

University of Kentucky
Graduate School
201 Ezra Gillis Building
Lexington, KY 40506-0033
Tel: 859/257-4613

The application to the Graduate School is made mostly on-line and requires:

1. completed form for the Graduate School admission (form available electronically)

2.. one official transcript sent by each institution of study previously attended

3. official GRE scores (transmitted electronically from www.ets.org; the institutional code for the Graduate School is 1837)

4. application fee (paid electronically)

Application materials for the Art History Graduate Program should be sent to:

Prof. Jane Peters
Art History Graduate Advisor
Art Department
207 Fine Arts Bldg.
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0022
Tel: 859/257-1716
E-mail:  jane.peters@uky.edu

These materials should be sent in hardcpy form and include:

1. brief résumé

2. personal statement which explains your interest in art history graduate study, experience, and plans

3. sample of research (such as an undergraduate research paper) or professional writing

4. two letters of recommendation (sent separately by recommenders to the Graduate Advisor at the address above)

5. one official transcript sent by each institution of study previously attended

 

Financial support and application deadlines:

The Art History program regularly offers two teaching assistantships, which include full remission of in-state tuition as well as a stipend. The art history graduate students may also apply for graduate assistantships with local arts organizations, including the International Museum of the Horse and LexArts. These assistantships are available to first year M.A. students and include full remission of tuition and a stipend. Please include an additional letter indicating your interest and credentials for assistantships with your program application materials. The letter of interest must be addressed to the Art History Graduate Advisor and postmarked no later than January 1st.

Highly competitive, university-wide merit fellowships that are awarded annually by the Graduate School -- and in several cases require nomination by the department -- are listed on the web at:

www.rgs.uky.edu/gs/fellowship/fellowships.html

Deadlines for these vary but are usually very early.

All other application dossiers must be complete no later than May 1.  Applications are reviewed in the spring semester for fall admission. Missing items in the dossier may jeopardize consideration for admission and financial aid.

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Contact Information:

For further information, please contact:

Prof. Jane Peters
Art History Graduate Advisor
Department of Art, 207 Fine Arts Bldg.
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0022
Tel: 859/257-1716
E-mail:  jane.peters@uky.edu

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M.A. in Art History Degree Requirements:

Degree candidates have an option of fulfilling either Plan A or Plan B for a Masters in Art History as described here and in the Graduate School Bulletin.

M.A. students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0.  GPA is calculated according to the following point system:

A -- high achievement, 4 grade points per credit
B -- satisfactory achievement, 3 grade points per credit
C -- minimum passing grade, 2 grade points per credit

Scholastic Probation

When students have completed 12 or more semester hours of graduate course work with a cumulative GPA of less than 3.0, they will be placed on scholastic probation. Students will have one full-time semester or the equivalent (9 hours) to remove the scholastic probation by attaining a 3.0 cumulative GPA. If probation is not removed, students will be dismissed from the Graduate School .

Students who have been dismissed from the Graduate School for this reason may apply for readmission to the Graduate School after two semesters or one semester and the eight-week summer term. If they are accepted by the program, admitted students will have one full-time semester or the equivalent (9 hours) to remove the scholastic probation by attaining a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Exceptions to this policy can be made only by the Dean of the Graduate School. Students placed on scholastic probation are not eligible for fellowships or tuition scholarships and may not sit for doctoral qualifying examinations, or master's or doctoral final examinations.

Plan A – Thesis Option
The thesis option emphasizes art historical research, problem solving, and communication skills. Candidates who plan to continue study at the doctoral level should select Plan A.

Requirements:
1. Minimum of 24 credit hours of graduate course work.  Six of the minimum 24 required credit hours may be taken in related areas such as anthropology, historic preservation, history, literature, philosophy, studio art, or women’s studies.
2. Foreign language reading competency in German and one other language (French often recommended).  The foreign language competency requirement may be satisfied by any of the means established by The Graduate School. See more under Foreign Language Requirement.
3. Satisfactory completion and oral defense of a thesis

Plan B – Non-thesis Option
The non-thesis option emphasizes course work to deepen the candidate’s foundation in the knowledge, theory, and methods of art history. Candidates who plan careers in a visual arts related fields that do not require a Ph.D. – professional placements in galleries, museums, art organizations, arts administration, etc. -- may want to select this option.

