The Department of Art and Art History offers the master of arts degree
in art history and in studio art.
General Nature of the Program
In studio art, the program offers emphasis in drawing, painting, graphic arts,
printmaking, photography and electronic media. In art history, coursework in
both Western and non-Western art is available.
Applications for Graduate Study
Applications for the MA in Art History are considered on a rolling basis,
but students who would like to begin in the fall semester are
encouraged to submit complete applications by March 15 of that year;
those who would like to begin in the spring semester should submit
their applications by November 1 of the preceding year. Submission by
those dates will ensure maximum choice in course work. M.A. students
who wish to be considered for GTA-ships during the following academic
year must submit their applications by March 15. Art History Classification of Entering Students
Admission to the graduate program in art history requires a B.A. or
equivalent degree and sufficient undergraduate study in art history to provide
a sound foundation for advanced study. Ideally, this foundation would include a
solid grounding in the history of Western art, some study of non-Western art,
and sufficient advanced-level work to indicate that a student can succeed in
the specialized or topical courses and seminars associated with graduate study.
Admission review is done by a committee of the faculty.
The applicant should have, in addition to a good general education in the
humanities, 18 to 24 credit hours in art history with a grade-point average of
3.0 or better. Students with fewer hours and/or a restricted
exposure to other humanities and fine arts courses, or having inconsistent
grades, are eligible for admission to the graduate program on the basis of
recent evidence indicating the potential for success, such as performance in
UMKC 400-level courses, or through papers and exams for courses elsewhere. If
there are some deficiencies in preparation that can be met readily by one or
two undergraduate survey courses, a student will be admitted to graduate study.
However, the survey courses must be taken for undergraduate credit before the
student is allowed to take the qualifying examination that is required for
advancement to degree candidacy.
Applicants lacking the minimum preparation deemed
necessary for admission to
graduate-level study in art history may make up their deficiency
through
enrollment in selected undergraduate courses offered by the department.
These
will be determined after consultation with a faculty adviser and in all
cases
must include 400-level work. Progress will be reviewed at the end of
each term, and if warranted, reclassification to graduate status will
occur prior to the start of the next semester.
Requirements for Graduation
All degree candidates are required to take a minimum of 30 graduate credits, including ART 5501, Scope and Methods of Art History,and a maximum of 6 credit hours of ART 5599,
Research and Thesis. Other courses are determined in consultation with
the adviser and the supervising committee for the thesis. Special Requirements
Requirements for Retention
A student must maintain a graduate grade-point
average of 3.0. In
extenuating circumstances, a student may petition the Department of Art
and Art History to be continued as a graduate student for one term (or
6 hours) if the graduate GPA falls below 3.0. The deficiency must be
remedied during the approved probationary period if the student is to
be
continued.
Reading knowledge of French, German, or Italian for M.A. Students in Art History
M.A. students must acquire a reading
knowledge of one foreign language considered essential to advanced
study in art history before beginning the M.A. thesis. Students are
encouraged to acquire this skill as early as possible in their graduate
studies, so they may use it in graduate seminars and research papers.
This requirement is most often fulfilled by three semesters at the
college level, with a grade of B or better in the third semester.
Students who believe they have acquired a sufficient reading knowledge,
but have not completed three semesters of language training at the
college level, may petition the graduate adviser to take a reading exam
in that language. Normally, however, three semesters of college-level
study are necessary to achieve sufficient mastery.
The Thesis or Final Project in Art History
The
final requirement for the M.A. degree in Art History is the M.A.
thesis, which is normally begun two semesters before a
student completes the degree. The thesis is an approved project that demonstrates capacity for independent work of a suitably high level of proficiency,
one utilizing the primary sources available on the topic in English and
in the foreign language that meets the program requirement, as well as
the major relevant secondary sources . This project, selected in conjunction with the thesis adviser most often develops from a seminar paper, and its presentation must conform to the requirements of the School of Graduate Studies.
Graduate Credit
Instructor's approval for each course is required, and this is contingent
upon previous training.
Arts and Sciences, College of