Art & Museum Studies M.A. Program
Courses
CURRICULUM AND GOALS
Summary of Requirements:
CURRICULUM AND GOALS
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. Such topics as the roles of museums in modern cultures, museum education programs and audiences, new technologies, collection management, curatorial work and the ethics of acquisition and display are discussed in classes and individual research projects. Our students take part in critical debates about art exhibition and interpretation.
The curriculum provides a sequence of varied approaches to museum study. In the first semester, students take courses at Georgetown and participate in an internship at an area museum. The following semester, at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London or New York, students take an intensive course in a selected field, such as decorative arts 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 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.
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. Such topics as the roles of museums in modern cultures, museum education programs and audiences, new technologies, collection management, curatorial work and the ethics of acquisition and display are discussed in classes and individual research projects. Our students take part in critical debates about art exhibition and interpretation.
The curriculum provides a sequence of varied approaches to museum study. In the first semester, students take courses at Georgetown and participate in an internship at an area museum. The following semester, at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London or New York, students take an intensive course in a selected field, such as decorative arts 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 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.
Summary of Requirements:
* The standard program structure is 30 course credits, taken over fall, spring, and summer semesters (12 months).
* Fall - core course, two electives in art history seminars and museum practicum courses, one internship - 12 credits
* Spring - one intensive course at Sotheby’s Institute of Art - 12 credits
* Summer term - full-time internship combined with a capstone workshop - 6 credits.
Courses and Areas of Study:
The Art and Museum Studies 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, curatorship, or marketing, but all members of the program will have some experience in both kinds of study. Most courses meet frequently at area museums. The sample courses listed here are for general information only; seminars topics vary from year to year. View updated course listings at: http://explore.georgetown.edu/courses/
* Museum Studies Foundations (Prof. Hilton. Introduces field of museum studies; principles and history of museum organization and practice; the public faces of museums and their communities; issues related to collection and display.)
*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.)
* Curatorial Practice in the 21st Century (Prof. Pomeroy. Museum studies elective; current practice focusing on two major curatorial functions: development of exhibitions and use of permanent collections for display.)
*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 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 and Staff
Program Director: Alison Hilton, Professor of Art History.
Assistant Director: Alana Householder, M.A.
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, MBA, curator, critic; Martin Irvine, Professor of English and Irvine Contemporary gallery director; James Schaefer, Dean, Professor of English, photographer; 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 2010: December 1, 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
* Fall - core course, two electives in art history seminars and museum practicum courses, one internship - 12 credits
* Spring - one intensive course at Sotheby’s Institute of Art - 12 credits
* Summer term - full-time internship combined with a capstone workshop - 6 credits.
Courses and Areas of Study:
The Art and Museum Studies 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, curatorship, or marketing, but all members of the program will have some experience in both kinds of study. Most courses meet frequently at area museums. The sample courses listed here are for general information only; seminars topics vary from year to year. View updated course listings at: http://explore.georgetown.edu/courses/
* Museum Studies Foundations (Prof. Hilton. Introduces field of museum studies; principles and history of museum organization and practice; the public faces of museums and their communities; issues related to collection and display.)
*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.)
* Curatorial Practice in the 21st Century (Prof. Pomeroy. Museum studies elective; current practice focusing on two major curatorial functions: development of exhibitions and use of permanent collections for display.)
*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 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 and Staff
Program Director: Alison Hilton, Professor of Art History.
Assistant Director: Alana Householder, M.A.
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, MBA, curator, critic; Martin Irvine, Professor of English and Irvine Contemporary gallery director; James Schaefer, Dean, Professor of English, photographer; 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 2010: December 1, 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
Upcoming Events
- Mar 20, 12pm-5pm: Judith Nulty — Paperwork: Works on Paper
- Mar 22, 9am: Photographic Exhibition: Picturing Faith
- Mar 23, 12pm-5pm: Judith Nulty — Paperwork: Works on Paper
