Art & Museum Studies M.A. Program
Georgetown University’s
M.A. degree program in Art and Museum Studies brings academic
study of art museums together with museum practice, and
emphasizes the international contexts of museums in the
modern world. Through courses, individual research, and
internships, students work closely with Georgetown art
history faculty, curators, and other museum professionals
in Washington DC, and with faculty specialists at Sotheby's
Institute of Art in London or New York.
The twelve-month course of study combines courses in museology
and art history with internships at some of Washington’s
premier art institutions. We examine the changing relationships
between academic study of art and new configurations of
museum display and interpretation. Courses emphasize both
theory and practice, including such topics as the roles
of museums in modern cultures, museum education, collection
management, curatorial work and the ethics of acquisition
and display. Our students take part in critical debates
about art exhibition and interpretation.
In the fall semester, students take core and elective courses
at Georgetown and participate in an internship at an area
museum. For the spring semester, students will matriculate
at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London or New York,
where they will take an intensive course in Asian art,
decorative arts, art business, or contemporary art. The
Institute’s course work emphasizes connoisseurship
and hands-on study of art works, and incorporates study
trips to public and private collections, auction houses,
and art fairs. In the summer term, students will complete
a full-time internship in a museum in Washington or another
city; the term culminates in a capstone workshop held in
late August in Washington.
Requirements
- 30 course credits, taken fall,
spring, and summer semesters (12 months).
- Fall
semester at Georgetown: one required core course, two
electives (art history and museum specializations),
and an internship.
- Spring semester at Sotheby’s
Institute of Art: one intensive course in a selected
area of concentration.
- Summer term: one museum internship
combined with a capstone workshop.
- Thesis option: students may elect
an additional six credits to write a thesis. This option
requires consultation and approval from the Program Director
before the end of the spring semester.
Courses and Areas of Study The
Art and Museum Studies Program curriculum emphasizes the
intersections of art history and museum practice. The core
course and electives are designed to stimulate discussion
and to provide first-hand experience of museum specializations.
Students may emphasize academic study of art and museums
or an area of professional museum work such as education,
conservation, or marketing, but all members of the program
will have some experience in both kinds of study. The sample
courses listed here are for general information; elective
seminars vary from year to year. Please see updated online
course listings at:
http://explore.georgetown.edu/courses/.
* Museum Studies Foundations (Prof. Hilton. Core course;
introduces discipline of museum studies; principles of
museum organization and practice; the public faces of museums;
collection care and management, administration and innovation.)
*Washington Art Collections (Prof. Prelinger. Art history
seminar; through readings and field trips, examines the
nature of museums and private collections in Washington,
DC.)
*Twentieth-century American Prints (Prof. Prelinger. Art
history seminar based on Georgetown’s Special Collections.)
*Ideas of Realism (Prof. Acres. Art history seminar; combines
broad theoretical study with close analysis of paintings.)
*On Painting (Prof. Acres. Art history
seminar; examines the phenomenon of painting as an idea,
a cultural force, a physical fact, using close analysis
of paintings, often in Washington museums.)
*The Illuminated Manuscript (Prof. Lipsmeyer. Art history
seminar; studies the production and illumination of medieval
manuscripts, viewing the book as an effective agent for
transmission of images and ideas.)
* Museum Practice (Prof. Kirsh. Museum studies elective;
examines the many behind-the-scenes aspects of collections
care, marketing, external relations, and fund-raising,
and emphasizes the collaborative nature of museum work.)
* Museum Education and Interpretation (Prof. McNamee. Museum
studies elective; professional and philosophical issues
seen in collaboration with museum education specialists
in several Washington museums.
*Cultural Hybridity: Mixing Media, Music, and Art (Prof.
Irvine. Communication, Culture and Technology Program seminar;
includes museums and global culture)
*Looking at Photography (Prof. Schaefer, CCTP seminar;
looks at photography as art and as a ubiquitous element
of modern culture)
* Art and Business (Prof. Bogdan, Sotheby’s; how
the art world operates, business theory and practice related
to markets, art management, legal issues for public and
private art organizations.)
* Styles in Asian Art (Prof. Malpas,
Sotheby’s. Lectures and object handling sessions
explore materials, techniques, and styles of Asian arts,
with visits to specialized collections in Britain and Europe.)
* Decorative Art and Design (Prof.
Darby, Sotheby's. The stylistic developments in furniture,
ceramics, metalwork in relation to architecture and social
and historical contexts, emphasizing firsthand study at
London's museums, galleries, historic houses, and Sotheby's
auction house.)
*Contemporary Design (Prof. Darby, Sotheby’s. Combines
object-based study of design, from the art nouveau period
to the present day, with market analysis and an exploration
of the professional design world.)
*Contemporary Art (Prof. Battista,
Sotheby’s New York. Explores connections between
ideas and the visual languages of art on view in New York,
emphasizing new media and markets, art law, and research
methods, with frequent visits to galleries, private collections,
and auction houses.)
Faculty
Program Director:
Alison Hilton, Professor of Art History.
Participating Faculty:
Elizabeth Prelinger, Professor
of Art History; Alfred Acres, Assistant Professor of Art
History; Elizabeth Lipsmeyer, Visiting Associate Professor
of Art History; Harriet McNamee, Director of Education,
Emerita, National Museum of Women in the Arts; Andrea Kirsh,
conservator, curator; James Malpas, Asian Art, Sotheby’s
Institute, Elisabeth Darby, Fine and Decorative Arts, Sotheby’s
Institute. Elisabeth Bogdan, Art Business, Sotheby’s;
Katherine Battista, Contemporary Art, Sotheby’s New
York. -- and other museum professionals.
Admissions
Application deadline for fall 2009:
January 7, 2009
Information sessions for prospective
students are scheduled by the Graduate School. Please see
the complete admissions information, and find links to
financial aid and other essential materials in the Graduate
School web site:
http://grad.georgetown.edu/pages/admissions.cfm
For additional information on Georgetown’s
Art and Museum Studies M.A. Program, including application
materials, select “Art and Museum Studies” from
the list of Graduate Degree Programs at: http://grad.georgetown.edu/pages/graduate_programs.cfm
Contact for more information: gradamus@georgetown.edu
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