Applicable only to students admitted during the 2012-2013 academic year.

Art History

College of Letters and Science

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Art History offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Art History.

Admission

Program Name

Art History

Address

100 Dodd Hall
Box 951417
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1417 

Phone

(310) 825-3992 

Email

vjohnson@humnet.ucla.edu  

Leading to the degree of

M.A., Ph.D.

The department admits only applicants whose objective is the Ph.D. 

Admission Limited to

Fall 

Deadline to apply

November 30th (postmark deadline for materials) 

GRE (General and/or Subject)

GRE: General 

Letters of Recommendation 

3, preferably from art historians.  For the Ph.D., one of the letters must be a detailed letter of assessment and endorsement from the individual who served as the major adviser for the M.A. 

Other Requirements

In addition to the University's minimum requirements and those listed above, all applicants are expected to submit a statement of purpose (as specific as possible about the applicant's interests in art history in approximately 400 words) and a curriculum vitae.

Ph.D.: A copy of the applicant's M.A. thesis or, if no thesis was written, two 10 page, or one 20 page, research papers, and a completed language survey (available as a download from the Art History website).

Application materials cannot be returned or forwarded.

An M.A. in Art History is usually required for admission to the Ph.D. degree program. However, students with an M.A. degree in other disciplines may apply for admission. An M.A. in Art History from another institution may be accepted as equivalent to that from UCLA or the holder may be accepted into the program at a stage determined by the graduate review committee. All incoming Ph.D. students must show evidence of having taken and passed with a grade of B or better at least two courses (upper division and/or graduate) in areas not related to the proposed major. 

Master's Degree

Advising

The departmental graduate counselor is available for general and specific information about the degree program. Students are assigned an adviser upon admission to the program. The choice of adviser is determined by the student's stated interests and faculty availability. Each adviser is responsible for the student's course of study and completion of requirements within their own field. In addition, at least once each quarter students must consult the adviser regarding their overall course of study. A change of adviser(s) or change of field(s) must be approved by the Graduate Review Committee.

Areas of Study

There are 14 fields of study: African; American; Chinese; European, Greek and Roman; Indian and Southeast Asian; Islamic, Japanese; Korean; Latin American; medieval and Byzantine; modern and contemporary; pre-Columbian; and Renaissance and Baroque.

Foreign Language Requirement

A reading knowledge of one foreign language approved by the department is required for the M.A. degree. Students may not begin the fourth quarter of residence without having fulfilled this requirement.

Students of African, American, European, and Latin American art history must demonstrate reading fluency of French or German in any of the following ways: (1) by passing the departmental foreign language examination; (2) by enrolling in and completing with a minimum grade of B, French 5, German 6, Italian 5, and/or Spanish 25. Students of Italian art history may, with adviser consent, substitute Italian for French or German.

Students of Chinese or Japanese art history must demonstrate fluency of either Chinese or Japanese respectively. Students of South Asian, Southeast Asian, or Islamic art history must substitute an appropriate classical research language of South Asia, Southeast Asian, or the Islamic Middle East. The Asian or Islamic requirement 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 major adviser.

Students who fail to meet the language requirements are permitted to enroll only for the requisite language course until that requirement has been fulfilled. Examinations are scheduled four times a year, three weeks prior to finals week during the regular academic quarters, and approximately one week prior to instruction in Fall Quarter. Examination results are announced by the end of the last week of classes for the regular academic quarters, and by the last day to access URSA enrollment for the Fall quarter.

Course Requirements

Nine graduate and upper division courses (36 units) completed in graduate status are required for the M.A. degree. At least six of these courses (24 units) must be taken at the graduate level (200-series courses), including four graduate seminars. Students are required to complete Art History 200 with a grade of B+ or better. Art History 200 may be counted towards the total number of required graduate courses.

In addition, the nine required courses must satisfy the distribution requirement for the M.A. degree, including at least two courses from lists A and B below:

A: American; Greek and Roman; Latin American; medieval and Byzantine; modern and contemporary; Renaissance and Baroque.

B: African; Chinese; Indian and Southeast Asian; Islamic; Japanese; Korean; pre-Columbian.

Courses to be taken should be determined in consultation with the student's major and minor advisers with the stipulation that progress toward the M.A. degree may not be impeded by requiring a course not offered at least once every two years.

Students who were admitted with coursework deficiencies must make up these deficiencies during the first two quarters of residence and may not apply such coursework toward the required courses for the degree. Instead of taking a course, the student may elect to substitute a competency examination in the area of deficiency.

By the end of the Fall quarter of their second year all students select one of their class essays to revise and expand for submission as a thesis and qualifying paper for admission to the doctoral program. Students then register for Art History 597 during Winter Quarter of the second year to work on their essay under the supervision of a ladder track faculty member who is usually the student's adviser.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Comprehensive Examination Plan

None.

Thesis Plan

Every master's degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research.

During the Winter quarter of the second year, the chair of the Graduate Review Committee appoints two readers from the departmental faculty in addition to the student's adviser to serve as the thesis committee. At least one of these appointees will have had no classroom experience with the student. For details on committee regulations, students should consult Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA, available on the Graduate Division website. Students and the major adviser must be in agreement on the members of the thesis committee.

The student selects a thesis topic in the major field. The 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. The thesis must be clearly written, correctly documented, and illustrated, and must meet the minimum standards for formatting as set out by the Graduate Division Policies and Procedures for Thesis and Dissertation Preparation and Filing. The thesis should not exceed 40 pages in length and must be researched and written in consultation with the major adviser. If the thesis is rejected by one member of the committee, it may, at the request of the major adviser, be submitted to the Graduate Review Committee for final judgment; otherwise, the student is recommended for termination of graduate status.

All theses must be submitted to the departmental counselor by the first day of instruction in the Spring quarter. At this time the essays are distributed to the three committee members, who are required to submit a written evaluation to the department. At a special meeting called by the departmental chair, the faculty discuss these evaluations as well as the student's overall academic performance. In most cases the faculty agree to award the M.A. degree and permit the student to continue for the Ph.D. degree. In some cases the faculty may recommend the student receive a terminal M.A. degree. If the faculty judge the thesis to be deficient, the student may be recommended for termination of graduate study.

Time-to-Degree

Completion of the requirements for the master's degree is designed to meet requirements for admission to the departmental doctoral program. Students are expected to complete the requirements for the M.A. degree within six quarters of full-time study. Students who do not complete the degree requirements within this time frame will be recommended for termination of graduate study to the Graduate Division unless, by petition, the Graduate Review Committee grants an extension of time due to grave and unusual mitigating circumstances.

Page 2 -- Doctoral Degree