NYU MA in Historical and Sustainable Architecture

“The best undergraduate department of art history in the country”: This is how New York Times art critic John Russell once described the Art History program at NYU. The Department was established to provide a rigorous and wide-ranging education in the many facets of the history and theory of art, a mission that its faculty continues to enthusiastically embrace. Students become familiar with global art from antiquity to the present. The Department offers courses in Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Modern, Contemporary, East Asian, South Asian, Islamic, Latin American, African, Oceanic, Pre-Columbian, and Native American art, treating not only painting, sculpture, architecture, and photography but also graphic media, manuscript illumination, the decorative arts, and aspects of urban design. The Department is one of the few undergraduate programs in the country that also features extensive offerings in conservation and museology. The myriad museums, galleries, and local architectural sites make New York City the ideal place in which to study the visual arts on site, in the flesh. Beyond New York, art history courses are offered at the university’s various abroad sites, such as Berlin, Buenos Aires, Florence, London, Madrid, Paris, and Prague. The Department offers two undergraduate majors and minors, one in Art History and another in Urban Design and Architecture Studies (URDS). The specific course requirements are outlined in detail on the Department’s website. Since an education in the history of art can be enhanced by a firsthand understanding of its making, Art History majors also are allowed to minor in Studio Art through courses offered in the Steinhardt School. The Department publishes its own student journal (Ink & Image) and has an honors program, which culminates in the writing and oral defense of an honors thesis during the student’s senior year. Art History graduates have proven exceptionally successful in securing positions in museums, commercial galleries, auction houses, and nonprofit organizations. Those who go on to undertake graduate study typically pursue careers as curators, conservators, and academic art historians at the university and college level. Students majoring in URDS are well prepared for graduate study in architecture, urban planning, and historic preservation. For more information, please contact the Department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies.