Degree Coursework Requirements and Guidelines

I. Thirty graduate-level credits are required for the M.A. degree.
II. These credits are to be distributed in the following way: 

1. Four graduate seminars (700-level) in the Department, one of which must be the Methods seminar taken in the first year. 

2. The remaining classes should be taken with four different Art History faculty members. The four do not include instructors for Methods and the Museum Studies seminar.

3. It is strongly recommended that students take at least three courses in their major field of study and two courses in their minor field (see the section on Examinations for the M.A. Degree below). 

4. One course may come from outside History of Art and Architecture with the agreement of the student’s advisor and the Graduate Program Director.

III.       A full-time course load as defined by the Graduate School is nine credits per semester. The Graduate Program Director (GPD) must approve all proposed courses.

IV.       From time to time, students have elected to take additional courses for audit credit, as opposed to full credit.  This option is particularly useful in preparing for the Image Exam (described below).  Official audits appear on the transcript, but do not count toward the degree requirements stated above.  The minimum standard for an audit is regular attendance, with no absences.  Permission of the instructor is required, and students should be sure to check with the instructor to determine what constitutes an audit, since requirements may vary from instructor to instructor.  Furthermore, while the Graduate School allows for a change from graded credit to audit until the last day of classes, the student must have permission of the instructor for the change and must be passing the course at that point.  The last day for graduate students to drop a class (which appears as DR on the transcript) is listed yearly on the academic calendar.

V.        While students are encouraged to pursue individualized work, no more than six credits of Independent Study may be counted toward the 30 hours for the degree.

VI.       The University allows transfer of up to six credits of graduate work at another institution or six credits completed as a non-degree graduate student on campus (provided that the student registered for the course through the Graduate School).  Individual petition to the GPD accomplishes the transfer.