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Master's in Art History

This two-year program consists of academic coursework, independent research and supervised curatorial projects. Students are encouraged to participate in co-curricular workshops, conferences, internships and travel programs. Our graduate program offers significant historical and geographical breadth, with courses that explore Northern and Southern Europe, the United States, East Asia, Latin America and the Islamic world. Art History at OSU differs from most traditional art history programs by emphasizing circuits of exchange and intercultural networks. Faculty consider broad themes such as gender, globalization, transnationalism, propaganda and modernity from a wide range of theoretical and historical perspectives. 
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Curriculum

Thesis option - 30 credit hours total
Non-thesis option - 36 credit hours total

 

Graduate courses include:

  • The Art of the Crusades: Multiculturalism in the Medieval World
  • Art East and West: Perceptions, Biases and Borrowings
  • The American Southwest
  • Art of Conversion: Sixteenth-Century Art and Architecture in the New World
  • Contemporary East Asian Art
  • Gender and Visual Culture
  • Islamic Art and Architecture
  • The Frontier and American Visual Culture

EXPLORE THE WORLD

Through courses on the history of Northern and Southern Europe, the United States, East Asia, Latin America and Islam.

 

Research and Faculty

OSU's art history faculty are scholars who are actively conducting research and publishing at the forefront of their fields. The seven full-time faculty members received doctoral degrees from the country's top art history programs, including Stanford, Northwestern, the University of Chicago and Rutgers.

 

Faculty research encompasses a broad historical and geographic range, from medieval Europe to modern China. We approach these diverse historical periods from a variety of theoretical perspectives, including feminism and queer theory, visual cultures of colonialism and transnationalism, histories of race and ethnicity, and material culture and phenomenology.

 

Faculty members organize field trips and study abroad sessions, supervise curatorial experiences and research assistantships, and provide one-on-one mentoring and career guidance to graduate students in the program.

 

 Department Facilities

 

Additional Highlights

Some of our recent graduates have chosen to pursue their doctoral degrees, while others have gone on to work at museums and art coalitions in curator, events, education, communications and directorial capacities and at universities as associate professors.

 

Admissions Requirements

Five undergraduate courses in art history
Foreign language experience recommended
Statement of purpose
Three letters of recommendation
Writing sample

 

Test Scores:

  • GRE not required
  • TOEFL score of 550 required for international applicants who aren't native English speakers

Application Deadline:

February 15

 

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Cost & Assistance

We are proud to fund the majority of students enrolled in the M.A. program. Several graduate teaching assistantships (GTA) and research assistantships (GRA) are available, which award tuition waivers, stipends and health insurance.

 

Assistantships and Scholarships

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