A. Master of Arts (M.A.)

1. Admission Requirements

The student's application must include a statement of purpose approximately 400 words in length. In addition to the University minimum requirements, the student must have completed six courses in the history of art (with grade of B or better - and not including studio art courses), with at least two courses from Field A and two courses from Field B noted below. Specific areas (numbered) may not be offered in satisfaction of more than one requirement.

Applicants demonstrating exceptional promise who lack some or all of the six required courses may, at the discretion of the Graduate Review Committee (GRC), be admitted on condition that they make up those courses. Deficiencies must be made up during the first two quarters of residence and will not count toward the minimum course requirements for the degree.

Instead of taking a course, the student may elect to substitute a competency examination in the deficient area. Such examinations, equivalent in content to an upper division UCLA art history course, are offered by arrangement with the professors involved and the Department Counselor. If the examination is not passed an appropriate UCLA art history course must be taken.

Applicants are expected to already possess reading fluency in at least one of the two languages for which they will be responsible (see Foreign Language Requirement). The UCLA Art History Departmental Foreign Language Examination may be taken after notification of admission. Details may be worked out with the Department Counselor.

Three letters of recommendation are required, preferably from art historians.

Two research papers are required (approximately 10 pages each). If necessary, one 20-page paper may be submitted instead. Applicants for the Ph.D submit a copy of their M.A. thesis.

The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is required. Although no minimum score has been established for admission, successful applicants in recent years have scored on average between 600 and 700 minimum (verbal & analytical, reported separately). To meet the application deadline, the GRE should be taken before filing your application for admission. Waiting until December can delay the review process.

2. Advising

By the end of the third quarter of residence, the student selects a major and two minors within the art history major from Fields A, B, C, or D; the faculty members with whom the student will study become, with their consent, the student's major and minor advisors. Each advisor is responsible for the student's course of study and completion of requirements within his/her own field. In addition, the major advisor must be consulted regarding the student's overall course of study at least once each quarter. A change of advisor(s), and a change in either the major and/or minor field(s), must be approved by the GRC.

The Director of Graduate Studies should approve first quarter graduate students' study lists. The Director must approve any exception to the requirements stated here. The Director of Graduate Studies further serves as admissions committee chair, general advisor and, as Chair of the GRC, adjudicator of disputes not resolved by agreement between a student and his/her advisor(s).

3. Normal Progress toward the Degree

The average period of full-time study for the M.A. degree is two to two and one-third years but may not exceed three years.

4. Foreign Language

Reading knowledge of French and German is required of all students except those intending to major in Asian (i.e. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South Asian, Southeast Asian), Pre-Columbian, Latin American, American, Native American, Oceanic, Islamic, or, with the consent of the advisor, Italian art history. Students majoring in Chinese or Japanese art history must substitute either Chinese or Japanese respectively for either French or German. Students majoring in South Asian, Southeast Asian, or Islamic art history must substitute, for either French or German, an appropriate research language of South Asia, Southeast Asia, or the Islamic Middle East. The choice must be made in consultation with, and with the consent of, the major advisor. Students focusing on Italian art history can, with the consent of their major advisor, substitute Italian for French. Students majoring in Pre-Columbian or Latin American art history must take Spanish and a second language chosen in consultation with the major advisor. Those majoring in American art history must take French and either German, Italian, or Spanish. The second language is to be chosen in consultation with the students' major advisor. Those students majoring in either Native American or Oceanic art history must take two languages (one of which must be European) to be chosen in consultation with the major advisor. Students majoring in Aegean, Greek, or Roman art should, in addition to French and German, have some proficiency in Greek and/or Latin. It is strongly recommended that these students have completed at least 2 years of one ancient language prior to admission. Levels of proficiency will be determined in consultation with the student's advisor(s). With the exception of Asian and Islamic art history, all students must demonstrate reading fluency in both foreign languages in either of the following ways:

1. By passing the Departmental Foreign Language Examination (700-750) word translation in three hours).
2. By enrolling in and completing, with a minimum grade of "B", UCLA courses French 5, German 6, Italian 5, and/or Spanish 25.

The first language requirement must be satisfied by the end of the third quarter (Spring) of the first year. Students may not begin the fourth quarter in residence unless they have passed the exam. The second language exam must be passed by the end of the sixth quarter of residence. If this requirement is fulfilled by examination, the exam must be taken by the end of the quarter in question. Students may not begin the seventh quarter in residence unless they have passed this exam. Students who have not completed the language requirements as stated are not eligible for teaching assistantships.

Students majoring in Asian or Islamic art history must satisfy their European language requirement by the end of the sixth quarter of residence and may do so in either of the ways listed above. Their Asian or Islamic requirement, however, is normally satisfied by enrolling in an appropriate course sequence for six consecutive quarters (normally beginning with the first quarter of graduate study) and by maintaining a grade of "B" or better in those courses. Details and/or exceptions must be worked out with the student's major advisor. A student failing to meet the language requirements will be permitted to enroll only for the requisite language course until that requirement has been fulfilled.

Exams are scheduled four times a year: approximately three weeks prior to finals week during the regular academic quarters, and normally one week prior to instruction in the Fall Quarter. Exam results will be sent out by mail within three weeks of the exam date.

5. Course work

The M.A. degree requires the completion of a major and two minors within the art history major. There are four different Major/Minor Options available to M.A. students.

