Art History/Art History for Museum Professionals 4+1 (BA/MA)

Admission Requirements:

Applicants to the 4+1 MA in Art History for Museum Professionals must be at least in their junior year of study at the University of Delaware, enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History, and should have an overall undergraduate Grade Point Average of 3.0 or better for at least 60 credits, and an undergraduate average of 3.25 or better in at least four Art History courses. In addition, applicants should have taken or be enrolled in ARTH301.

Students are admitted to the graduate program in Art History on the basis of consideration of a combination of all of the following materials: a writing sample; a personal statement outlining their goals and objectives for pursuing this program; three letters of recommendation (of which at least one must come from a professor in the Department of Art History); and undergraduate transcripts. Candidates may be interviewed by one or more members of the graduate admission committee before a final decision on the applicant’s portfolio is made.

Admission is selective and competitive, and on rolling basis without a fixed deadline. However, no application will be considered after November 1st of the senior year, and usually not later than June 1st after completion of the junior year. Those who meet stated academic requirements are not guaranteed admission nor are those who fail to meet those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths.

Program Requirements:

33 credits are required for the MA in Art History for Museum Professionals. Students must take a minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate coursework, of which 21 credit hours must be Art History seminars, following the same course distribution requirements of the MA in Art History. In addition, students must take 9 credit hours of Museum Studies courses, including MSST600 and at least one more core course. Completion of a Master’s Paper (3 credits) is optional; if completed, these 3 credits apply towards the 21 credits of Art History graduate coursework. An additional 3-credit internship (ARTH663) is usually completed after the end of the senior year.

Students in this 4+1 program take their 400-level seminar for the Art History major as a 600-level course, which simultaneously count towards the BA and the MA programs. At least one more 600-level ARTH seminar must be taken in the senior year, as well as two Museum Studies graduate courses (at least one of them must be a core course). These two MSST courses count towards the BA overall credits and, if appropriate, towards the Art History related work requirements for the Bachelor’s program. The minimum grade for dual-counted courses is B+. Art History majors seeking a minor in Museum Studies should take their MSST graduate credits for the 4+1 MA program in addition to those counting for the minor.