Program Overview

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Art History and Museum Studies

Overview

The MA in Art History and Museum Studies provides advanced qualifications in art history and a broad introduction to museum work. As a student in the program, you'll take courses in art history and museum studies simultaneously. Our small program size ensures that you'll receive dedicated attention from our expert faculty and get to know your cohort.

Program Outcomes

Our two-year master's program in Art History and Museum Studies integrates the theoretical study of art history with practical concerns of displaying, managing, and interpreting art objects in a variety of museum settings. With the consultation of a faculty advisor, you'll complete independent research and either a thesis or two qualifying papers.

After completing the degree, you will be well prepared for careers in museums, art galleries, art publishing, museum education, teaching, art libraries, visual resource collection, or auction houses. Some of our students go on to pursue a PhD degree and teach at the university level.

Application Requirements

• Application fee
• Resume/CV
• Personal statement
• Official TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test scores, if applicable
• Transcripts
• Three letters of recommendation
• Writing sample: The ideal writing sample should best reflect your art historical research and writing skills, as well as your engagement with primary and secondary sources. The paper should be well written, the argument clearly presented, and the research properly cited using the Chicago Manual of Style. The ideal length is approximately 15-20 double-spaced pages, exclusive of figures and bibliography.

Prerequisites

Reading knowledge of a foreign language.

Tuition and Financial Aid

See Tuition and Financial Aid information for GSAS Programs. Note: This program is eligible for federal loans and Tufts tuition scholarships.

Boston as an Extension of the Classroom

The metropolitan Boston area, and Tufts in particular, is also an ideal location to explore art history and museum studies. Instructors take advantage of Tufts' affiliation with Boston's renowned Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as well as other area museums to bring learning outside of classrooms.

Career Outcomes

Average Salary: $50K - $100K Average Age: 27

Faculty

Alice Sullivan

Assistant Professor, History of Art and Architecture Research/Areas of Interest: Medieval art, architecture, and visual culture in Europe and the Byzantine-Slavic cultural spheres; image theory; historiography; patronage; monasticism; cross-cultural interactions

Kate Franklin

Arthur H. Dadian and Ara Oztemel Associate Professor, History of Art and Architecture Research/Areas of Interest: imagined landscape, materiality, space and the body in the middle ages, especially within the art and archaeology of medieval Armenia; ideas of nature, ruination, and temporality; gender, corporeality, and hybridity/monstrosity; materiality, relics, and vibrancy; medieval material history and its re/construction and re/creation in the modern period: nineteenth century travelers and post/Soviet nation-making in Armenia

Diana Martinez

Associate Professor, History of Art and Architecture Research/Areas of Interest: American architecture history, global architecture history, post-colonial studies, materiality

Andrew McClellan

Professor, History of Art and Architecture Research/Areas of Interest: History of museums, exhibitions, and collecting; history of art history; Early Modern European art and theory

Matthew Okazaki

Professor of the Practice, History of Art and Architecture

Peter Probst

Professor, History of Art and Architecture Research/Areas of Interest: African Arts, Art history and Anthropology, Museum and Heritage Studies, History of Fields and Ideas

Cynthia Robinson

Associate Teaching Professor, Museum Studies

Eric Rosenberg

Associate Professor, History of Art and Architecture Research/Areas of Interest: American Art, Modern and Contemporary Art, and Theories and Methods

Miriam Said

Assistant Professor, History of Art and Architecture Research/Areas of Interest: Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean art and architecture, especially in the 1st millennium BCE; materiality studies; ancient magic and religion; reception and museum histories.

Jacob Stewart-Halevy

Associate Professor, History of Art and Architecture

Malcolm Turvey

Sol Gittleman Professor and Director of Film and Media Studies, History of Art and Architecture Research/Areas of Interest: film theory, philosophy and aesthetics of film, avant-garde film, film and modernism

Adriana Zavala

Professor and Department Chair of History of Art and Architecture Research/Areas of Interest: Modern and Contemporary U.S. Latinx and Mexican art; Latin American art; Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora

Related Programs

• Museum Studies
  • Certificate
  • 1-2 years
  • Part-time (Daytime)
  • On-campus
  • 15 credits
  • Application deadlines: Fall - May 15
• Art History
  • Master's
  • 2 years
  • Full-time, Part-time (Daytime)
  • On-campus
  • 30 credits
  • Application deadlines: Fall - Jan 15
• History and Museum Studies
  • Master's
  • 2 years
  • Full-time, Part-time (Daytime)
  • On-campus
  • 33-34 credits
  • Application deadlines: Fall - Jan 15
• Museum Education
  • Master's
  • 2 years (full-time)/2-3 years (part-time)
  • Full-time, Part-time (Evenings)
  • On-campus
  • 33 credits
  • Application deadlines: Fall - Jan 15

Program Details

• School/Department: History of Art and Architecture
• Program Director: Alice Sullivan
• Format: On-campus
• Commitment Options: Full-time, Part-time (Daytime)
• Average Duration: 2 years
• Credits: 39
• Tuition per Credit: $1699
• Eligible for Aid/Scholarship: Yes

Application Deadlines

• Fall: Jan 15
• Spring: n/a
• Summer: n/a