IX. Graduate Programs
Art History and Visual Culture
MA Program
The MA in Art History and Visual Culture examines the production and consumption of images, objects, and spaces from varied cultures. It challenges many ideas about cognition and perception, and includes the study of the ocular. Because the visual is crucial to our understandings of cultural difference, Art History and Visual Culture Studies is vitally concerned with the manner in which the interdependent elements of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class construct identity. It demands that we think across cultures and national boundaries, and within a global context. Intercultural visual analysis necessarily questions conceptions of "high" and "low" culture and requires that we substantially change the ways in which we practice the discipline of Art History.
Towards this end, the objectives of the MA program are:
-
To enable students to gain a command of visual literacy through global and critical understandings of art and its cultures and histories;
-
To combine art historical methodology and visual and material culture perspectives in the study of objects—both past and present;
-
To explore critically the assumptions underpinning writing about art history and visual culture.
Admission Requirements
Admission to the MA program in Art History and Visual Culture may be granted on the recommendation of the School of Fine Art and Music to:
-
the holder of a BA degree (honours equivalent), or an honours BA (or its equivalent in art history) with a minimum of a 75% average; or
-
in exceptional cases, the holder of a degree in another field who has completed a minimum of six one-semester courses in art history; or
-
a student who has satisfied the requirements for transfer from the provisional-student category.
It is highly recommended that applicants complete at least eight semesters of courses in art history, cultural studies, or related areas prior to applying. Serious interest in, and substantial familiarity with, historical and contemporary issues in Art History and Visual Culture is expected.
Degree Requirements
MA by Course-Work and Major Paper
In the course-work and major research paper option students must complete the three (3) core courses, three (3) electives and a course-based major research paper (MRP) of 10,000-15,000 words.
Core Courses:
| AVC*6100 | [0.50] | Proseminar: Critical Methods I |
| AVC*6200 | [0.50] | Proseminar: Critical Methods II |
| AVC*6300 | [0.50] | Special Topics in Art History and Visual Culture |
Two (2) of the electives must be selected from the following list of courses. The third elective may also be from this list, or it may be an approved course from another College of Arts program. The courses selected must be acceptable to the school and the Board of Graduate Studies for graduate credit. Students must obtain an overall average grade of at least 'B-' standing.
| AVC*6350 | [0.50] | Practicum I: Art Institutions |
| AVC*6400 | [0.50] | Practicum II: Art Institutions |
| AVC*6600 | [0.50] | Graduate Seminar I in Art History and Visual Culture |
| AVC*6700 | [0.50] | Graduate Seminar II in Art History and Visual Culture |
Students must complete a Major Research Paper (MRP) of 10,000-15,000 words). Students register for the following:
| AVC*6800 | [1.00] | Art History and Visual Culture Major Research Paper |
MA By Thesis
In the thesis option, students must complete two (2) core courses, two (2) electives and a thesis.
Core Courses:
| AVC*6100 | [0.50] | Proseminar: Critical Methods I |
| AVC*6200 | [0.50] | Proseminar: Critical Methods II |
Electives:
| AVC*6300 | [0.50] | Special Topics in Art History and Visual Culture |
| AVC*6350 | [0.50] | Practicum I: Art Institutions |
| AVC*6400 | [0.50] | Practicum II: Art Institutions |
| AVC*6500 | [0.50] | Directed Reading |
| AVC*6600 | [0.50] | Graduate Seminar I in Art History and Visual Culture |
| AVC*6700 | [0.50] | Graduate Seminar II in Art History and Visual Culture |
One elective may be an approved course from another College of Arts program. The courses selected must be acceptable to the school and the Board of Graduate Studies for graduate credit. Students must obtain an overall average grade of at least 'B-' standing.
Thesis
Students will also complete a thesis, consisting of an extensive piece of research of 30,000-35,000 words, a public colloquium, and an oral examination. The thesis topic is subject to the approval of the MA Examination Committee, which includes an examiner from the profession. The thesis is a project of publishable quality. In essay form, it discusses the critical, historical, and theoretical aspects of the student's subject of research. Students are expected to present and defend their work orally in a manner appropriate to a professional art historian's public presentation.