| Location | Email Address | Program Website |
|---|---|---|
| Goldfarb Centre for Fine Arts (GCFA), rm. 255 | dburns@yorku.ca | yorku.ca/gradstudies/ahvc/ |
The Graduate Program offers a master’s degree and PhD in Art History & Visual Culture and is designed to meet contemporary Canadian needs in the areas of art and architectural history, art criticism, and the gallery and museum field. The specific fields of study available in the PhD are Canadian art, architectural studies, curatorial and museological studies, and modern and contemporary art.
Students may include a field placement in a museum or arts-related area. The program is bilingual in principle.
Places in the Graduate Program in Art History & Visual Culture are limited so that each student can be individually advised. Students will have an academic advisor who will approve their program and monitor their progress, and a research supervisor to oversee placement projects and the final research paper/thesis.
The MA in Art History & Visual Culture normally requires a minimum of five continuous terms of full-time study. The PhD is designed to be completed within four years of full-time study.
It is possible for students to obtain their Master of Arts degree in combination with a Graduate Diploma in Curatorial Studies in Visual Culture.
It is also possible for students to obtain their Master of Arts in combination with a Master of Business Administration degree.
Please see the Combined MBA/MFA/MA (Business Administration) section of this Calendar for more information.
Admission Requirements
Master of Arts Program
Admission Requirements
The basic admission requirement for candidates for the MA in Art History & Visual Culture is an Honours BA or equivalent with at least B (second class) standing from a recognized university, preferably with an art history major and studio experience. An undergraduate major presupposes at least five full-year courses (or equivalent) in art history. Students from other disciplines may be required to spend a qualifying year taking appropriate undergraduate courses.
Program of Study
A normal full-time course load is three half-courses or equivalent per term. The first year’s work will be used to enlarge the student’s knowledge and intellectual grasp of art history.
Students normally take the required half-course Art History 5100 3.0: Methods: Historiography and Contemporary Methodologies, Art History 6000 0.0: Research and Professional Practices Seminar, and an art history elective in the first term of study. Each student must give satisfactory evidence of a reading knowledge of art historical literature written in French during the first year of the graduate program. A placement test is scheduled for entering students during Orientation Week.
The second year can be spent in different ways so that each student can have a program suited to individual needs. The student may undertake a placement in an arts-related institution for one or two half-courses to complement regular course work.
The summer term requires formal registration. During this period the student may undertake a placement, enrollment in the Summer Institute intensive course, and/or research and writing of a major research paper.
Language Requirements
A minimum of two languages: English and one other, which is usually French. Each student must give satisfactory evidence of a reading knowledge of art historical literature in another language other than English as appropriate to the research program. A language translation exam is scheduled for entering students during orientation week. The minimum Test of English as a Foreign Language score for the program is 600 for paper-based and 250 for computer-based, or students may demonstrate their English language proficiency by completing the York English Language Test with a score of 1.
Doctor of Philosophy Program
Admission Requirements
Applicants for admission should hold a master’s degree in art history or a relevant discipline from a recognized university with a minimum A- average. This requirement may be waived if the student has had a long period of significant professional activity.
Language Requirements
A minimum of two languages: English and one other, which is usually French. The minimum Test of English as a Foreign Language score for the program is 600 for paper-based and 250 for computer-based, or students may demonstrate their English language proficiency by completing the York English Language Test with a score of 1. Upon admission to the program, students are asked to complete a translation exam in French. For most students, particularly those with a focus in Canadian art, this is the most suitable second language. However, the Graduate Program Director, supervisor and student may jointly agree that the translation exam should be set in another language. If they pass the exam, students have satisfied their second language requirement. If they do not pass the exam and their chosen language is French, they are required to enrol in and complete two half-year 3-credit French language courses designed specifically for graduate students at York University [Faculty of Graduate Studies 5712 3.0: Reading French for Special Purposes (Elementary) and 5713 3.0: Reading French for Special Purposes (Intermediate)]. If they do not pass the exam and their second language is not French, the student and the graduate director will jointly decide on either a language course or self study towards a second translation exam as York does not currently offer specifically designed reading courses for graduate students in languages other than French. In the event that a third language is deemed necessary for the proposed research project, the student and the Graduate Program Director will jointly decide on either a language course or self study towards a translation exam.
Degree and Diploma Requirements
The program strongly recommends the degree by research paper option. The thesis option requires special permission.
