School of Art and Art History | Graduate Bulletins

MA Program in Art History 2007/2008

The School of Art and Art History offers two MA degrees: (1) art history and (2) art history with a museum studies concentration. This is a small program of about 30 students that emphasizes a close student-faculty collegial atmosphere. The art history program offers courses in most areas of world art, with special emphasis on Asian art, Precolumbian art, and on European and American art from the Middle Ages to the present. In addition to our own Victoria H. Myhren Gallery, our partnership with the Denver Art Museum provides additional opportunities for internships and museum and exhibition-based courses.

Our graduates land sought-after positions. Some go on to doctoral studies in the United States or overseas; others hold respected jobs at distinguished art museums. Still others take the road less traveled, entering careers in the diplomatic service, marketing or management positions with art-related nonprofit organizations.

At the School of Art and Art History we offer many advantages, including:
• small classes and personal attention
• in-depth training in art history and research methods
• an on-site art gallery
• practical museum training
• museum internships in local and national institutions
• world travel opportunities
• a strong alumni network

School of Art and Art History
Shwayder Art Building
2121 E. Asbury Ave.
Denver, CO 80208
303-871-2846, 800-876-3323
www.du.edu/art

Application Requirements and Deadlines

Program	Degrees Offered	Number of Credits	Full Time/Part Time	Tests Required—Min. Scores
Art History	MA	60	FT/PT	GRE—Varies
Art History with Museum Studies	MA	60	FT/PT	TOEFL – 550 (paper-based) or 213 (computer-based) or 80 (internet-based)

Additional Requirements:

MA applicants must submit a recent research paper.

Areas of Concentration:

Museum Studies

Application Deadlines:

The financial aid application deadline is March 1 for full consideration for aid. Applications are accepted throughout the year and are reviewed as they are received. MA applicants may begin any quarter; most applications are accepted for fall quarter.

Prerequisite courses/degrees:

A baccalaureate degree, with a major in any area of arts or humanities, and appropriate levels of undergraduate art history and studio course work are required. The minimum recommendation is two studio art classes and four to five art history classes, including a complete survey of Western art and at least one upper-division course for which a research paper was written. Some study of non-Western art is encouraged. A minimum of one year of college-level foreign language study is expected. Two years of college-level foreign language study is preferred.

Admission Forms

• Financial Aid

International applicants

For complete international applicant information, please visit the Office of International Admission site.

DU offers extensive support for international students seeking to learn English or improve their English language skills. Visit the English Language Center’s Web site for more information.

Graduate Record Exam (GRE)

Applicants must request that Educational Testing Services forward results to the University of Denver, Office of Graduate Admission. The institution code for the University of Denver is R4842. For information concerning GRE registration please visit www.gre.org or contact:

Graduate Record Examination
Educational Testing Service
P. O. Box 6000
Princeton, NJ 08541-6000
609-771-7670

Applicants should take the entrance exam well in advance of their intended application date. Please allow at least 14 business days for your general test scores and six weeks for your subject test scores to be received. Several departments and schools will not process applications until scores have been received. Entrance exam scores older than five years from the date of the application may not be acceptable for admission. Contact the department for specific requirements.

Application fees

A $60 application fee is required. This is a nonrefundable application fee, (bank draft or personal check) drawn on a U.S. bank,that covers the cost of processing application materials. A credit card payment is acceptable for online applications only. Applications will not be processed until this fee is paid. No waivers or deferrals are allowed.

Transcripts

Applicants are required to submit two official transcripts from each postsec¬ondary institution they have attended, or are presently attending, where 2 quarter hours (or 1 semester hour) or more, were completed. The University is not responsible for obtaining an applicant’s transcripts, including any re¬cord of work completed at the University of Denver. Applicants must also account for any study undertaken outside the United States.

An official transcript must include the original signature of the registrar and/or the seal of the issuing institution, and must be enclosed in an envelope with the stamp or signature of the registrar across the sealed flap. Proof of a bachelor’s, and if applicable, a master’s degree is required from a regionally accredited college or university. Requested transcripts should be mailed to the applicant and submitted to the University of Denver with supplemental admission materials. Please do not request transcripts to be mailed directly to the University of Denver from other institutions.

