single degree

Master of Art History and Curatorial Studies

A single two year graduate award offered by the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences

MAHCS
  • Length 2 year full-time
  • Minimum 96 Units
  • Length 2 year full-time
  • Minimum 96 Units

Program Requirements

The Master of Art History and Curatorial Studies requires completion of 96 units, which must consist of:

24 units from completion of introductory courses from the following list:

ARTH6004 City Sites: studies in art and urbanity
ARTH6043 Modernism and Postmodernism in Art and Design: 1850-2000
ARTH6044 Art and Its Context: Materials Techniques Display
ARTH6050 Photography and Art
ARTH6052 Art of the Modern Print
ARTH6056 Art and Architecture of Southeast Asia: Tradition and Transformation
ARTH6059 Art and Architecture of Asia: Continuity and Change
ARTH6061 Postmodern Sublime
ARTH6080 Art and Visual Culture of the Long Eighteenth Century, 1660-1815
ARTH6081 Art of the European Courts, 1500-1815
ARTH6082 Art, War and Conflict
ARTH6093 Post-Colonial Discourses in Australian Art
ARTH6097 Victorian and Edwardian Art: Australia and Europe 1837-1914
ARTH6598 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art
ARTH6160 Cartographies: Art Exploration and Knowledge
ARTH6161 Contemporary Australian Art
ARTH6162 Cyberculture
ARTH6163 Memory
ARTH6164 Theories of the Object
ARTH6165 Theories of the Image
ARTH6167 Issues in Contemporary Craft and Design
ARTH6168 Renaissance and Baroque Art
ARTH6169 Introducing Asian Modernisms
ARTH6170 Contemporary Asian Art
ARTH6171 Costume, Fashion and Visual Culture

A minimum of 24 units from completion of research courses from the following list:

ARTH6045 Curatorship Theory and Practice
ARTH6057 The Art and Politics of Collecting
ARTH8012 Methodologies of Art History

A minimum of 12 units from completion of disciplinary courses from the following list:

ARTH8020 Arguing Objects
ARTH8021 Writing About Art and Creative Practice
ARTH8022 Points of View: Independent Creative Art and Media Practice
ARTH8004 Exploring Asian Art in Asia
ARTH8014 Art Museum Internship: Collection Management
ARTH8015 Art Museum Internship: Audience Development
ARTH8016 Readings in Art History and Curatorial Studies
HUMN8034 Collaborative Storytelling and Cultural Production
MUSC8018 Exhibition Design and Delivery

24 units from completion of elective courses offered by ANU

Unless otherwise stated, a course used to satisfy the requirements of one list may not be double counted towards satisfying the requirements of another list.
 

Study Options

Year 1 48 units Introductory Course 6 units Introductory Course 6 units Introductory Course 6 units Introductory Course 6 units
ARTH6045 Curatorship Theory and Practice 12 units OR ARTH6057; - Disciplinary Course 6 units Disciplinary Course 6 units
Year 2 48 units ARTH8012 Methodologies of Art History 12 units - Disciplinary Course 6 units Disciplinary Course 6 units
Elective course from ANU 6 units Elective course from ANU 6 units Elective course from ANU 6 units Elective course from ANU 6 units

Admission Requirements

A Bachelor degree or international equivalent with a minimum GPA of 5.0/7.0.

Cognate Disciplines

Anthropology, Architecture, Art History, Art Theory, Classics, Curatorship, Design, Digital Humanities, Fine Arts, History, Museum Studies, Visual Arts

English Language Requirements

All applicants must meet the University’s English Language Admission Requirements for Students.

Assessment of Qualifications

Unless otherwise indicated, ANU will accept all Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) qualifications or international equivalents that meet or exceed the published admission requirements of our programs, provided all other admission requirements are also met. Where an applicant has more than one completed tertiary qualification, ANU will base assessment on the qualification that best meets the admission requirements for the program. Find out more about the Australian Qualifications Framework: www.aqf.edu.au

ANU uses a 7-point Grade Point Average (GPA) scale. All qualifications submitted for admission at ANU will be converted to this common scale, which will determine if an applicant meets our published admission requirements. Find out more about how a 7-point GPA is calculated for Australian universities: www.uac.edu.au/future-applicants/admission-criteria/tertiary-qualifications

Unless otherwise indicated, where an applicant has more than one completed tertiary qualification, ANU will calculate the GPA for each qualification separately. ANU will base assessment on the best GPA of all completed tertiary qualifications of the same level or higher.

Applications for course credit

Applicants with a Bachelor Degree or Graduate Certificate in a cognate discipline may be eligible for up to 24 units (one semester) of credit.

Applicants with a Graduate Diploma or Bachelor degree with Honours in a cognate discipline may be eligible for up to 48 units (one year) of credit. 

Annual indicative fee for domestic students
$28,320.00

For more information see: http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/costs-fees

Annual indicative fee for international students
$40,416.00

For further information on International Tuition Fees see: https://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/fees-payments/international-tuition-fees

Scholarships

ANU offers a wide range of scholarships to students to assist with the cost of their studies.

Eligibility to apply for ANU scholarships varies depending on the specifics of the scholarship and can be categorised by the type of student you are.  Specific scholarship application process information is included in the relevant scholarship listing.

For further information see the Scholarships website.

Where better to study art history and curatorship than surrounded by Australia’s national cultural and collecting institutions? What’s more, where better to study Art History than in Australia’s premier practice-led research institution, the ANU School of Art and Design. Here, you will study the history of art while surrounded by the making of art.

At ANU you can take advantage of our strong connections to the National Gallery of Australia, the National Museum of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Library and the Australian War Memorial to participate in our renowned internship program.

And like many of our graduates before you, you might even find yourself working there.

Our leading Master of Art History and Curatorial Studies program offers courses in a range of fields including Australian and Asian art; 19th – 20th century Australian and European art and design; modernism and postmodernism; curatorial practice, all taught by our specialist art historians.

Career Options

Graduates from ANU have been rated as Australia's most employable graduates and among the most sought after by employers worldwide.

The latest Global Employability University Ranking, published by the Times Higher Education, rated ANU as Australia's top university for getting a job for the fourth year in a row.

Employment Opportunities

A Master of Art History and Curatorial Studies will advance your career working in art galleries, museums and other cultural institutions; the arts, heritage and collections sectors; the commercial world of culture and art; and in teaching and education.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will be able to:

  1. differentiate and critique at an advanced level the historical, social, cultural and political contexts of diverse periods, styles, and methods in Art History
  2. closely analyse at an advanced level individual works of art, and interpret and communicate ideas to both specialist and non-specialist audiences using disciplinary language and conventions;
  3. construct comprehensive linkages between the study of Art History and the practicalities of curating; and
  4. undertake independent research

Further Information

Interested in writing a thesis? Check out the advanced version of this degree.

Please be aware that any courses taken as part of the 24 units from completion of elective courses offered by ANU list will not count towards the advanced degree should you decide to transfer. This is because the advanced degree has no free electives, as they are in practice replaced by a 24 unit thesis.

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