| MA Degree by Research Paper | MA Degree by Thesis |
|---|---|
| Candidates for the MA in Art History & Visual Culture by major research paper must successfully complete the following requirements: | Candidates for the MA in Art History & Visual Culture by thesis must successfully complete the following requirements: |
| 1) one half-course on the methods, theory and historiography of art history (Art History 5100 3.0); 2) three half-courses (or equivalent) comprised of non-integrated graduate seminars; 3) two half-course (or equivalent) electives in art history; 4) option to complete one half-course from an approved cognate field; and, 5) the non-credit Art History 6000 0.0: Research and Professional Practices Seminar, including a major research paper (Art History 6010 0.0), 35 to 50 pages in length including foot/end notes, acknowledgements, bibliography and list of illustrations, which demonstrates the student’s ability to do original research, normally focusing on a Canadian topic (Canadian art, or art in Canada). The research paper topic must be approved by the Candidate’s research committee by the end of the second term at the latest. | 1) one half-course on the methods, theory and historiography of art history (Art History 5100 3.0); 2) three half-courses (or equivalent) comprised of non-integrated graduate seminars; 3) one half-course (or equivalent) elective in art history; 4) option to complete one half-course from an approved cognate field; and, 5) by permission only, a thesis 75 to 100 pages in length including foot/end notes, acknowledgements, bibliography and list of illustrations, on an approved topic which demonstrates the student’s ability to do original research normally focusing on a Canadian topic (Canadian art, or art in Canada). The candidate should propose a thesis topic to their supervisor during the second term. After formal submission of the thesis, an oral examination, centred on the thesis and matters related to it, is held in accordance with the Faculty of Graduate Studies’ regulations. |
| Program Entry The MA program can be completed on a full- or part-time basis. Entry is fall term. | Program Entry The MA program can be completed on a full- or part-time basis. Entry is fall term. |
| Program Length The expected degree completion time for full-time master’s students is 5 terms. For those students who complete degree requirements earlier than 5 terms, they must register and pay fees for a minimum of the equivalent of 5 terms of full-time study. All requirements for a master’s degree must be fulfilled within 12 terms (4 years) of registration as a full-time or part-time master’s student in accordance with Faculty of Graduate Studies’ registration policies. | Program Length The expected degree completion time for full-time master’s students is 5 terms. For those students who complete degree requirements earlier than 5 terms, they must register and pay fees for a minimum of the equivalent of 5 terms of full-time study. All requirements for a master’s degree must be fulfilled within 12 terms (4 years) of registration as a full-time or part-time master’s student in accordance with Faculty of Graduate Studies’ registration policies. |
Doctor of Philosophy Program
All students must satisfactorily complete the following:
Courses
Art History 6000 0.0: Research and Professional Practices Seminar (non-credit), Art History 6200 3.0: Advanced Research and Dissertation Seminar plus four additional half-courses among graduate seminars. Students may apply to take courses outside the program.
Language
An examination testing the student’s reading knowledge of another language other than English as appropriate to the research program.
Comprehensive Examination
The comprehensive examination takes place in the fourth semester of study, during the fall semester of the second year. The intention for the comprehensive examination is to demonstrate an understanding of the field and the context of scholarly intervention. It takes the form of one sit-down exam of five to six hours. The exam consists of two or three questions agreed upon by the supervisory committee, with a bibliography to be determined by the committee in consultation with the student. The questions are oriented in two specific ways to address (a) the breadth and (b) the depth of the bibliography. The comprehensive exam is graded as pass/fail, with the option to be rewritten once. It is to be followed by an oral defence with the supervisory committee. The oral exam is likewise graded as pass/fail, with the option to be retaken once. The comprehensive exam, then, involves the mastery and synthesis of key concepts and methodologies from a focused body of literature in order to prepare the student for dissertation writing.
Dissertation
A dissertation on a topic approved by the program’s graduate executive committee, presented and defended in accordance with the dissertation regulations of the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
Program Entry
The PhD program can be completed on a full-time basis. Entry is fall term.
Program Length
The PhD in Art History & Visual Culture is normally completed in a maximum of four years. Doctor of Philosophy students must register and pay fees for a minimum of the equivalent of six terms of full-time registration. All requirements for a doctoral degree must be fulfilled within 12 terms (4 years) of registration as a full-time or part-time doctoral student in accordance with Faculty of Graduate Studies’ registration policies.
Graduate Diploma in Curatorial Studies in Visual Culture
The Graduate Diploma in Curatorial Studies in Visual Culture provides an enhanced learning experience for those who are interested in a curatorial career. Students who successfully complete the requirements graduate with both the Master of Arts degree in Art History & Visual Culture and the Graduate Diploma in Curatorial Studies in Visual Culture. To complete the diploma, students in the Graduate Program in Art History & Visual Culture are required to take an additional half-course placement, and the Art History and Visual Culture Summer Institute; those requirements are beyond the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in Art History & Visual Culture.
Candidates for the MA in Art History & Visual Culture and the Graduate Diploma in Curatorial Studies in Visual Culture must successfully complete the following requirements:
1) one half-course on the methods, theory and historiography of art history (Art History 5100 3.0);
2) three half-courses (or equivalent) comprised of a non-integrated graduate seminar:
two half-courses in curatorial and museum studies (Art History 5170 3.0: Museum and Gallery), Art History 5175 3.0: Curatorial Practice, and, one half-course, Art History 5190 3.0: Internship;
3) three half-courses (or equivalent) electives in art history;
4) one half-course from an approved cognate field;
5) Art History 6020 3.0: Art History and Visual Culture Summer Institute
6) an examination for a reading knowledge of French; and,
7) the non-credit major research paper seminar, including a major research paper, 35 to 50 pages in length including foot/end notes, acknowledgements, bibliography and list of illustrations, which demonstrates the student’s ability to do original research, normally focusing on a Canadian topic (Canadian art, or art in Canada). The research paper topic must be approved by the candidate’s research committee by the end of the second term at the latest.