Master of Arts in Modern Art History, Theory, and Criticism (MAAH)

Office: 112 South Michigan Avenue, 6th floor
312.345-3788 / 312.345-3786

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago has long been distinguished by its extensive and innovative curriculum in modern art history. The Master of Arts in Modern Art History, Theory, and Criticism program draws on the institution’s setting in Chicago, with its wealth of historic architecture, public sculpture, numerous museums, and active gallery scene — including many alternative spaces and performance venues, libraries, and cultural facilities. All of this is in addition to the resources of the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the world’s great museums.

This master’s program is the most extensive of its kind in a professional art school in this country. It was introduced in the mid–1980s to provide concentrated study in the visual arts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in a multicultural and interdisciplinary context. The curriculum allows for an expansive and diverse view of historical, theoretical, and critical issues relating to the fine arts and popular culture of the modern era. The variety of courses offered is exceptional and includes traditional chronological or period art history courses; the history of most media taught at the School, from printmaking to performance; courses organized by theme (e.g., Narrative Art, Concepts of Realism, Art and Politics, Myth and Symbol in Asian art, Terrorism: a Media History, The Road Movie in American Cinema, and Lust and Aggression in Contemporary Art); courses in theory and criticism of art (e.g., theories of perception, Marxism and art, feminism and film, and poststructuralist criticism); and practicum courses (e.g., curatorial practice and art historical research and writing).

Diversity in teaching styles and formats — such as team–taught courses, frequent lectures by visiting artists and scholars, and foreign study trips — is encouraged. The degree prepares graduates for doctoral work or careers in research, writing, and curating in museums, art centers, and galleries; graduates have also found positions with archives and journals. Application for admission to the Master of Arts in Modern Art History, Theory, and Criticism program is open to students with a BA, BS, or BFA degree from an accredited institution. Each applicant must have 18 previous credit hours of art history courses: 12 of those credit hours must be completed prior to application to the program, while the remaining six hours can be completed in addition to the required courses at the School once the candidate has been accepted to the program. A reading knowledge of any foreign language necessary for research is expected.

See admissions and services for further details.

Facilities and resources include:

300,000 art slides in the MacLean Visual Resource Center; The Gene Siskel Film Center of the Art Institute; Video Data Bank; the Artists’ Book Collection of the School’s Flaxman Library; access to the Art Institute museum’s Ryerson and Burnham Libraries: 216,000 volumes, 2,225 periodical series, 65,000 exhibition catalogs, Percier and Fontaine Collection of seventeenth– and nineteenth–century architectural books, Mary Reynolds Collection of Dada and Surrealism, Ernest Hamil Collection of Russian art books, George F. Collins Archive of Catalan Art and Architecture.

Master of Arts in Modern Art History, Theory, and Criticism Curriculum Requirements

Area	Credit Hours
History of Art History or History of Art Criticism	3
Current Writing in Art History or Current Writing in Art Criticism	3
19th- and 20th-century art history courses (3000-6000 level*)	18
Art history graduate seminars	6
Thesis I	3
Thesis II	3
Completion of the thesis
Total Credit Hours	36

* May include up to 6 hours of graduate academic cognate courses, subject to approval of program director.

1. Of the elective courses and seminars, one elective must be nineteenth century and one early twentieth century.

2. The program requires 36 credit hours; courses are subject to approval by the art history graduate program director.

3. Students have a maximum of five years to complete the degree (this includes time off for leaves-of-absence).

4. A minimum of 30 credit hours must be completed in residence at the School. Up to 6 transfer credits may be requested at the time of application for admission and are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credit will be permitted after a student is admitted.

5. Full-Time Status Minimum Requirement: 9 credit hours.