4 & 1 B.A./M.A. in Art History (four years for a B.A. plus one year of graduate
work culmination in a Master’s degree in Art History.
[UCI catalogue copy: The M.A. degree program in Art History is designed to provide
students with advanced skills and broad knowledge in the discipline of art history. The
faculty is particularly well equipped to guide students with special interests in American,
Asian, and European art history. This is a 4+1 M.A. Program for UCI undergraduates
majoring in Art History or other majors. Students can begin course work during the last
year of the B.A. and are required to take a total of nine courses, equivalent to 36 units
toward the M.A. Nine courses are required for the degree: two Art History Masters
Seminars (AH 298), Art History Theory and Methods (VS 290A), three Graduate
Seminars in Visual Studies taught by Art History faculty (AH 295), an additional elective
graduate seminar; and two quarters of Masters Thesis Research (AH 299). The Masters
Thesis is an approximately twenty-page work of independent research supervised by a
member of the faculty. Students wishing to participate in the program should apply either
in the spring quarter of their penultimate year, which would allow them to begin course
work toward the M.A. in their last undergraduate year, or in their final undergraduate
year. For more information, please visit: (add link to our website here)]
[Above paragraph will also appear on our website along with the following
information]
Application:
Only current UCI undergraduates can apply for admission. UCI Art History
majors and minors are automatically eligible to apply. Other UCI students may
apply as well if they have taken two upper division Art History courses.
Students must fulfill the School of Humanities foreign language requirement by
the time they complete the M.A. program: “two years of a single college-level
language other than English or equivalent. The final courses must be taken for a
letter grade and passed with a grade of C or better.” There is no language
requirement for application to the program. Students in majors in Schools that
have a one-year Langue Other Than English requirement must be prepared to
satisfy the two-year requirement as defined for the School of Humanities B.A.
Students wishing to participate in the program should apply either in the spring
quarter of their penultimate year or the fall of their final year, which would allow
them to begin course work toward the M.A. in their last undergraduate year. In
exceptional cases, applications may be submitted as late as spring of a student’s
final year. Full acceptance into the M.A. program will be contingent on the
successful completion of an undergraduate degree with a minimum
undergraduate GPA of 3.2 overall and in completed AH courses.
The following will be required in order to apply for the program:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
An official transcript
A completed graduate application
A statement of purpose (1-2 pages)
An academic writing sample (5-10 pages)
One letter of recommendation from a faculty member in Art History or
related field of study
Prospective students should contact either the Chair of Art History or the
undergraduate advisors. The Chair and undergraduate advisors will review the
applications and make recommendations to the faculty for admissions to the
program.
For procedural questions, please contact staff member, Clara Quijano.
Requirements:
The proposed program of study meets the ASM requirements for a Plan I MA
(with thesis). All students in the program are requirement to take a minimum of
nine courses, equivalent of 36 units.
1. Two AH 298 seminars, typically taken Senior year. Participation in AH
198 with significant additional graduate level work. In order to count
toward the M.A., Masters Seminars (AH298) taken in the last year of the
undergraduate study must be in excess of both the unit and the major
requirements for the Bachelor’s degree. Credit for these seminars would
be transferred upon matriculation into the Master’s program.
2. Three Graduate Seminars in Visual Studies (VS 295) taught by Art History
faculty. VS295 is a topics varies course and students will be required to
complete VS295 in three separate topics.
3. One Graduate level elective. This can be a VS295 seminar, a AH298, or a
graduate level class in another department.
4. VS290A Visual Studies Art History Theories and Methods seminar. This is
a foundational graduate methods course to be taken in the fall of the M.A.
year.
5. Two quarters of Masters Thesis Research (AH299), taken during the
winter and spring quarters of the M.A. year, under the supervision of a
member of the Art History faculty. This is for the purpose of writing a
master’s thesis of approximately twenty pages.
The normative schedule of course work required for the 4 & 1 M.A. will be
completed in the fourth year of undergraduate study and the fifth year of
graduate study. Maximum time to degree is two years after the bachelor’s
degree.