Option I (Western Major)
Major from Fields 1-7 (4 courses in one area)
1st Minor from Fields 1-7 or 17 or 18 (2 courses in 1-7 in one area other than the major or 2 courses from 17 or 18)
2nd Minor from Fields 8-16 (2 courses in one area)

Option II (Non-Western Major)
Major from Fields 8-16 (4 courses in one area)
1st Minor from Fields 8-16 (2 courses in 8-16 in one area other than the major)
2nd Minor from Fields 1-7 (2 courses in one area, or 2 courses from 16 or 17)

Option III (Critical Theory Major)
Major is Field 17 (4 courses) + Historical Field 1-7 or 8-16 (4 courses in one area)
The 1st and 2nd minors for this option are chosen as in Options I & II based on the Major selection of 1-7 or 8-16 (2 courses in one area for each minor)

Option IV (Museum Studies Major)
Major is Field 18 (2 courses) + Four courses in one area from Field A, areas 1-7, or areas 8-16, Field B, or area 17, Field C
The 1st and 2nd minors for this option are chosen as in Options I & II based on the Major selection from areas 1-7 or 8-16 or 17 (2 courses in one area for each minor)

Instructors from the student's major and two minor areas normally will serve on the student's thesis committee. If a student wishes to complete two of the three areas with one instructor, a petition explaining the reasons for this must be approved by the GRC.

For Major/Minor Options I and II, students are required to take a minimum of ten graduate and upper division courses, of which at least eight must be in art history, and of which at least six must be graduate courses (i.e. in the 200 and 596 series). At least four of these must be in the 200 series, and no more than two may be "directed studies" (596) projects. Course 598 DOES NOT apply on the course requirements for the degree.

For Major/Minor Option III, students are required to take a minimum of thirteen graduate and upper division courses, but may be required to take up to fourteen courses, of which at least eight must be in art history, and of which at least six must be graduate courses (i.e. in the 200 and 596 series). At least four of these must be in the 200 series, and no more than two may be "directed studies" (596) projects. Courses 597, 598, and 599 are NOT APPLICABLE for an advanced degree.

For Major/Minor Option IV, students are required to take a minimum of twelve graduate and upper division courses, of which at least 8 must be in art history and of which at least 6 must be graduate courses (i.e., in the 200 and 596 series. Courses C203A and B are required. Of the courses taken from outside of art history, a minimum of three must be from a museum studies or museology related subject in another department, taken for graduate or upper division credit. No more than two may be "directed studies" (596) projects. Course 598 is NOT APPLICABLE for an advanced degree.

All students must take: 1) course 200 (Art Historical Theories and Methodologies), 2) either course 201 (Topics in the Historiography of particular fields in Art History) or 202 (Topics in Theory and Criticism in Art History). The other courses to be taken should be determined in consultation with the student's major and minor advisors with the stipulation that no student's progress toward the M.A. may be impeded by requiring a course not offered at least once every two years.

Courses completed in graduate status with a grade of "B" or higher on other University of California campuses may, upon petition, be applied to the M.A. program and may fulfill up to one-half of the M.A. course requirement and one-third the academic residence requirement. Courses completed in graduate status with a grade of "B" or higher at other universities may also, upon petition, be applied to the program; a maximum of two such courses may be used. These may not be used to fulfill either the university five graduate course requirement or the academic resident requirement. Upon completion of all course and foreign language requirements, the Department requests the Graduate Division to appoint the Thesis Committee (see M.A. Thesis Committee). After this committee has been appointed, the student petitions for advancement to candidacy for the M.A. Candidates have one calendar year after advancement to candidacy to complete all requirements for the degree.

6. Field Experience

Recommended for Museum Studies concentration only, in the form of institutional internships or training, arranged on an individual basis n connection with the student's background and interests.

7. M.A. Thesis Committee

The Thesis Committee consists of the student's major advisor, who now serves as committee chair, at least one additional art history faculty member, and one other faculty member from UCLA (normally, the student's two minor advisors serve in this capacity but one of the committee members may be selected from another department). For details on the acceptable status of these members, see the publication Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA, available in the Graduate Division, Student and Academic Affairs Office, 1255 Murphy Hall. The student and his/her major advisor must agree on the members of the Thesis Committee.

At this time, the student selects, in consultation with his/her advisor, a thesis topic in his/her major field. This thesis should deal succinctly with the topic in an independent, critical and original fashion while taking fully into account the present state of research on the problem. It must be clearly written, correctly documented and illustrated, and must meet the minimum standards for the Master's Thesis as set out by the UCLA Graduate Division in the Standards and Procedures publication previously noted. It should not exceed fifty pages in length and must be researched and written in consultation with the Thesis Committee members. The completed thesis must receive final approval of all the Thesis Committee members. If the thesis is rejected by one member of the student's committee it may, at the request of the committee chair, be submitted to the GRC for final judgment; otherwise the student's candidacy is terminated.

Thesis committee members must be given at least four weeks to read and comment on the thesis. The thesis, however, must first be given to the committee chair for approval before being submitted to the other committee members.

8. Admission to the Ph.D. Program from the M.A. Program

Upon completion of the master's thesis, students may petition for admission to the Ph.D. program. The student's three thesis committee members must unanimously agree that he/she should continue for the Ph.D. In addition, students must have support from the intended major advisor of his/her willingness to supervise the student's Ph.D. work. The petition and a copy of the thesis are then given to the GRC for final action. If a student's thesis committee does not unanimously approve of the student's continuing for a Ph.D., the student must then apply for admission to the Ph.D. program through the normal university/department application process (see Admission Requirements).

Students entering the doctoral program from the masters program may apply a maximum of two courses taken during the M.A. program toward the Ph.D. coursework if the number of courses taken exceeds the minimum course requirement for the M.A. Masters students who have completed their coursework should only enroll in Art History 598 until the thesis has been filed and approved by the Graduate Review Committee.