Curatorial Track: MA in Art History with an Emphasis on Museums and Curatorial Practice

This track is designed primarily to provide students with a solid academic foundation on which to base a variety of careers in the museum, gallery, or cultural institutions.

This program of study offers a variety of opportunities for practical training in the art museum and gallery fields. Curatorial Track students receive hands-on experience in the required courses Art History 703 and 704 (Introduction to Art Museum Studies). The culmination of the Curatorial Track is an individual student-curated exhibition. 

General Guidelines

• Thesis Proposal Process
• Thesis Exhibition Format, Defense, Final Submission, Guidelines, and Best Practices
• Progress to Degree Worksheet

Graduate Grievance Procedures

Federal law and UWM policy require programs and departments to have procedures for graduate students to appeal academic decisions such as grades or scholastic standing. These procedures ensure the protection of students’ rights. These pages serve as a reference on procedures for graduate student academic appeals. 

• UWM Graduate School Academic Appeal Procedures

Requirements

Curatorial Track: MA in Art History with an Emphasis on Museums and Curatorial Practice

Minimum degree requirement is 30 graduate credits in Art History, of which a minimum of 27 credits must be 700- to 900-level courses, as follows:

¹

Must be taken in the student's first fall semester.

Of the total 30 credits,12 credits must be distributed across three of the following four areas: Ancient-Medieval; Early Modern; Modern (1850-the Present including Film); and non-Western. At least 9 of these credits must be taken in courses numbered 700 or above. 

Under special circumstances, 3 credits in 700- to 900-level work may be substituted for 3 of the 6 credits of thesis research. In addition, students may take a maximum of 3 credits of independent research (890, 891 and/or 999); however, these credits may not be taken in the first 6 credits of graduate work in the Department, and not until all deficiencies (if any) have been satisfied. Furthermore, they may not be counted toward the required 27 credits of 700- to 900-level courses. They will count, however, toward the overall number of credits needed to graduate. Upon petition to the graduate advisor, a student may be permitted to take up to 3 credits in appropriate areas outside Art History (e.g., anthropology, literature, history, music history, philosophy, film).

Exhibition

The student on this curatorial track must also organize an exhibition accompanied by a scholarly catalog on a subject selected in consultation with the advisor. This exhibition must demonstrate the student’s ability to organize material and their familiarity with relevant research methods and art historical literature. The exhibition is considered the equivalent of a formal thesis and the accompanying written work must be submitted to the Graduate School in appropriate format.