School of Art
Master of Arts
Art History
Master of Arts in Art History
Our two-year MA in Art History offers an intimate learning environment with diverse resources and dedicated faculty working closely with students. You will be part of a vibrant artistic community that fosters collaboration and interdisciplinary innovation, while gaining the critical and theoretical tools for work in a variety of fields.
We strike a balance between traditional art history re-envisioned from a global perspective, and ground-breaking areas of research, including decolonial and global approaches to premodern and early modern European art and Southeast Asian art; Indigenous arts in ancestral and contemporary worlds; a unique specialization in animation history; and intersections new media theory with Modern and Contemporary art.
Research Resources
Start your career with inspiration amidst our dynamic arts community in the ancient Llano Estacado. Our location at the hub of major art centers in Santa Fe, Marfa, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio provides access to museums, internships, field trips, and cultural encounters. Proximity to significant Native art in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico contribute to our strengths in Indigenous art of the Americas and Borderland cultures. We also offer support for travel to professional conferences and opportunities for study and research abroad.
Texas Tech University hosts many special collections and archives for research in art history. Our Special Collections Library includes a Rare Book collection with Mesoamerican and European Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and facsimiles. The Texas Tech University Museum contains an art collection and houses our Artists Printmaker/Photographer Research Collection.
Admissions
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APPLICATION PROCESS & DEADLINES
Application to the MA in Art History program is through the Graduate School. For the application, we require:
- College transcript(s)
- GRE scores have been waived for entering applicants
- Writing sample (at least 1000 words; typically this is a long, scholarly, BA art history paper)
- Statement of intent for the program (be sure to have a clear statement of your MA project, and the name(s) of the professor(s) you’d like to work with)
- 3 letters of recommendation
All components of the application must be complete by the following dates:
For first priority consideration for financial support, including Teaching Assistantships: January 15 for entry in Fall semester. Students may apply by October 15 for entry in Spring semester, but there is less of a possibility for receiving financial support. As applications are competitive, we encourage you to apply by the above dates.
For second priority consideration for financial support, including Teaching Assistantships, or if you do not need financial assistance, feel free to apply after the above dates. We typically stop considering applications up to about a month before the semester begins.
Please contact the Interim MA Art History coordinator, Dr. Theresa Flanigan, for all questions regarding application.
ADMISSION STANDARDS
An undergraduate degree in Art History is not required for admission to the MA program, but all applicants are strongly encouraged to have a minimum of 21 hours of undergraduate coursework in Art History or a closely related area. If you do not have these 21 hours in art history, you may take undergraduate or graduate art history courses at any accredited university before entering the program, or you may take up to 9 of these hours as "leveling" courses at TTU. (These leveling courses do not count towards your MA degree).
Alternatively, students whose undergraduate degree is not in Art History or a closely related area, may complete the Graduate Certificate in Art History, Criticism, and Theory (GCAHCT) at TTU. The GCAHCT requires 6 hours of undergraduate Art History for admission. Students must complete 15 hours of graduate-level Art History to receive the GCAHCT. The GCAHCT is only available to students already enrolled in a graduate program at TTU. For more information, check GCAHCT.
Admissions decisions are based on a holistic consideration of the application components listed under the "Application Process" menu above.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
- Your application to the MA program will automatically be considered for fellowships and scholarships administered through the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts (TCVPA) and/or the School of Art. Upon reviewing applications sent by the January 15 deadline, the faculty will rank applicants for various fellowships and scholarships. Students must be enrolled full-time (at least 9 hours per semester) to be eligible for one of these awards.
- Graduate students will automatically be considered for employment as Teaching Assistants (TAs). The School of Art awards several assistantships per year on a competitive basis. Half-time TA appointments provide waivers for certain fees and sometimes for out-of-state tuition. Students must be enrolled full-time (at least 9 hours per semester) to be eligible for a TA appointment.
TUITION ESTIMATOR
curriculum
AREAS OF STUDY
The MA in Art History involves a minimum of 30 hours of post-baccalaureate study. This includes two required art-historical methodology and theory courses (ARTH 5308 and 5309), 12 hours of graduate seminars in topics that allow breadth and focus, 6 hours of thesis coursework (ARTH 6000a & 6000b), and 6 hours of supporting coursework (the minor). Additionally, reading knowledge of at least one foreign language is required.
TYPICAL PLANS OF STUDY
A. With Foreign Language study:
Year 1 Fall |
Year 1 Spring |
Year 1 Summer |
Year 2 Fall |
Year 2 Spring |
|
ARTH 5308 (3) |
ARTH 5309 (3) |
Develop thesis proposal; |
ARTH 6000a - thesis proposal and research) |
ARTH 6000b |
B. When the Foreign Language requirement is completed prior to admission:
|
Year 1 |
Year 1 |
Year 1 Summer |
Year 2 |
Year 2 |
|
ARTH 5308; |
ARTH 5309; |
Develop thesis |
ARTH 6000a |
ARTH 6000b |
FURTHER OPPORTUNITIES
The TTU Art History area encourages summer internships and has established relations with several museums and galleries in the region, including Museum of the Southwest, Midland; the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, and the Dallas Museum of Art. Our students have also worked on projects with the Charles Adams Studio Project, the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, and the Museum of Texas Tech University, all in Lubbock. MA students are encouraged to take advantage of Study Abroad programs during the summer months, especially so that they may become familiar with works of art or pursue archival research relevant to their thesis topic. Texas Tech has campuses in Seville, Spain and San Jose, Costa Rica where students can take intensive language courses in addition to other courses relevant to their thesis topic. Accredited Art History courses are offered through many programs in Barcelona, Florence, Lima, London, Rome, Seoul, Tokyo, several cities in Mexico, and around the world, administered through TTU’s International Cultural Center. Credit for Study Abroad courses in Art History must be approved by the Art History faculty.
MA IN ART HISTORY MINOR
For the six-hour MA in Art History minor, students may choose any field of study beyond art history. Literature, history, museum studies, an additional foreign language, and courses in contemporary theory are typical choices. The courses taken for the minor (six hours) may be applied toward other programs at Texas Tech. For example, students may obtain a nine-hour Minor in Museum Studies from the Museum Science program (available courses include Museology, Museum Administration, Museum Collection Management, Museum Law, Ethics and Standards; Museum Interpretation and Communication, Museum Preventive Conservation, Museum Education, and Museum Collections Documentation).
Students may also apply their six-hour minor to several Graduate Certificates (typically 15-18 hours) at Texas Tech, including Historic Preservation, Publishing and Editing, Urban and Community Design, Women's Studies, and the Graduate Certificate in Medieval and Renaissance Studies
MASTER OF ARTS HANDBOOK
ONLINE CATALOG INFORMATION
Questions?
Contact the Coordinator
Theresa Flanigan, Ph.D.
MA Art History Coordinator
& Assistant Professor
Master of Arts in Art History Faculty
The four art historians at TTU have distinguished records of publication and/or curatorial experience. Collectively, they have held research fellowships at the Center for 17th and 18th-Century Studies (UCLA, Los Angeles, CA), the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (Washington, DC), the Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa, Italy), the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC), the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville, AR), and the School for Advanced Research (Santa Fe, NM). They have had curatorial experience at the National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC), and the Museum of Bellas Artes (Argentina).
School of Art
-
Address
3010 18th Street | Box 42081, Lubbock, Texas 79409 -
Phone
806.742.3826 -
Email
art.info@ttu.edu