Art & Museum Studies M.A. Program
Courses
Georgetown University’s M.A. degree program in Art and Museum Studies brings the 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.
CURRICULUM
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 semester-long program 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 or curatorship, 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; seminar topics vary from year to year. View updated course listings at: courses.georgetown.edu/.
Georgetown Courses
* Museum Studies Foundations
* Ideas of Realism
* On Painting
* Museum Practice Workshop
* Museum Education and Interpretation
* Curatorial Practice in the 21st Century
* Pre-Columbian Art and Architecture
* The Sublime in America
* The Politics of Display in South Asia
Sotheby’s Institute of Art Courses
* Art and Business
* Styles in Asian Art
* Decorative Art and Design
* Contemporary Art
FACULTY AND STAFF
Program Director: Alison Hilton
Assistant Director: Alana Housholder
Participating Faculty, Georgetown: Elizabeth Prelinger; Alfred Acres; Michelle C. Wang; Harriet McNamee; Crysanthe Broikos
Participating Faculty, Sotheby’s Institute of Art: James Malpas (Asian Art); Elisabeth Darby (Fine and Decorative Arts); Elisabeth Bogdan (Art and Business); Katherine Battista (Contemporary Art)
ADMISSIONS
Application deadline for Fall 2014: December 1, 2013.
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: 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: grad.georgetown.edu/pages/graduate_programs.cfm.
A list of answers to commonly-asked questions is available at: Georgetown Art and Museum Studies FAQS. For further information or assistance, please contact: gradamus@georgetown.edu.