All credentials submitted become property of the University of Denver and cannot be copied or returned to the student or any person(s).

Letters of recommendation

Three (3) letters of recommendation are required. All recommendations are to be included with application materials.

Essay (Letter of Intent)

Please provide a personal statement including relevant information concerning your education, practical experience, special interests, goals and specific purpose in applying to the MA program in art history or art history with museum studies.

Mailing address

Mail all supplemental admission materials, including official transcripts, in one package to:

University of Denver
Office of Graduate Admission
University Hall, Room 216
2197 S. University Blvd.
Denver, CO 80208

Scholarship and Financial Aid

Students interested in knowing more about financial aid should refer to graduate program financial aid at www.du.edu/gradfund/grants.html. The deadline to apply for financial aid is March 1.

The School of Art and Art History has a variety of financial aid options. Interested students should complete the school's financial aid form.

Master of Arts in Art History

Degree Requirements

(60 quarter hours)

Art History Courses—40 hours
Art History Seminars—10 Hours
ARTH 4301 Seminar in Art History Methods—5 hours
ARTH 4302 Research Practicum—5 hours
Total—60 hours

Qualifying Examiniation

A qualifying examination is used by the art history faculty to determine the newly admitted student's strengths and weaknesses and to facilitate program planning. The exam is normally taken on the Friday before the first week of classes.

Language Requirement

Demonstration of reading proficiency in one modern foreign language is required for all MA candidates. An exam is offered each quarter by the Department of Languages and Literatures, or the student may take the fourth semester (or sixth quarter) of a college language course and receive a B+ or better to demonstrate reading proficiency. A language should be chosen, in consultation with the graduate advisor, that supports the student's research interests and career plans, keeping in mind that some Ph.D. programs still require French and German. This requirement must be met before the student advances to candidacy.

Comprehensive Examinination

The comprehensive examination is designed to evaluate the student's retention and synthesis of art history course work taken at the University of Denver. Students are encouraged to take the test as soon as possible after the final quarter in which they are enrolled in course work. Planning for this examination is done with the supervision of the graduate advisor.

Master's Research Paper

MA degree students are required to write a research paper of publishable quality. Although work on the thesis should not begin prior to passing the comprehensive examination, students often choose subjects on which they have already conducted some research during prior seminars or lecture classes. Guidelines should be obtained from both the graduate studies office and the School of Art and Art History.

Master of Arts in Art History with Museum Studies

Degree Requirements

(60 quarter hours)

Art History Courses—20 hours
Art History Seminars—10 hours
ARTH 4301 Seminar in Art History Methods—5 hours
ARTH 4302 Research Practicum—5 hours
Museum Studies Credits—choose four classes for 20 hours
ARTH 4651 Museum Methods and Principles—5 hours (required)
ARTH 4652 Museum Internship—4-5 hours
ARTH 3838 Connoisseurship—4 hours
ARTH 3872 Introduction to Conservation—4 hours
ARTH 4650 Museum Techniques—4 hours
Total—60 hours

Qualifying Examination

Language Requirement

Comprehensive Examination

Master's Research Paper

Course Descriptions

ARTH 3701 Special Topics

Selected themes and topics from the history of art. Content changes. Course may be taken more than once. Recommended prerequisite: appropriate survey courses.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3811 Colonial American Art

This course examines the art and architecture of European and African peoples in North America, from exploration to 1820. It studies the emergence of tentative national art forms from multiple artistic and cultural traditions.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3814 Medieval Art

Content of this course changes and may focus on any aspect of art produced in western Europe and the eastern Mediterranean from the 4th to the 14th centuries, including paintings, manuscript illumination, stained glass, sculpture, and architecture.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3817 Gothic Art

This course examines the art of the late Middle Ages in Europe, from roughly 1140 to 1400. It surveys the rise, diffusion and function of Gothic art. Architecture, sculpture, painting, stained glass and the sumptuous arts (metal, textiles) are examined within their broader social, political and religious contexts.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3818 Art of Renaissance Europe