Requirements:
1. Minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate course work. Nine of the minimum 30 required credit hours may be taken in related areas such as anthropology, historic preservation, history, literature, philosophy, studio art, or women’s studies.
2. Foreign language reading competency in German and one other language. The foreign language competency requirement may be satisfied by any of the means established by the Graduate School. See more under Foreign Language Requirement.
3. Satisfactory completion of final comprehensive exam

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Student Research Support:

The Graduate School offers both travel and research funding for graduate students. Student Support provides up to $400 per year for expenses related to thesis or dissertation research or for travel to present research at professional conferences. Commonwealth Research Awards provide up to $1,000 for graduate students to present research findings at professional, scholarly conferences. For more information about these awards, go to Support Funding:

http://www.gradschool.uky.edu/StudentFunding/supportfunding.html

2. By completing the Graduate School Foreign Language Test offered by the Educational Testing Services (ETS) with a minimum score of 450 (check with Graduate School for dates and times of offerings).

3. By completing the fourth semester of a foreign language with a grade of “B” or better as an undergraduate at an accredited college or university.

4. By completing with a grade of “B” or better, special examinations given for the accelerated graduate level foreign language reading courses. Obtain forms for this from the Registrar's Office in the Funkhouser Building. Other types of special examinations are scheduled in the Graduate School Records Office.

5. By transferring a language taken to satisfy the requirements for a Master’s degree at another university (NOTE: This information must appear on the student’s transcript where the Master’s degree as awarded; or the Graduate School must receive a letter from that Graduate Dean confirming when and how the foreign language requirement was satisfied.)

6. With the approval of their program to use their native language, international students who are non-native speakers of English may satisfy the foreign language requirement by presenting a TOEFL score of 550 or higher.

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Establishing a Graduate Committee:

Students who have completed one or two semesters of course work should consult with the DGS to establish a Graduate Committee. This committee must consist of three or more qualified members, of which at least one must be a full member of the Graduate Faculty and at least one other than associate member. Faculty who are not members of the Graduate Faculty may not chair your committee but may serve on it; normally, your advisor chairs the Graduate Committee.

This committee advises on the preparation, research, research, and writing of Master’s theses and conducts an oral defense of the thesis.

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Thesis Defense and Filing:

Students must observe filing deadlines established each semester by the University Registrar in order to graduate. The deadlines for filing the thesis and taking the final exam are posted each semester on the University's Academic Calendar website.

Step 1 : After consulting with your advisor, ask the Director of Graduate Studies to submit a Final Examination Recommendation form to the Graduate School a minimum of two weeks prior to the specific date of the defense. This form must be accompanied by a Thesis Approval Sheet which must be signed by your advisor and by the Director of Graduate Studies, and affirms that your thesis is ready to be defended. Upon receipt, the Graduate School will check your file to make sure that all requirements to this point have been met.

The final examination must take place no later than eight days prior to the last day of classes of the semester in which the student expects to graduate. Final examinations may not be scheduled during the period between semesters or between the end of the eight-week summer session and the beginning of the fall semester. Consult the Schedule of Classes for deadlines on the scheduling of final examinations.

Step 2 : After your Final Examination, you have 60 days to submit the final copy of your thesis to the Graduate School in pdf format. This must be accompanied by a copy of the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Approval form, signed by your advisor and Director of Graduate Studies. At this time, your thesis will be checked to ensure that it meets format requirements of the Graduate School. It is your responsibility to ensure that the ETD will display clearly and properly on a monitor when accessed, including working links so the ETD can be readily navigated (whether it is composed of a single or multiple files), that the printed pdf version will be clear and legible (including any figures or images); and that fonts have been properly embedded. The Graduate School requires two copies of the approved ETD either on CD-ROM or Zip disk. We also require paper copies of the thesis Title Page and Abstract, as well as any reprint permission letters and any required third party software licenses.

Thesis Fees

The base thesis fee is $14.00. The charge must be paid at Student Billing Services, 18 Funkhouser Building. No diplomas will be released without payment of the applicable thesis fees.

The instructions for formatting the thesis are posted on the Graduate School website:

http://www.research.uky.edu/gs/CurrentStudents/theses_prep.html