M.A. in Art History
Acquire the skills. Lead the art world. Become an expert.
Investigate. Research. Contribute to the Discourse.
The Master of Arts in art history provides you with a broad command of the history of art and the methodological tools particular to art history. It also allows you to develop an area of specialization that will prepare you for future doctoral study or curatorial work. It is in the spirit of this twofold mission, the development of general art historical knowledge coupled with a more focused course of study, that you are asked to satisfy the following departmental requirements.
Is an M.A. in Art History right for you?
The M.A. degree in Art History transforms a passion for the arts and cultural history into a career path. Through the completion of a master’s paper or thesis, foreign language proficiency, and coursework, you will develop skills that prepare you for careers in the field or to pursue a Ph.D.
The department offers lecture/discussion courses and graduate seminars on a broad range of topics, from ancient to contemporary art and architecture in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, Oceania. Courses are also offered in museum studies, historiography, iconology, criticism, connoisseurship, and methods of research.
Level Up
Professional Development
Our department is regularly invited to select graduate students to participate in major graduate student symposia, including the Middle Atlantic Symposium in the History of Art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Graduate Symposium on the History of Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Penn State art history graduate students often present papers at scholarly conferences/symposia across the United States and abroad (for which the department provides partial financial support).
Financial Support
George Dewey and Mary J. Krumrine Endowment
This endowment helps support publication projects of art history faculty and graduate students.
Graduate Assistantships
There are about nineteen graduate assistantships filled by graduate students in the Department of Art History each year.
University Fellowships and Awards
Qualified incoming graduate students may also be nominated by the department for University Fellowships, Bunton-Waller Graduate Awards, Graham Fellowships, and other awards. The department also has funds to help support graduate students in their research and travel related to their theses. The department awards dissertation fellowships and travel/research grants totaling over $60,000 to graduate students each academic year.
Summer Opportunities
Summer Abroad program in Todi, Italy
The Department of Art History is a co-sponsor of Penn State’s Summer Abroad program in Todi, Italy, in which graduate students may choose to participate.
Annie Gooding Sykes Internship
This internship is a twelve-week internship offered during the summer. Interns work with museum staff on a variety of curatorial projects, with a particular focus on American works on paper. Students who have completed the ARTH 409 “Museum Studies” course are preferred. One internship with a stipend is offered each summer.
Silver Trout Curatorial Graduate Internship Program
This internship program is a twelve-week internship offered during the summer. Interns work with the museum staff on curatorial projects and initiatives. Graduate students in art history or art education are eligible for the Silver Trout Curatorial Graduate Internship Program. Students who have completed the ARTH 409 “Museum Studies” course are preferred. Two internships with a stipend are offered each summer.
Guides + Resources
Alumni Spotlight
Alumni Spotlight
Kimberly Henrikson
B.A. in Art HistoryKimberly Henrikson is executive director at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking (Norwalk, CT) and president of the Print Club of New York. She is newsletter editor for the International Print Club Societies organization, and held a senior position at Artstor, where she managed training and support services for digital image licensing in higher ed and museum communities around the world.
News from A&A;
Center for the Performing Arts-commissioned painter Tiara Zhané conjures a troubled future in ‘An Adjustment’
By John Mark Rafacz As a child in New York City, Tiara Zhané realized she possessed artistic talent. “I knew I had it,” she said. But when she asked
Recent SoVA grad explores gender stereotypes in downtown State College exhibit
With Leo Wang’s fourth solo exhibition, “Faux Venus,” the visual artist and recent Penn State graduate with degrees in sculpture and landscape architecture explores modern pop culture and the “artificial
Read More
Elizabeth Mansfield publishes book chapter "Social Art History in Retrospect"
Elizabeth Mansfield published a book chapter in "Present Prospects of Social Art History" titled "Social Art History in Retrospect" Bloomsbury Publishing https://bit.ly/3j5eqiG . The volume, featuring the work of some
Read More