Content of this course varies and may consider any aspect of European art of the 14th through 16th centuries. Content changes to focus on Italy, or Northern Europe, or to survey the entire period.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3823 Arts of 17th Century Europe

This course considers European arts of the 17th century. It may focus on Italy or Northern Europe, or both.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3832 19th Century Art

This course is a survey of 19th century European art movements, including among others: neo-classicism, romanticism, impressionism and art nouveau in the context of the social, political, cultural milieu.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3833 20th Century Art

This class considers the development of 20th century art, first primarily in Europe and then in the United States as the center of the avant-garde shifts to America around World War II. The class follows the development of modernism and its theories from 1900 to around 1965.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3834 Contemporary Art

This course covers very recent developments in western art in a wide range of media. Contemporary postmodern theory and criticism are discussed.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3838 Connoisseurship

In this class the historical roots, theoretical and philosophical underpinnings, and actual practice of connoisseurship are studied using objects from the Denver Art Museum’s collection.
4 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3839 Topics in Modern Art

Selected themes and topics from 18th century to present. Topics change; course may be taken more than once.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3841 Topics in Chinese Art

Selected themes and topics in Chinese art. Topics change; course may be taken more than once.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3842 Topics in Japanese Art

Selected themes and topics in Japanese art. Topics change; course may be taken more than once.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3844 Art of Southeast Asia

This is a study, from early historical times, of art in Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia, where Buddhist and Hindu art flourished and had lasting influence.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3846 Dada and Surrealism

This class traces the development of Dada and Surrealist art in Europe from 1914 through 1939, exploring artists’ interests in Freudian psychoanalysis, dreams, sexuality and automatic methods of creativity.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3865 Precolumbian Art

This survey of arts produced in the Americas before European contact focuses on Mexico and South America. Graduate standing required.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3867 Native American Art

This course is designed as an introduction to the art and architecture of the native peoples of North America from the earliest signs of humans in North America to the present. Cultures covered include those from the Southwest, the Northwest, the Southeast Ceremonial Complex, the Plains, and Contemporary Native American artists. By the conclusion of the class, students will understand the cultural sequence and geographic dispersion of native North America. Students will also understand how the various civilizations of North America shared aspects of world-view, cosmology, and daily life, and be able to identify and discuss how these elements manifested in the art and architecture of native North American cultures. Graduate standing required.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3871 Women in Art

This course examines women as creators, patrons and subjects of western art. Particular attention is paid to issues of class and race as they have affected roles of women in art, and to the construction of models of femininity through the visual arts.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3872 Introduction to Conservation

This course familiarizes the student with the concepts and theories of conservation, its role in museums, and the care of collections, with specific emphasis on the materials, deterioration and preservation of material culture.
4 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3873 The Goddess in Art

Explores the goddess and her many guises from prehistory to the present day. Sacred images of women drawn from archaic and classical mythology, biblical, and Christian sources analyzed from feminist perspective.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3875 History of Collections

This course traced the history of collections from the Renaissance to the present, addressing the interconnections between artists, patrons, dealers, art markets, provenance, connoisseurship, and the historical development of museums and private collections. Each week’s readings of journal articles and chapters focuses on different types of collections or themes, including royal and imperial collections, cabinets of curiosities, excavating and transporting antiquities, British country estates and the Grand Tour, the establishment of national museums, the relationship between American collectors and dealers, ethnographic objects in Western collections, Nazi looting, restorers and forgers, and artists’ collections, to name a few. Senior Art History majors with the proper background may be admitted to the class with the permission of the instructor.

5 qtr. hrs.

Graduate Seminars:

ARTH 4301 Seminar in Art History Methods

This course introduces various investigative and interpretative methods used by art historians; required of all MA candidates.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 4302 Research Practicum

The primary goal is to learn methods and resources for doing research in subject areas where there is little or no published research. Topics change. Students do original research.
5 qtr. hrs