Art History (MA)
Master of Arts (MA)
Offered by:Department of Art History, Faculty of Fine Arts
Why pursue a Master's in Art History?
Art has deep cultural, political, social, religious, and anthropological meanings for humans, from the first cave drawings to new digital platforms. As we continue to explore the tremendous historical breadth of visual and material culture in the North American context, we need dynamic researchers to develop projects with theoretical and methodological complexity.
The MA in Art History provides you with the opportunity to become an active participant in the creation of art historical knowledge. Work in conjunction with faculty members engaged in a rich variety of research initiatives. Gain experience as a teaching assistant. Create your own professional portfolio of exhibition reviews, journal articles and curatorial projects.
From large museums like the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, to cutting-edge artist-run centres and festivals, Montreal’s wealth of cultural institutions offer opportunities for you to cultivate your individual research focus. Students also benefit from quiet study spaces, a kitchenette, and a private lounge area equipped with conference and meeting rooms.
Join an intimate cohort of students that includes dynamic scholars and professionals who are pursuing their graduate studies on a full or part-time basis. The size of our program is one of its assets since it is large enough to provide a diverse selection of seminars, but small enough for students to actively participate in dialogue and debate.
Program details
A Bachelor of Fine Arts or a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Art History or approved equivalent with at least a B+ average in the major area is required. Applicants with deficiencies in their undergraduate preparation may be required to take a qualifying program prior to formal entry into the program. Qualified applicants lacking prerequisite courses may be required to take up to 12 undergraduate credits in addition to and as part of the regular graduate program.
Proficiency in English. Applicants whose primary language is not English must demonstrate that their knowledge of English is sufficient to pursue graduate studies in their chosen field. Please refer to the Graduate Admission page for further information on the Language Proficiency requirements and exemptions.
- Credits. A fully-qualified candidate is required to complete a minimum of 45 credits, including 21 credits of coursework and a 24-credit thesis.
- Language Requirement. Reading knowledge of English and French is mandatory. Students are required to pass an examination in their second language, either French or English, prior to graduation.
- Courses. The program includes two required courses: ARTH 655 Thesis Seminar (3 credits, pass/fail) and ARTH 654 Annotated Review of Sources and Documents (3 credits). The remaining five seminars are chosen from the Department's yearly seminar offerings. Exceptionally, and with the approval of the graduate program director, students may register for one of the following options: a graduate seminar (3 credits) in another discipline or at another Quebec university; an internship; or an independent study. The graduate program director or the student’s supervisor assists the student in choosing seminars.
- Thesis. Each student submits a thesis of 13,000 – 15,000 words (excluding notes, bibliography and other supporting materials), prepared under the supervision of a tenured or tenure-track professor in the Department of Art History who examines the thesis along with two other scholars..
Your completed application will include:
- Application form and fee
- Curriculum vitae (CV)
- Three Letters of Reference and assessment form. References from Art History professors are preferred.
- A statement of purpose (500 words) should explain why you have chosen to do graduate work in Art History at Concordia University, propose a thesis topic or area of special interest, and discuss your professional goals.
- A writing sample (8-10 pages), which usually takes the form of an art history undergraduate essay
- Transcripts for all post-secondary institutions attended
- Proof of Canadian citizenship (if applicable)
- Official language test scores for applicants whose primary language is not English, unless exemption applies.
Please apply and submit your documents online. Read the how-to guide for application procedures.
| DEGREE |
FALL (September) |
WINTER (January) |
SUMMER (May/June) |
| Art History | MA | Jan. 15 | n/a | n/a |
For applications after this deadline, please contact the Graduate program director.
The MA in Art History provides you with an academically rich and collaborative learning environment, infused with professional development opportunities. Many of our classes integrate experiential learning components such as learning how to archive art text, building an art database, practicing curatorial writing, or developing websites.
Recent course offerings have included:
- Selected Issues in North American Art and Architectural History: Conversion Colonization and Agency
- Industrialization and the Built Environment: The Right to the City
- Contextualizing North American Sculpture: Topics in History, Theory and Practice: Destructive Tendencies
- Examining the Craft and Artisan traditions in North America: Arts and Crafts Ethics in Contemporary Craft
- Issues in Postcolonial Theory in Art and Art History: The Art of Migration and Diaspora in CanadaTheory
- Nationhood and Identity in Canadian Art: What is Settler-Colonial Art History?
- Creative and Critical Literature in Art History: Of Utopian Spaces
- Issues in North American Photographic History
- Issues in Visual and Material Culture: The Gender of Design
- Aspects of Media and New Media: Indigenous Art: Experimental Film, New Media and the Digital
Consult the graduate calendar for a complete list of courses.
All new applicants will automatically be considered for a number of entrance fellowships, awards, and teaching assistantships. Students who wish to apply for provincial or federal funding should be aware that these applications must be submitted well before the program application.
Some in-course awards are available for graduate students, including the Renata Hornstein Graduate Fellowhip in Art History, the Morrie and Diane Cohen Graduate Scholarship in Art History, the Francis and David Rubin Award, and subsidies for research travel and conference presentations. Annual calls for applications are issued to students already registered in the program.
Please consult Concordia’s graduate funding page and departmental funding opportunities.
Faculty members are actively engaged in innovative research across a wide variety of areas:
- Indigenous art and expressive cultures
- Architecture and studies of the built environment
- Craft history, theory and methodologies
- Painting, sculpture and other media from the 16th to the 21st centuries
- Photographic history and theory
- Art theory and historiography
- Visual and material culture
- Museum and curatorial studies
- Cross-cultural studies and globalization
- Feminism, gender and sexuality studies
- Fashion and design histories
- New media art
- Canadian Art
The Department of Art History is home to the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canada Art, and houses the Journal of Canadian Art History, and the Canadian Women Artists History Initiative, Graduate students benefit from these academically-rich environments and, through the Faculty’s Visual Collections Repository, have access to 300,000 circulating slides and digital images that range from the pre-historic to the contemporary.
Review an inspiring gallery of thesis topics and read about some of our exceptional graduate students.
The Art History Graduate Student Association (AHGSA) is the student representative body, while the department is home to student research groups including Ethnocultural Art Histories Research Group, (EAHR), Indigenous Art Research Group (IARG) and Architecture | Concordia (A | C).
Student research activities provide additional opportunities to curate exhibitions, publish journals, organize conferences and present papers.
Our alumni find success in a wide range of professional art careers. Graduates pursue careers as educators, curators, archivists, and gallery arts administrators.
See what our graduates are doing now.
Important information about admissions
Please be advised that Concordia University does not process admissions or fee payments through third parties for our degree programs.
All applicants are advised to ensure that they are communicating directly with the university for admissions and fee payments.
