Master of Arts in Art History

The Foundation Year is comprised of:

• Two graduate-level courses in art-historical methods (6 credit hours total), one focusing on historiography and current practice (AH601), the other on direct work with primary sources: objects, environments, archival documents (AH600).  
• Six graduate-level courses in art history (18 credit hours), including at least three research seminars (700 level) and one course in each of the major periods into which Roman and Italian art have traditionally been: Ancient; Late Antique and Medieval; Early Modern; and Modern and Contemporary. 
• Independent Components consisting of Cultural Events Reviews. Students attend and analyze six scholarly lectures, conferences, or special exhibitions over the course of two semesters. These are prepared independently, graded on a pass-fail basis and are noted on the transcript but carry no academic credit. 
• Language Reading Knowledge is required by the end of the first year, through a language exam. Students must demonstrate the ability to understand a scholarly text in Italian, French, or German at the B2 (upper intermediate) level in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
• Master’s Exam testing mastery of the basic image-repertoire, chronology, and methods of art history, with emphasis on Rome and related cultures. It is administered once a year, on the last Friday in May. 

During the summer (mid-May through late August), students sit for a Master’s exam in late May. The remainder of the summer can be devoted to coursework, thesis research, research-related travel, internships in or outside of Rome, supplementary language training, or other professional or educational activities. MA Students have access to JCU’s Frohring Library and other university facilities through the summer.

This culminating phase of the degree has three elements: 

An MA Thesis (6 credit hours), an original, article-length study of an object or building, written under the guidance of a professor (thesis advisor). MA theses grow out of research done in Foundation-Phase courses or seminars and involve direct consultation of primary source material (objects, built environments, documents). The 6 credit hours can be concentrated in one semester (Fall) or divided evenly between two (Fall-Spring.) 

A Thesis Colloquium (3 credit hours) accompanies and structures the first semester of thesis writing through workshops and peer review, culminating in the presentation of the MA thesis at a public scholarly conference at JCU. 

The Professional Experience is a key element of the program and can take place in curation, teaching, research, and more. Each student interns for at least one semester (two, if they prefer) at a Roman museum, gallery, foundation, or research institute, or as a teaching or research intern at JCU. The university’s Career Services Center and specialized professors help students locate and secure internships ideal for their interests and career objectives. 

• Graduate Research Seminars are research-intensive colloquia focused on specialized themes devised to stimulate original student research. They begin with the reading of a discrete body of scholarly sources and the examination of primary source material and proceed to the development of a focused research project, presentation, and paper by each seminar participant. Weekly seminar meetings are devoted to analyzing readings; examining art and other primary materials in museums, libraries, or laboratories; and presenting and discussing the results of individual research.

• Topics courses structure the acquisition of visual and historical information and research skills pertinent to specific artistic styles, media, genres, artists, or critical phenomena. Their formats vary. Most involve some combination of lectures, guided readings, site visits, and the researching and writing of a substantial paper.

  Sample course themes include Ancient Roman and Mediterranean mural painting; illuminated manuscripts of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages; erotic art in the Renaissance; and the valorization of contemporary visual culture. See course descriptions.

• Methodological Foundations Courses required of all MA students:

  - Case Studies in Art-Historical Practice is a team-taught course focused on exemplary works of art-historical scholarship. Readings are selected to illustrate the diverse methods developed for studying the arts of different eras (Ancient, Medieval, Early Modern, and Modern/Contemporary), with their distinct problems and bodies of evidence, and to bring out possibilities for useful methodological borrowings across traditional chronological boundaries.

  - The Practicum in Art-Historical Research and Problem Solving provides a hands-on introduction to research from the primary record, with units on media and materials, object handling, documentation and record-keeping, archive and library navigation, palaeography and transcription, and bibliographic, digital, and technical resources for the professional art historian.

• Reading Knowledge of a Foreign Language: Given the polyglot nature of art-historical literature, before registering for the Master’s thesis, MA students must demonstrate the ability to read Italian, French, or German at the B2 (upper intermediate) level or higher in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This component can be satisfied by passing a language exam administered by the John Cabot University Foreign Language Resource Center or by presenting a B2-level certificate from an approved language school or testing service (CILS, DELF/DALF, etc.)

  Applicants whose first language is Italian, French, or German or who hold a BA or the equivalent from a university where the language of instruction is Italian, French, or German are exempt from this requirement. Although language courses do not count toward the MA, students needing further language preparation may audit JCU courses in Italian or French.

Students have two options for completing the program:

• Fifteen months of full-time study, following an intensive format, which includes the thesis and internship.
• Over the course of two academic years, which include the thesis and two internships.

Full-time students choose freely which timetable to follow and commit to it at the beginning of the program. The biennial timetable is mandatory for US students who plan to receive Student Loan disbursements during the summer, given their need to maintain full-time status (6 credit hours) during Summer term. The intensive format is most advisable for those who enter the MA with a strong academic record and substantial background in art history.

Sample Curriculum I: 3 Semesters (Fall-Spring-Fall)

Over the Summer session, students will take the MA Exam (in late May) and engage in independent thesis research.

Sample Curriculum II: 4 Semesters + Summer 

Over the Summer session, students will take the MA Exam (in late May) and engage in independent thesis research. Students are also required to take two area courses, including one research seminar (6 credits).

Applicants who are EU citizens or who have an Italian permit of stay (permesso di soggiorno) are eligible for admission as part-time students. Part-time students take between three and nine credit hours per term and are allowed four years to complete all degree requirements.

Inverting conventional practice, John Cabot University’s MA in Art History begins by scrutinizing material objects and built environments in person, rather than through photographs. With this point of departure, it cultivates visual-contextual analysis and skills for primary research while stimulating alternative perspectives on deeply rooted disciplinary habits. What happens, for instance, when we turn away from comparisons chosen to demonstrate clear patterns and chronological sequences and attend instead to the untidy fragments that emerge from a newly excavated archaeological site? How does the experience of a building in continuous use for two thousand years challenge ideas about historical periodization or the ways objects acquire and convey meaning? 

The degree is designed to serve as a foundation for art-historical careers in museums, galleries, schools, art consultancies, art publishing houses, and related entities; as preparation for Ph.D. (doctoral) level study in the history of art at other institutions; as continuing education for teachers of art history, history, classical studies, and related subjects; or as career enhancement for current and future professionals in areas where primary research skills and expertise in Roman visual culture offer creative advantages and possibilities for specialization. Examples include library and information science, cultural heritage management, historical fiction and script writing, scenography, art conservation, and game design.